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Decisions are coming at Rutgers according to NJ.com, AD Hermann is expected to meet with Prez Barchi before the weekend closes to review her own future & that of FB HC Flood, three sources say both leaders could be on the way out, piece indicates a "Kansas-based law firm" has been helping the Scarlet Knights Compliance staff investigate drug testing of FB student-athletes & its overall drug enforcement policy, wraps-up by reviewing momentum Hermann had created as of late, including facility upgrade advances & the success of Women's Soccer & HC O'Neill, one of her first hires - link
Something new everyday out of Illinois, this time it's word that Illini brass haven't made any moves on a search firm or timeline for an AD search per Assoc. Chancellor for Public Affairs Kaler, Parker Executive Search does have a two-year, $975k contract with athletics to, "provide support during employment search processes on an as-needed basis," but it only applies if Parker is selected for assistance, Kaler says no RFP has gone out yet for the AD spot, but has for the Chancellor search with nine firms responding by the deadline earlier this month - link
So what did he actually say? LSU FB HC Miles on reports that he told a Tigers booster group he would not be back to lead the program, "I had no suggestion that this was going to be my last game in Tiger Stadium." From those in attendance, "He said, ‘If you go to the bowl game, you won’t see me.' Everybody I talked to left feeling like he was telling us goodbye." And another, "He was talking real low almost like he didn’t want us to hear." - link
Wyoming has made good use of $5m in matching funds from the state to enhance athletic department revenues over the past two years, but the future of the deal is uncertain as Governor Mead's 2016-18 budget could see a $618m shortfall due to the downturn in energy prices, AD Burman says of the arrangement, "It (was) unprecedented to have matching funds for operating dollars. It helped, but it wasn’t transformational." On why it's necessary to continue the funding, "There’s an economic benefit and an institutional benefit to having an excellent athletics program. The University of Wyoming benefits due to visibility and exposure." Lots more on the decision-making dynamics - link
Another piece from the Casper Star-Tribune looks at exactly how Wyoming used the $5m from the state, nutrition upgrades were one area of focus, the UW 2015-16 budget includes expenses of $750 for the effort, more than double the previous year, AD Burman points to the physical development of some student-athletes, including former MBB stand-out Nance, recruiting budgets are another area of additional monies as Burman notes how his FB staff has to charter a plane to see various high school games on a Friday night, believes his department has to over-invest in certain areas to be competitive in the Mountain West - link
Hawaii AD Matlin turns to Nevada OC & former UH stand-out Rolovich as his new FB HC, "He understands what it means to be a Warrior having played and coached here and what (effect) a winning program has with this community," Rolovich was also an AC with the program before joining the Wolf Pack staff in 2012, back when prolific offensive numbers were commonplace for Hawaii, UNR HC Polian says both parties were completely transparent throughout the process - link
Oil will likely continue to struggle in 2016 & some informed voices around the globe believe the commodity could be headed down even further, Goldman Sachs Head of European Energy Research Della Vigna says there's a chance per barrel prices could go as low as $20 to shock the system, Venezuelan Oil Minister del Pino also sees the mid-20s if OPEC doesn't step in, Brent crude closed at $44.66 yesterday - link
USC & UCLA will meet today at the Coliseum with the winner headed to the Pac-12 Championship game, Los Angeles Daily News columnist Wolf, "A legitimate question is whether USC athletic director Pat Haden attends the game. He missed the past five contests but the crosstown rivalry might compel him to watch in person." Adds that the ideal timeline for hiring a new HC would be the first week of December, but there's little coming from inside the Trojans camp on their search process - link
San Jose State AD Bleymaier says FB HC Caragher will be back to lead the Spartans, "There's no question about his status. Ron's our coach," came up a game short of bowl eligibility (the six-win variety) after a loss yesterday to Boise State, Caragher has two years left on a deal that pays him a base of $525k, went 6-6 in his inaugural season back in 2013, but SJSU was not selected for a bowl game - link
Georgia Tech leaders, including AD Bobinski & FB HC Johnson, reflect on this year's FB season as the Yellow Jackets sit at 3-8 going into today's game against rival Georgia, Johnson talks about how the little things add up & how last year everything seemed to go his team's way en route to an Orange Bowl appearance, Bobinski recalls Johnson telling him he wasn't sure if his squad was that good, even after some high-scoring early games, a tough second half in a close loss to Notre Dame could have been the breaking point, more - link
