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Horrible news out of Florida A&M as Interim AD Townsend died of an apparent heart attack yesterday morning, rushed to the hospital around 8:30a as he was preparing for a meeting, Prez Mangum, "The University lost a dear friend, excellent leader, & administrator," Townsend was 73 & had just taken over for the Rattlers on December 15th - link
Hiring process for new Pittsburgh AD could take months, Executive Vice Chancellor Cochran points to large number of leaders on the search committee who all need to thoroughly vet candidates to find the right fit, hire of former AD Peterson took five months, calls the role of an AD "significantly different than it was years ago," will likely hire a search firm, GAME, Inc. attorney Belzer adds comments - link
Watch: Wrap-up of introductory presser for new Ball State AD Sandy, calls the balance of the institutional mission & athletic excellence of the Mid-American Conference & Ball State his ideal in college athletics, Prez Ferguson selected Sandy from a deep pool, liked his breadth of experience & specifically his background in compliance, will begin in Muncie on February 1st - link
Utah FB HC Whittingham & AD Hill comment on situation that has been reported as tense between the two, Whittingham says his focus is on next season, but recognizes that his profession can be volatile at times, Hill says media portrayals got out of hand, notes the financial challenges of keeping up never ends, very confident the entire Utes portfolio is moving forward - link, link
Female Oregon student involved with sexual assault situation that included former MBB student-athletes last March files a Title IX lawsuit against the university & MBB HC Altman, UO Interim Prez Coltrane says the school "disagrees with the allegations...believes it acted in accordance with the law, including Title IX," suit also says former Prez Gottfredson knew about the allegations, but allowed the student-athletes to keep playing - link
Industry leader Lopiano pens blog on Title IX implications of the NCAA paying for parents of student-athletes in FB, MBB & WBB to attend National Championship events, says the decision was reactionary & not based on educational or gender equity principles, notes policy is heavily weighted for the benefit of male student-athletes, ultimately points to situation putting schools in Title IX compliance jeopardy - link
USA Today's Wolken looks at how both Oregon & Ohio State navigated NCAA troubles & maintained their highly-successful FB programs, most of the penalties leveraged on the Ducks were specific to former HC Kelly, Buckeyes HC Meyer says plainly that you should be able to bounce-back quickly at a place like Ohio State, Nebraska law professor & former COI member Potuto questions integrity of match-up - link
Coinciding with official announcement as Miami's new apparel provider, Adidas took over the ESPN.com homepage with a reskin celebrating their new partnership, Hurricanes AD James says decision was based partially on an increased financial commitment as the school looks to cover the cost of likely autonomy upgrades, separately notes his push to build an indoor FB practice facility - link, link
North Dakota State AD Larsen talks about his first interaction with the Bison's strong fan support at the 2012 National Championship game, expects the same for Saturday's FCS title match-up with Illinois State, likes to get out & watch practice, impressed with balance of business-like approach by team while still enjoying the experience - link
Supporters hoping to save UNC-Wilmington Track & Field will get a chance to meet with Interim Chancellor Sederburg, AD Bass & several members of the Board of Trustees next Tuesday, Sederbugh previously said the move is "99 percent a done deal," over $131k has reportedly been raised in an effort to keep the program active - link
Great read on a spring 2011 meeting at the Dallas Country Club that included Cotton Bowl leaders Baker & Bain, along with then-BCS Executive Director Hancock where possible blueprints for a new post-season for college FB were reviewed, eventually led to Arlington hosting Monday night's National Championship, also covers the personal histories & friendships within the trio - link
A day late, but important as the Knight Commission released results of a study that surveyed college athletic leaders on a number of possible industry changes including conference alignment by sport, number of scholarships offered & sustainability concerns, surveyed 55 DI leaders from three states across the fabric of the DI landscape, ADs, FARs, HCs, SWAs & Presidents all involved - link (short recap), link (full study)
ESPN releases details on their broadcast of Monday's College FB Playoff National Championship, traditional telecast to air on ESPN, alternate views available on ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, as well as Goal Line & Deportes, HCs Mullen from Mississippi State, Riley from Nebraska & Pitt's Narduzzi will be a part of the Film Room, ESPN3 to have options integrating home radio calls, more - link
