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It's official in Burlington as Senior Assoc. AD Schulman is announced as the new AD at Vermont. One-year contract worth $215,000. Prez Sullivan, "I am confident that Jeff has the...leadership and vision, managerial skills and the integrity and character and the emotional intelligence to lead our athletic program to the next level of competitive success." Schulman, "External funding, private philanthropy is so critical to the ultimate success of our program. That is going to be a major priority of mine." - link
DHR International will assist with the Purdue AD search as the university's internal search committee met for the first time yesterday. Trustee & committee chair Burghoff says a search firm was selected to fill in some experience gaps, plus the Boilermakers haven't conducted an AD search in the last 20 years. DHR will spend the next month conversing with a number of Purdue personnel to get a good sense of what's needed. Burghoff on the timeline, "I don’t really know how long it’s going to take, but I think if you look at the timetable of searches that some of our peers are doing, it’s probably more like 3-6 months and less like 6-12." - link
Louisville added some more self-imposed MBB sanctions yesterday in connection to the on-going saga, reduces available scholarships by one in both the 2017-18 & 2018-19 seasons, removes two official visits from 2016-17 & 2017-18 & deleted a quarter of external recruiting activities. Key to note the university says the new penalties are not a result of new information. HC Pitino, "We fully support the university’s decisions. We will try to work twice as hard to get through these penalties. We will have to make the right decisions recruiting." - link, link
The first batch of student-athlete checks in the EA Sports settlement case are in the mail, pre-tax amounts range from $100 to $9,300. Former Florida State wide receiver Vanover, who was on the Seminoles 1993 National Championship squad & will receive the maximum amount, "With the amount of games they sold, this is just a slap on the wrist. But, hey, it’s more money than I had yesterday. … I’m not complaining. It’s a nice surprise for me. It’s a nice piece of change." - link
The conversation continues around the Big East after Villanova's thrilling MBB National Championship win on Monday night. Wildcats HC Wright, "I hope this gives us a place at the table because basketball is really important to all these schools, and, I think, I hope, that the Power Five folks can see that we're important to college basketball." Commish Ackerman, "I hope, now that we’re three years in and we’ve had this crowning moment, that people will begin to fully appreciate that the Big East can, and I hope still will, continue to be a basketball force." Units earned by the league in this year's Tourney are worth $19.1m. - link
Villanova Senior Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations Borillo, "It's amazing the difference one shot makes. I expect that in the coming months we'll see increased activity with our current sponsors as well as interest from new corporations that want to be associated with Villanova." Part of a larger piece on how the NC will impact Nova, admissions, ticket sales & donations also touched-on. AD Jackson expects a "moderate increase" to licensing revenue, hopes to grow Twitter following to 100k by tomorrow. - link
Appalachian State AD Gillin met with the media on his one-year anniversary of getting to work in Boone, states his core four values for the department moving forward of academic integrity, social responsibility, competitive excellence and a world-class experience for student-athletes. Full cost of attendance will be executed for FB, MBB & WBB, plus has a three-year plan to fully-fund scholarships for all sports, which will then allow for COA for the rest of the Mountaineers portfolio. COA for the initial three programs will cost $384k. Within the next year will investigate if 20 sports is the right number for ASU, develop a facilities master plan & review the department's branding. - link
Delaware doesn't have a permanent AD & has an open MBB HC spot, yet won't make a move on the latter until the former is squared away. Interim AD Robinson was in Houston to chat with candidates, "The people that I spoke with, the timeline didn’t deter anyone from communicating that they would love to be a candidate for the position." Noted in the article is the upcoming signing period that runs from April 13 to May 18. Says he's kept the Blue Hens student-athletes in the loop, excited about some names who are interested, "The process is what it is." - link
Two Big 12 ADs, West Virginia's Lyons & Oklahoma's Castiglione, submitted op-eds in the last couple of days on their perspective on the industry. Lyons advocates for support of student-athletes off the courts & fields of play, outlines all his department does to prepare them for life after college athletics, "They see us at their practices, their games, their team meetings and team functions -- not just after big wins." (link); Castiglione communicated a similar message on the eve of the National Championship, "So as Houston hosts this American sports treasure, let's not only celebrate what's happening in one sport and one division and one city but also the student-athlete success that is happening around the country today, and for generations to come." (link)