Oregon State AD Stansbury after the Beavers lost a hard-fought Civil War game to Oregon, 52-42, to finish HC Andersen's first season at 2-10, "One year? Two years? I'm not putting a timeline on things. Not something I want to do. I will say I saw a lot of things today to be encouraged about." From Prez Ray, "I am really proud that our team never backed off." - link
Interesting read on former Austin Peay AD & current VP of Advancement, Communication & Strategic Initiatives Van der Merwe, reviews his upbringing in South Africa & Zimbabwe, along with how he didn't grow up around sports, says his move from the AD chair to university leadership has meant interacting with different constituencies, but is still all about telling the APSU story, believes the cost of an education is the biggest current challenge for higher education - link
The rough condition of Tennessee's turf at Neyland Stadium has been a pain point for the Vols this FB season, Turfgrass Professors from UT say it's all about the wet October & Knoxville's geographic position that leads to sharp climate changes & therefore creates challenges for grasses to grow properly, nearly $400k has been spent on field maintenance over the past year, no comment from AD Hart - link
One more article of interest on the financial architecture of Apple winning the bid for the NFL's open Thursday Night package since this framework could be similar if/when college programming goes OTT, Forbes contributor Jackson argues Apple could actually make $24b by paying the estimated $600m to $800m annual price tag to the NFL, points to the company's massive cash reserve, ability to improve the streaming service, leveraging the sale of Apple TVs & other devices as the exclusive way to watch the games, as well as keeping customers away from other streaming TV options - link
Inforum's Kolpack on how to fix the FCS Playoff selection process, "The FCS needs to seed 16 teams, not eight, and not be so worried about plane trips versus bus trips. The big three conferences—the Missouri Valley, Colonial Athletic and Big Sky—need to do what the Power Five conferences did: Start flexing their muscle and demanding action. No more playing Mr. Nice Guy to the likes of the Ohio Valley or Northeast...With 16 seeds, the chances of a conference getting everybody into the same bracket start to diminish considerably. With 16 seeds, the brackets can't help but be more balanced." - link
AL.com takes a look at the SWAC's deal with Nike that includes a $10,000 personal account for Commish Sharp, "That's my personal business what I do with it," 600 pairs of shoes are doled out to FB, MBB, WBB, Volleyball, Softball, Men's & Women's track programs around the league, Nike gets four tickets to basically every SWAC contests, 40 footballs & 24 basketballs for MBB & WBB, as well as 750 plain white t-shirts, more - link
New Mexico AD Krebs pressed Lobo fans to fill University Stadium for last weekend's game against Colorado State, even though only 21,643 showed-up Albuquerque Journal's Wright says moving from eighth in Mountain West attendance standings to seventh is a step in the right direction, average for this year is 23,178 pending tonight's match-up with Air Force, HC Davie does have bonuses for averaging more than 19k & 21k without counting students - link
Good background on how LSU Senior Assoc. AD for Athletic Facility Management Haliburton started monitoring Hurricane Joaquin a week before the Tigers match-up with South Carolina eventually moved to Baton Rouge, had his staff so prepared that when AD Alleva asked, all necessary steps had already been taken to host the game, takes significant pride when someone enters Tiger Stadium for the first time, "It feels good when you see that look. It never fails. That look is always there." - link
The preparation process for San Diego State'sAztec Warrior mascot is a serious deal, sophomore Guzman, "You can’t be who you are. I’m definitely a calm person, but the Warrior, he looks like he just had an adrenalin shot. I don’t know where the energy comes from, but I think it comes from the crowd itself." Former Warrior Lopez reviews his strict diet & intense weight training sessions, SDSU Executive Assoc. AD Schnall looks for muscularity, an ability to engage fans in a positive way & having the right spirit, Guzman also notes the challenge of learning to properly play the conch - link
Continuing to follow ESPN & Disney developments, shares of DIS were down in trading yesterday after the filing of its 10K on Wednesday, closed at $115.11, a drop of 3%, lowest point over the past year is in the low $90s, Disney's situation seems to spill-over to other mega-media companies as Time Warner, Twenty-First Century Fox & Discovery Communications all saw dips to their positions, as well - link
