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Colorado AD George releases a statement on being tied to the same opening at his alma mater, Illinois, "There has been a lot of speculation out there that I will be considered for the athletic director position at the University of Illinois. While it is flattering that my name has been connected to the Illinois job, I believe it is due to Illinois being my alma mater and others pushing my name publicly. Should Illinois contact me, again that would be both humbling and flattering, but I would gracefully decline because Colorado and Boulder is my home for the foreseeable future... I can honestly tell you that I plan on being at Colorado as the Athletic Director." - link
Bloomington Pantagraph's Tupper expands on George's decision, says Interim Illinois Chancellor Wilson has been getting input from a number of key parties on the open AD job, many held George in a very high regard, believes Wilson has assurances the university can pay at a necessary rate to recruit a high-level leader, unclear on if Parker Executive Search or another search firm will play a role, mentions names of Eastern Illinois AD Michael, former FB student-athlete & Iowa fundraiser Wax, former Men's Tennis HC Tiley & the well-aligned Lubin - link
UCF introduces new AD White, "This is a really special opportunity that's one that I think, for me, is the most attractive Group of 5 athletic director job in the country and more attractive than a lot of Power 5 jobs." Prez Hitt mentions he wasn't worried about how quickly the search for a new leader went, but given "market conditions," knew he wanted to secure White once the two connected, White says he still has quite a bit to learn about the Knights situation, once he has a firm handle will set goals & aggressively look to achieve them - link (article), link (release), link (2-minute recap video of White's day), link (full audio of presser)
Back at White's old Buffalo stomping grounds, The Buffalo News scribe Gleason reviews the new leadership development from the Bulls perspective, commends the job White did, while also taking some sharp shots, argues Prez Tripathi should look to hire a new boss who doesn't use UB as a the proverbial stepping stone, "UB needs an injection of common sense, someone who knows the university’s strengths, is bold enough to make unpopular decisions and strong enough to endure scrutiny." Notes the challenge of local support in a pro market, even suggests moving to FCS, pushes Daemen (DII) AD & UB alum Niland & Worcester State (DIII) AD Mudd as possible candidates - link
Houston antes up for FB HC Herman in a big way, Board of Regents approved a pay bump for the Cougars boss to $3m annually & Chairman Fertitta notes the new figure is just "a starting point...We'll take it up every year," Herman is currently making $1.35m, bold move to keep their first-year HC in red as a number of 'Power 5' openings are undoubtedly targeting the former Ohio State AC, AD Yurachek, "We're going to make it really hard for him to choose to go to another institution." - link
Louisiana-Monroe Prez Bruno provides some clarity on his fresh hire of former Millsaps (DIII) AD & Georgia Assoc. AD Brooks as Special Asst. with AD Wickstrom involved at Tulane, "Brian is the AD right now and he will be until he’s not. I’m happy for Brian if that’s what he wants to do; we know he’s been shopping for quite a while...What Josh brings is a lot of business acumen. He was in the trenches here and worked here and understands the limitations but he has a lot more talents in marketing and a lot of experience in a big school (at Georgia)." Wickstrom thankful Bruno understands going after the Tulane gig would be a good step for his career & family, has ramped up fundraising during his tenure with the Warhawks - link
CBSSports.com's Solomon with his weekly 'Inside College Sports' look, starts by focusing on the mega Nike-Texas deal & other upgraded apparel pacts & what they all mean for the industry, former shoe headliner Vaccaro says it's the same game that's been played for years, just on a much larger scale now, big names come up for renegotiation in the next couple of years (Ohio State, Oklahoma, UCLA, North Carolina, others), also touches on the Big 12's latest forum & reviews O'Bannon case updates - link
Hawaii AD Matlin detailed a plan to his Board of Regents that would transform the athletics budget from $9m in the hole to balanced by 2020, seeks $9.5m in external support, total budget by 2020 projected at $50.4m, via upgraded revenues, contributions & expense management Matlin says his team can add $4.7m in the next five years, increasing student fees from $50 to $100 over that span is one possible partial solution - link
