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UAB FB student-athlete Henderson, whose passionate plea to university Prez Watts was captured Tuesday in the Blazers locker room, appears on ESPN's Outside the Lines, "I'm a senior, but for these younger kids...who are using this as an opportunity to get away from whatever, it's just heartbreaking." Also, "...he never even told us that the program was being shut-down, he just said that the numbers weren't right" - link
AL.com piece starts with look into past events that should have opened more eyes to UAB's plans to discontinue their FB program including an abnormal one-year contract with Legion Field that ran through December 15 of this year, quickly turns into a hard line read against Prez Watts, consultant Carr denies his strategic planning study was biased by the Board of Trustees - link
NCAA releases summary of autonomy proposals by 'Big 5' leagues in a reasonably easy to understand chart, all on-board for full cost of attendance stipends, but the SEC wants further oversight of reporting processes across the board, SEC also with a specific concussion protocols measure, ACC's recent loss of value insurance & scholarship award post-injury proposals also listed - link
Defense Department Inspector General again looking into Air Force athletics, this time over a complaint on how the Falcons previously investigated reports of sexual assault, spokesman Lt. Col. Vidal confirms the probe & adds the desire to foster an environment that reinforces respect & operates with AFA core values - link
Retiring Virginia Congressman Moran has introduced a bill that would create a 17-member Presidential Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics who would look into key issues within the industry, structured somewhat similarly to the Olympic version that was created by Prez Ford in 1975, includes a number of topics for review including financial transparency & tax regulations - link
Purdue AD Burke would like to explore moving their traditional end-of-the-season FB rivalry with Indiana to earlier in the year, Burke notes using a date when students are on campus as the match-up usually takes place on Thanksgiving weekend, Big Ten Senior Assoc. AD for TV Rudner outlines challenges, Hoosiers AD Glass likes final weekend, but knows there are attendance issues - link
Penn State Asst. AD for Communications Nelson indicates FB ticket sales were up nearly 5k per game this season, which cumulatively means the Nittany Lions sold 35k more tickets than last year, a major increase & boon for their bottom line, Asst. AD for Ticketing & Sales Garner talks about packaging approach that he believes was a big factor in the bump - link
Michigan Interim AD Hackett will hire a search firm to assist with the Wolverines FB HC hiring process, Spencer Stuart lead Hughes is a notable UM alum & former FB AC, aided the previous hire of former HC Hoke, also helped then-Prez Coleman attract former AD Brandon, Michigan used Fogler Consulting in process to lock-up MBB HC Beilein, former Minnesota AD Maturi with comments on search firms - link
Navy AD Gladchuk with some interesting comments fueling the rivalry with Army after a Black Knights contingent was unable to make it to a media event in Baltimore promoting the annual FB game, "We've got a saying at Navy: 'No excuses, nobody cares.' That's the way I feel about it." Army AD Corrigan, FB HC Monken & two student-athletes had flight difficulties, Executive AD Beretta was in attendance & apologized for the absences, Gladchuk with more - link
Wisconsin-Milwaukee leaders continue discussions with the Milwaukee Bucks on their plans for a new multipurpose arena that could heavily impact UWM Panther Arena, Interim Chancellor Mone met with Bucks Prez Feigin on Tuesday, says there's middle ground & has suggested the Bucks build a 6k to 8k-seat arena for the Panthers next to their new digs - link
Michigan brass have apparently blocked their private plane from being tracked in a move that could maintain a high level of secrecy around the Wolverines FB HC search, National Business Aviation Association offers a number of links on how to submit a blocking request that are normally updated on the first Thursday of every month - link, link
Watch: Part of the Chronicle of Higher Education's week-long look at alcohol's role at institutions across the nation reviews three video companies that have the simple, but controversial, business plan to sponsor college parties, record them & then sell their films, also looks at how modern social media tools & technology easily allow students to shoot their own drinking experiences & how many do - link
