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UCF's selection of Buffalo AD White confirmed by VP for Communications & Marketing Heston, "He’s the right person to lead us into the next era." Presser set for tomorrow, Orlando Sentinel notes the other finalists as Kentucky Deputy AD Peevy & Texas A&M Deputy AD Girton, hiring a new FB HC will be one of the first items on White's agenda, UB will now look to hire its third AD in four years as prior to White, UConn AD Manuel held the post - link
Some key comments from Arkansas AD & College FB PlayoffCommittee Chair Long from last night as the Top 4 stayed the same, "I can tell you the committee spent a lot of time speaking about five through seven," on the influence of Oklahoma's loss to Texas, "Certainly, if they had won that game they might be ranked differently...It doesn’t go away." On criticism of the selection process, "...it depends on what fan base you are whether you like our rankings or not. And that’s going to happen every week everywhere across the country." - link, link, link
Not to be overlooked, we're headed in to the final weekend of FCS play with a number of playoff spots still in the balance, a handful of games will send the winner to the 24-team tourney, Richmond-William & Mary, Duquesne-Saint Francis, Central Arkansas-Sam Houston State & Eastern Illinois-Eastern Kentucky all fit the bill, league title scenarios still a bit hazy in the Missouri Valley, CAA & Big Sky, article also covers a number on the proverbial bubble, while the winners of the MEAC & SWAC will head to the new Celebration Bowl in Atlanta, runner-ups in each league are still eligible for the playoff - link
Ole Miss rang the bell in a major way with a $25m gift from surgeon, entrepreneur, alum & longtime supporter Hollingsworth, $10m in cash to go toward the 'Forward Together' campaign, the rest in a charitable trust to setup a scholarship endowment, not the first time Hollingsworth has given in a large fashion to the Rebels, AD Bjork uses the word "transformational," Hollingsworth, "I’m fortunate to have this money available and it just seemed like a need the university had" - link
Sources, sources, sources: At Tulane, College AD reports on some candidates for the Green Wave's AD job, had new UCF boss White on the list until news hit the wire yesterday, Deputy AD/COO Burke is said to have a good amount of internal support, Auburn COO Benedict & San Francisco AD Sidwell also mentioned, Oklahoma Senior Assoc. AD for Development Alford listed, but then removed, interviews to take place in the next two weeks - link
Potential Illinois AD candidate Lubin, who played hoops for the Illini & later worked at the Chicago Board of Trade, says he's been approached a number of times about seeking the top spot in Champaign, believes UI athletics is a "rocket ship waiting to take off," Big Ten Commish Delany is a close friend, Lubin says the city of Chicago is of vital importance for success, article also mentions Northwestern AD Phillips, Colorado AD George & TCU Assoc. AD/SWA Johnson as possible solutions - link
Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette's Tate digs a bit deeper on the AD situation at Illinois, in true media fashion takes an early stab at the potential use of a search firm, believes Interim Chancellor Wilson acted in coordination with the President's Office & Board of Trustees by making a change, says the still early tenure of Prez Killeen & the impact athletics was having on his ledger was likely a major issue, details reasons former AD Thomas may not have consolidated support, in closing, "A speedy hire is essential at a slow-moving institution where it makes no sense to finalize the football situation until a permanent athletic director is in place." - link
ESPN's McMurphy on the confusion that surrounds how 5-7 FB teams may be selected for bowl games if the number of spots out-paces the number of schools with six or more wins, none of the five tiebreakers established by the NCAA on the subject are going to apply to 5-7 squads, there seems to be confusion between NCAA officials & those on the side of the bowls on how deep the APR ranking stipulation is supposed to reach, one source thinks all the gray area will lead to bowl deals on the side, "like the wild, wild West" - link
Police in Lincoln are looking into a potential sexual assault that may have taken place at the home of stand-out Nebraska FB student-athlete Armstrong last weekend, no arrests have been made, a female went to a local hospital on Sunday afternoon with details of the situation, Armstrong spoke to the media, "From what we’re hearing, everything was consensual," HC Riley says he wishes Armstrong would have given him a heads-up before saying anything publicly - link
Yale Prez Salovey rolls-out a number of new initiatives on his New Haven campus in response to high-profile student protests on race & inclusion, will create a "prominent university center" dedicated to the studies of race & ethnicity, the hiring of four new faculty will accompany, cultural center budgets to double, anti-discrimination training for all administrators, a potential overhaul of the discrimination reporting process & working through new financial aid policies for low-income students are a couple of keys, more - link
Key note for those of you who fly frequently with American, accumulating reward miles with the airline will now be based on the price of your ticket, not the length of your trip, last major carrier to make such a change, it's taken two years to merger with US Air & this development is one meant to enhance the customer experience, the article also notes by March of next year American plans to decrease the amount of rewards needed for perks by 40%, more - link
Miami (OH)'s student newspaper takes a look at the athletic subsidy debate in Oxford, a 2015 grad will have paid $3,896 to athletics over the course of their time on campus, compares the Redhawks situation to other Ohio-based schools Kent State, Ohio, Ohio State & Toledo, students comment on their knowledge of what the fee supports, English professor Wagner with a thought-provoking comment, "If the students decided to do a fee boycott, what would happen to the athletics program? I think, before tensions run too high, it would be important to be really clear about where their money is going." More - link