Learfield was on the move yesterday, announced as the new multimedia rights partner at Arkansas State with an initial 10-year deal. Learfield boss Brown & Red Wolves AD Mohajir both excited about the partnership, Red Wolves Sports Properties to be created immediately. (link); Learfield also added two VPs, former sales manager for FOX Sports South/FOX Sports Southeast Network Steck climbs aboard as VP for National Sales in the Southeast, also, Front Row Marketing Services & CBS Collegiate Sports Properties executive Bradshaw becomes VP for the East Region. (link)
From the New York Times, "F.A.A. Loosens United Airlines’ Grip on Newark Air Travel." United was trying to buy additional landing & takeoff rights at Newark from Delta, but it's a moot point now as the FAA removed restrictions altogether, "The F.A.A.’s action opens up Newark to more robust competition and achieves the very outcome we sought in litigation: protecting consumers from United’s plan to enlarge its monopoly at Newark." - link
HC developments: So, technically, new UNLV MBB HC Beard's contract has not been approved by the Nevada Board of Regents yet & while it seems likely to get done, the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Anderson reviews the situation & there's some angst within the leadership (link); James Madison's student newspaper writes on AD Bourne's use of Eddie Fogler for his MBB HC search, "I work through the [athletic director’s] profile — it’s what he wants, not what I want." (link); The Baltimore Sun's Barker reports that Maryland paid Chuck Neinas $50k for assistance in its FB HC search (link); Former Western Kentucky MBB HC Harper wasn't off the board for long, will take over at Jacksonville State (link).
More on the exit of Nebraska WBB HC Yori, former five-year DOBO Bethea says she filed a discrimination complaint against Yori this year, which was technically submitted before the internal investigation started in Lincoln. "Well, the official statement is I left for personal reasons, but I’m filing a case, so I think that’s pretty clear-cut right there." Also, "In this whole mayhem and this whole scandal, if you want to call it that, it has to be taken into context (the players are) still 18- to 22-year-old kids, young ladies, who are going through a difficult time right now, and to have that questioned by other people I think is unfair." - link
Surely not: A bill in the Louisiana House of Representatives would limit state schools, except for LSU, from traveling outside of a 375-mile radius to compete in athletics events other than FB & hoops. Louisiana Lafayette AD Farmer, "At this time, we are trying to obtain more information on it’s background, intended purpose, and potential impact to our department. Until such information is obtained, it would be inappropriate to comment further." - link
Penn rolls out its re-branding campaign dubbed "Champion Your Life." Five core values: Aiming Big, Character First, Humility, Enjoyment and Community Matters. AD Calhoun brought in London-based branding specialist Popp to assist with the process. Athletics coordinator Martin, "The benchmark is unification." Senior Assoc. AD for External Affairs Reina, "I think one thing that’s really important is that we’ve got to be more acutely aware of what our opportunity is to engage today’s students with our sports teams today." - link
Michigan MBB HC Beilein comments further on his decision to place - and then remove - transfer restrictions on two student-athletes leaving his program, says being the Wolverines HC means every decision is going to be scrutinized, "Down the road, you might say that was a mistake back then, or that was the right move back then. You can’t worry about those things. You’ve got to do what your values tell you you should be doing." Notes that he did talk to AD Manuel in the process, "he was very helpful to me." - link
A Maryland judge denied summary judgement in an NCAA lawsuit in connection to the unfortunate passing of former Frostburg State (DIII) FB student-athlete Sheely back in 2013, which means a full trial could happen in June. Chief Legal Officer Remy, "The NCAA respectfully disagrees with the Montgomery County Circuit Court's ruling. We believe the court's findings are not consistent with laws concerning athletic organizations in Maryland or throughout the country." Lots more. - link
SportsBusiness Journal's Ourand reports Facebook is closing in a business model that would allow leagues, teams & brands to make money from its streaming platform, Facebook Live. Head of Global Sports Partnerships Reed, "We intend, in the very near term, to implement a sustainable monetization solution and a business model so that rights holders and properties can establish a business in this new format." As noted here before, Live is a big part of Facebook's plans moving forward. - link
The Frozen Four begins today in Tampa & North Dakota fans will wear Fighting Sioux gear in droves even as UND goes through a nickname & branding change. AD Faison notes how passionate his fan base is, but believes they'll don the new threads, too. (link); Quinnipiac has won more games than any other program since the start of the 2013 season, both Boston College HC York & Denver HC Montgomery marvel at the speed & quality of QU's build (link).