San Fransisco AD Sidwell has been mentioned as a candidate at Tulane & earlier in the week helped announce the largest gift for the Dons in school history, $15m committed by real estate developer & philanthropist Sobrato, funding will help to create a master facilities plan for athletics & upgrade War Memorial Gym to a multi-use facility that will bear the Sobrato name, Sidwell on the donation, "It will help us go beyond winning at the highest levels of competition, and also play an important role in the intellectual and moral development of our student athletes." - link
Former USC AD Garrett set to take-over another department at Cal State Los Angeles (DII), exited Langston (NAIA) back in April after a three-year stint, which was preceded by a 17-year run as the Trojans boss, made the move to Langston so his twin sons could spend more time with his wife's family in Oklahoma, looks to be returning to the West Coast now - link
Good backstory on the friendship between former Coca-Cola COO Keough & founder of Ireland-based Glen Dimplex Group Naughton who together helped to create the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies from their time together on the Notre Dame Board of Directors, though Keough passed away earlier this year another Irish integration will see the 'Keough-Naughton Trophy' presented to the winner of the Boston College-Georgia Tech FB match-up in Dublin next year, per the article expectations are for 20k to 25k fans to make the trip across the pond for the match-up - link
In an article about Minnesota FB's bowl chances, winning the last two games of the season would put the Golden Gophers at 6-6, NCAA spokesman Radford says updates on contingencies (possible 5-7 squads), "will likely happen soon," more, "If the contingencies produce multiple teams and/or the bowls need multiple spots, the NCAA would work with the conferences and bowls to determine how best to fill the available bowl spots. Additionally, if the contingencies do not produce enough bowl-eligible teams, then each respective conference would work with the NCAA to discuss a solution." - link
James Madison gets a $300k commitment from former FB student-athlete & current Pittsburgh Steeler Moats, marks the largest gift ever for the university for an alum under the age of 30, interestingly the gift has an academic component as it will endow a scholarship in the studio art program, as well as doing the same in athletics via the Dukes Club, renovation project for the Convocation Center also part of the donation - link
Indoor FB facilities: South Carolina's is done, new $14.3m digs were open to the media for the first time yesterday, AD Tanner notes its importance on the fronts of dealing with inclement weather & how it plays in the recruiting game, good chart at the bottom of the piece comparing indoor centers in the SEC (link); North Carolina announced plans of its own, $25m project received approval from the Board of Trustees on Wednesday, AD Cunningham says it will be, "a very good multi-functional facility," FB hasn't seen many upgrades since 2011, timeline is still a bit fluid, but within the next three years is mentioned (link)
More facilities: D1Baseball.com with another solid review of the Baseball programs around the nation who have seen enhancements, starting with Alabama's $42.6m revamp of Sewell-Thomas Field, also has pics & details for work at Clemson, Cal Poly, Georgia, Ball State, Central Michigan, Portland, Northwestern, Wake Forest & more (link); Sports leaders in Cincinnati are quietly upgrading U.S. Bank Arena with sights on hosting NCAA Tourney games in the near future (link); NJIT broke-ground on its new $102m wellness center that will include a new home for hoops, AD Kaplan says, "it's a great day to be a Highlander" (link)
Oklahoma & Oklahoma State FB programs could be on a crash course to the highest profile Bedlam game in years, though they both have to get through tough opponents before next weekend's match-up, ADs for both schools remark on how the attitudes around their programs have changed in a year's time, Sooners AD Castiglione lauds HC Stoops for the job he's done in Norman, "As you look back now over his 17 years, they're truly remarkable." Pokes AD Holder says of HC Gundy, "I think he has done a wonderful job of ignoring the noise and focusing on the things that are under his control," more - link
Sticking with the Sooners, a read from NewsOK.com on the revamp set for the south end zone at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, fans who sit in sections that will be impacted talk about the long history they have with those who around them, "It's things like that you can't replace." One fan notes he's requested that a whole cadre of people sitting together have asked to be relocated together, AD Castiglione details how outreach has worked & what options have been made available - link