Athletics leaders from around Iowa comment on how cost of attendance is impacting the industry, Iowa Assoc. AD for Compliance Clerry notes the universal formula that should be used by all to set figures, "You’ve just got to hope that every school has the integrity to calculate a true cost of attendance at that location." Iowa State AD Pollard supposed there could be prospective student-athletes who choose one school over another based on slightly more in COA, "but I think that’ll be the margin and not the norm," UNI AD Dannen still wants his programs to compete at the highest level - link
Arkansas State AD Mohajir has a ton of lead time to hire a new MBB HC as current HC Brandy announced he'll retire after this year, notes how he's in no hurry, but already has someone in mind, "There's no urgency at all. I can't give you a real timeline right now. I can tell you I have someone zeroed in, and in a month it could be different." Was not surprised by Brady's move, also, "We will hire a guy with the intent to compete immediately for the Sun Belt championship." - link
In the latest development around touchy FB officiating, highly-regarded Duke HC Cutcliffe has resigned from the NCAA Rules Committee, doesn't point just to the nine-lateral Miami kick-off ordeal as the reason, says, "I don’t know if it was shaped or designed (by that), but I evaluate everything I’m doing, and I want to be as good as I can be at everything I’m doing. I’ve just kind of left it at that. I didn’t think I was as effective as I needed to be." - link
Central Michigan Volleyball HC Olson is still under investigation after being put on leave back in October due to "unprofessional behavior toward the athletes," not much coming from the university on the situation as the school's student newspaper pushed, reviews Olson's performance review from last year when he still reported to now-retired Senior Assoc. AD/SWA Weston, Olson had recorded a 161-183 mark in Mt. Pleasant since becoming HC in 2004 - link
Millsaps (DIII) AD Brooks, who was previously an Assoc. AD at Georgia & seems to be well thought of around the industry, is headed to Louisiana Monroe to serve as Special Asst. to Prez Bruno, exits Jackson after only 17 months, but credited with a number of upgrades for the Majors, including some creative student attendance initiatives, Brooks has a history at ULM, Prez Pearigen, "We are sorry to see him go, but we know that he will continue to do great things at ULM and we will work to build on his accomplishments here." - link
Clemson's social media game continues to get good marks, Forbes contributor Burns took a look at how the Tigers are using short videos effectively to engage fans, students & presumably prospective student-athletes, Director of New & Creative Media Gantt, "We asked ourselves, ‘Where can we give some of these students great experiences and put them in a spot to be successful?’ That’s where Vine, Instagram and really, short-form video, became a focus of our content team." That team includes some undergrads who really grasp the platforms, during the Notre Dame FB match-up a couple of weeks back, nearly 30 videos were pushed, more - link
The Big 12 hosted its latest 'State of College Athletics' forum yesterday, advocacy for student-athletes was a major theme, College Athletes Players Association lead Huma, "It's not a happily-ever-after story," Commish Bowlsby committed to continuing to improve the situation, the league also pushed a wrap-up video from the event, Texas Tech AD Hocutt & Oklahoma State Prez Hargis were a part of the discussions, Bowlsby reiterates the point is to do a deep dive on key topics & to put those who normally disagree on the same panel - link, link (see clip middle left)
The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to spend $10m on improvements to their practice facility that will also help Pitt since it's a shared space, renovated hydrotherapy, overhaul of practice fields & a new lobby are on the docket, AD Barnes, "Absolutely, as [Steelers president] Art [Rooney] was looking at those renovations, he and I sat down and he walked me through what he was doing, and we looked at somewhere where we might partner. That’s what this is." - link (scroll to bottom)
Neglected including weekly TV ratings for nationally-broadcasted FB games lately, so here's a chart with ratings & audiences for the entire season that is pretty helpful, Oklahoma-Baylor won last weekend with a 3.8 & average of 5.88m viewers, LSU-Bama much stronger the week prior with a 6.4 & 11.063m who tuned in, quick browsing shows those to be the highest marks of the season thus far with the Ohio State-Virginia Tech early-season showdown to only other in the 6-range - link
Maine AD Creech won't be in the market for a new FB HC as he says HC Cosgrove will return & the two are working on a multi-year extension, "Jack does a great job. I have complete faith in him." This year's 3-7 mark thus far is tied for the lowest win total since Cosgrove's third season back in 1995, still believes he has more than enough energy to right the ship, program is just two years removed from a CAA Championship - link
Yahoo!'s Forde with his latest 'Forde-Yard Dash,' of interest for this space are FB programs that are having significant success this year on the field, but still facing challenges at the box office, Oklahoma State is averaging 57,352 in 60,218-seat Boone Pickens Stadium, despite being 10-0 the Pokes have yet to sell-out a game, Iowa did sell-out last Saturday's match-up with Minnesota, averaging 90% capacity in Kinnick Stadium (70,585 capacity), North Carolina with some curious rounded-off attendances this season, but no sellouts, Florida & Houston situations also detailed - link
Worthwhile read from SportsBusiness Journal on the impact of recently-passed ESPN executive Gerber who was highly influential in a number of TV moves, including the creation of ESPNU & the SEC Network, ESPN EVP for Programming & Scheduling Magnus on Gerber, "(he) could turn on a dime from being one of the most combative, argumentative and intimidating negotiators to being one of the most charming, affable and amazing friends. I can’t tell you how many times I said to myself, ‘Wait. I was just mad at this guy. Now I’m going out to dinner with him?’" Former SEC Commish Slive comments on his long friendship with Gerber, lots more - link