TCU AD Del Conte pretty direct on the Horned Frogs positioning in the College FB Playoff rankings, "If we're successful beating Iowa State, I would stack our resume up against anybody because of our total body of work. We scheduled nonconference. Every single week has been competitive." TCU faced Minnesota, SMU & Samford outside of their Big 12 slate - link
Arizona State AD Anderson doesn't believe his fan base should be "unreasonably disappointed" with FB's 9-3 (6-3) finish, but with the Sun Devils climbing all the way up to sixth in the College FB Playoff rankings at one point he recognizes expectations should be high, a bowl victory would lock-up back-to-back 10-win seasons - link
Georgia Tech FB HC Johnson can't help but to defend his style of play, especially after knocking off rival Georgia last weekend & heading into the ACC Championship game, "People are going to say what they want to say. I've been a head coach for 18 years. Fourteen of those 18 years, my teams have won their division or conference. If that's not good enough, I guess it's not good enough." - link
Rutgers the latest to add a Fan Advisory Board, will consist of 25 members with a cross-section of Scarlet Knights fans, Asst. AD for Creative Services & Fan Experience Robinson says he'll model the group very similarly to Wisconsin's efforts, Senior Assoc. AD/CMO Brown says AD Hermann has been highly-engaged in project - link
Illinois will also form a fan council, asks for season ticket-holders from FB, Volleyball, MBB or WBB to submit an application for inclusion, aim of group will be to improve the gameday experience, AD Thomas calls it the first of a handful of new initiatives that will be rolled-out in the coming months - link
Michigan State Rep. Pscholka pushing bill in legislature that would effectively make it illegal for student-athletes in the state to unionize, specifically mentions situation at Northwestern, public employees representative Ciaramitaro points to lame duck legislature, wonders why there's such a push right now without deeper research - link
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Arizona Prez Hart on her relationship with AD Byrne, "Greg literally calls me everyday, with good news & bad news. I really feel like I'm a part of it & can trust his judgement to do the right thing. I can count on him not making exceptions because one athlete is better than another. I haven't had to intervene." Also discusses her interactions with athletics during her tenure at Temple, Bryne responds on what it's like to work for Hart - link
Alabama AD Battle says his team will review usage of 'Dixieland Delight' during athletic events, social media hubbub yesterday included a reported email from the athletic department stating the song would no longer be used, common for Crimson Tide fans to add their own lyrics that can many times be disparaging to the opponent, Battle refers to fan behavior - link
UMass Lowell's new academic center pushing the River Hawks forward as they build to match other DI departments, AD Skinner calls it "the heartbeat of our athletic complex," Assoc. AD for Student Services Stake notes a desire to catch-up with the 'Joneses' of DI, square footage of new space quadrupled what the department was previously working with - link
South Alabama AD Erdmann excited for Jags FB bowl game opportunity in Montgomery at the Raycom Media Comellia Bowl, notes the prime-time ESPN audience, for many viewers may be their first impression of USA, also rallying fans around 'Mission Montgomery' in an effort to sell tickets & travel a healthy contingent to the game on December 20th - link
Rutgers & Seton Hall introduce neat new trophy that will be awarded annually to the winner of their Garden State Hardwood Classic annual MBB match-up, trophy is made out of Hurricane Sandy-damaged planks from the Jersey Shore boardwalk, Scarlet Knights Asst. AD for Communications Lorincz found the planks & an artist who could handle the project - link
Florida State FB student-athlete Winston doesn't testify in school's sexual assault hearing, but does make a closing statement as the proceedings ended yesterday, maintains he did not rape or sexually assault the accuser & that she repeatedly agreed to the situation through her conduct & verbal expressions - link
SB Nation with the obligatory article this time of year on why athletic departments should not be using search firms to help hire marquee HCs, notes elements handled by Parker Executive Search & asks if all tasks are not ones that could be executed by an athletics staffer, believes high-level boosters could easily serve as proxies for informal discussions with agents, more - link