Ticket sales & attendance: UTEP is headed for a 12-year low attendance mark for FB, averaging 23,443 per game with one remaining, AD Stull, "It was a horrible home schedule, because compared to the other years, we've always had Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas as one of the early games, which really boosts attendance." (link); New Mexico MBB season sales still behind pace, down by 1,183 from last year to 10,029, Senior Assoc. AD for Marketing & Revenue Hutchins expected the figure to be down, HC Neal believes most around the country are down (link)
SportsBusiness Journal has a number of excellent reporters who cover our industry & the greater arena so effectively, lately SBJ's Fisher has been over-the-top good on his coverage of some key topics: TV, tech & daily fantasy sports. Yesterday Major League Baseball announced they will allow in-market streaming of games for RSN subscribers next season, Fisher also says a capitalization/equity deal could be coming for BAM Tech, has been all over every little development for DFS, including the latest out of Massachusetts, highly recommended Twitter follow - link
Important Oklahoma State supporter Pickens says this is the first year the Cowboys have run his offense, "My offense is 'win.'" Notes how he, "has flesh in the game," & would be highly disappointed if OSU is 12-0, but doesn't make the College FB Playoff field, HC Gundy admits he let the relationships with Pickens "go south" for three years as he didn't reach-out often enough, "I would say that has been fixed," Pickens with additional thoughts in closing, believes he's gotten good ROI on his investment to the school - link
You may have already read this, but Horns Digest's Brown was at it again a few days ago on a number of inside developments at Texas that have impacted FB over the past two years, includes decisions made by former AD Patterson that seems to have handcuffed FB HC Strong, includes not committing to paying big money for a big OC name, those mentioned include SMU HC Morris & Houston HC Herman before they both became HCs, also believes the ongoing legal dispute between Oklahoma State & Longhorns AC Wickline will get settled, more - link
Southern Miss FB continues to surge, sits at 7-3 (5-1) & controls its own destiny for access to the Conference USA title game, AD McGillis, "Our objective is to be the best team and program in a given year in the group of five to where we’re playing on New Year’s Day." Notes scheduling of Kentucky & LSU next season, then Kentucky & Tennessee in 2017 that could help to achieve that goal, believes the vibe around the entire Hattiesburg campus has been enhanced thanks to FB's revival - link
Safety upgrades will be commonplace around the nation this weekend & presumably through the end of the FB season: Iowa moves to a clear plastic bag policy for those entering Kinnick Stadium, asks fans to show up earlier than normal to make sure they make it to their seats for the 11a kick against Purdue (link); Virginia Tech will increase police & security around Lane Stadium for tomorrow's game against North Carolina (link); NC State doing the same at Carter-Finley Stadium this weekend & next (link)
Southern Utah rolled-out a new university-wide strategic plan, overall goal, "SUU will receive national recognition for its innovations in learning, student success and providing the best educational experience in the intermountain west." Some questions were asked of athletics, including the proper alignment & use of student fees, AD Butikofer, "Athletics are a very important part of the college experience. It is important to elevate the stature of this institution. I did not come here to drop to a Division II status." - link
Delaware has a new Prez in Stony Brook Vice Provost & SVP for Academic Affairs Assanis, will take over in Newark in June of next year, has an impressive resume with roots in energy & sustainability, spent a number of years at Michigan before his stint at Stony Brook, head of search committee Puglisi, "He is a natural leader and an outstanding scholar. Dennis Assanis walks the walk." - link
Inside Higher Ed with good coverage of the latest on-campus developments around the nation: Princeton Prez Eisgruber agrees to consider removing the name of Woodrow Wilson from points within the university, ends a tense couple of days, a 'White Student Union' has popped up at Illinois via social media & is causing issues, Kean (DIII) Prez asked to resign, Towson Prez Chandler signs a list of demands by black students, pictures of black professors defaced at Harvard, more - link