Former Oregon State AD & current Michigan adviser De Carolis commented on the Pac-12 Networks situation in a radio interview yesterday, "I don't know what's gone wrong with it, but I know it's not distributing the money it was supposed to deliver. That's not good. I know a lot of schools were banking on that when they were building facilities." Further pointed to the trade off of travel & game times for revenue that hasn't been realized yet & is frustrating to coaches & leadership. - link
Texas Prez Fenves also talked some TV earlier this week in an interview with the Amarillo Globe-News, asked about comments by Oklahoma Prez Boren on the Longhorn Network's role in the current Big 12 dynamics, "From my perspective, I’m very satisfied with the conference. That being said, intercollegiate sports is a very dynamic environment. There are lots of changes taking place in viewership and how fans are able to have access to sporting events. There are big changes taking place in the distribution of television, of live sports, and so it’s part of the responsibility of the conference to look at all these factors to make sure we’re going to continue to be successful as a major athletic conference." - link
Legal team behind former Cal MBB AC Hufnagel released 900 text messages between their client & a sports reporter that has alledged Hufnagel harassed her. "There was a mutual flirtation that occurred. It was not only welcome by the complainant, but often was initiated by her, it was continued by her, and it went on for some period of time." Also argues there was no physical contact between the pair. "He wants his reputation back, he wants his job back, and he should have that." - link
With the announcement earlier in the week that COO Staggs will exit, who was believed to be a top candidate to succeed CEO Iger, Disney's future leadership plans are a bit muddy now. This WSJ piece reviews some possible scenarios, including the possibility that Iger stays in place beyond his scheduled 2018 retirement, also mentions ESPN Prez Skipper as an option, though he has little experience with the company's entertainment businesses outside of sports. Other internal candidates exist or Disney could go outside. - link
Also noticed: Not to be left out of the op-ed effort, NCAA Prez Emmert did the same in the Indy Star on Tuesday, similar messaging as Lyons & Castiglione (link); Per SBJ's Ourand, "UConn-Syracuse women's basketball championship on ESPN had the fourth biggest audience on cable TV last night and averaged 2.972M viewers." (link); More sexual harassment claims at Cal & Chancellor Dirks responds (link, link); All fantasy sports, including the daily paid variety, have been outlawed in Tennessee (link); The new $9m Jayhawks Tennis Center at Kansas is on-schedule for completion this Fall (link); Missed this last week, but Northwestern opened its new Rocky & Berenice Miller Park as Baseball hosted Michigan & it looks quite sharp (link); More construction notes as Mississippi State hopes to build a new Dudy Noble Field starting in June of 2017 (link); Another marching band director is placed on administrative leave, this time it's at LSU (link).
Michigan State Assistant AD for Administration, Kevin Pauga, who created the KPI Rankings during his stint with the Spartans MBB program, continues chatting on the topic of MBB scheduling. Today's 1.Q starts with the competitive advantage some programs currently have by using advanced data & scheduling models. Today's 1.Q ends with thoughts on another of Kevin's projects, the #ManagerGames that received a bunch of publicity this post-season, thanks to ESPN's Jay Bilas & others. Listenby clicking the link. - link (length - 8:13)