Wake Forest AD Wellman brings Muuss back to Winston-Salem to lead the Demon Deacons Men's Soccer program, Muuss served as an AC for the team from 2001-2007 before moving on to Denver as HC for the past eight seasons, was a key part of Wake's 2007 National Championship run, won 74 games at the helm of the Pioneers with two Summitt League regular season & tourney championships - link
Interim Marshall Prez White a staunch supporter of Thundering Herd athletics, significant experience with the school's Board of Governors, state education & state legislature are all key as the funding model for the school relies on important state support, embraces athletics as crucial to a well-rounded institution, notes the need for a new Baseball stadium, excited to work with AD Hamrick - link
Outgoing Air Force AD Mueh recaps how incoming AD Knowlton called him prior to his interview & asked a lot of the right questions, says it was evident Knowlton had done his homework & was correctly piecing together the Falcons situation, was the only candidate to call Mueh, excited to pass leadership of the department along to someone he feels confident will succeed, says pair will continue to exchange emails - link
Wisconsin likely to raise MBB season ticket prices for next season by $3 per game in the lower bowl & $1 per game in the Kohl Center's upper deck, AD Alvarez says it's only the second increase in the last 10 years & is a necessary move, math works out to a 4.5% to 12.5% bump depending on location, article includes comparison chart on MBB ticket prices around the Big Ten - link
Former Iowa Field Hockey HC Griesbaum appears on River to River show on Iowa Public Radio, says every time she watches MBB HC McCaffrey coach, "his actions are more egregious in a matter of an hour & a half than mine have been in 22 years," asks why she couldn't hold her student-athletes accountable when Men's HCs obviously do the same, VP for Strategic Communications Brennan also commented - link
The Patriot League & Patriot League Sports Properties ink Best Western as their Official Hotel Partner, Best Western Manager of Strategic Partnerships Powell knows her brand can deliver enjoyable, relaxing experiences, Patriot League Executive Director Schlie Femovich excited about opportunity for fans & member institutions - link
Interesting read on a micro-fundraising campaign implemented by Nevada fan Compton that he believes will raise enough to pay for a new scoreboard & sound system in Mackay Stadium in time for the 2015 FB season, built donation teams in cities around the state with individual goals, started project last May, expects to turn-in $1.5m to AD Knuth by the middle of next month to order a new scoreboard, more - link
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President Obama set to roll-out details on massive college support bill that would pick up the tab for millions of community college students, will appear today & discuss the initiative at Pellissippi State Community College in Tennessee, dubbed the 'American College Promise Plan' & modeled after a similar program in Tennessee, students would have to attend at least half time & maintain a 2.5 GPA, lots more - link
South Carolina FB HC Spurrier with a prescient comment on the facility arms race in college FB during a Tuesday interview, "Some day, we're all going to have big, fancy beautiful facilities, & guess what? Somebody is still going to lose." Article wonders if there's a point of diminishing returns on the millions of investment - link
New Mexico State Prez Carruthers & new AD Moccia detail growth plans for the Aggies, Carruthers says game attendance & fundraising have to take steps forward, but also wants Moccia to keep in mind the school's caring community, Moccia anxious to get feedback from a number of parties so he can start to understand how to implement improvements, knows the Aggie Athletic Club is a hot topic - link
Diverse Issues in Higher Education looks at the true development of student-athletes at big-time college FB programs, from the Black Student Athlete Conference sponsored by the African American Male Research Institute at Texas, Arizona State Senior Assoc. AD Boyd says less than 5% of administrator's time is spent thinking about student-athletes, Ohio State Assoc. Provost Moore notes the power of HCs over their players, more - link
Minnesota-Duluth Chancellor Black says decision to not renew contract of Women's Hockey HC Miller was not all about money, notes other factors, but declines to detail them specifically, acknowledges that communication of the move could have been executed better, points to a thoroughly reviewed situation & confidence that the right outcome was reached - link
Construction on South Dakota State's Coughlin-Alumni Stadium continues despite freezing temperatures, new digs will be renamed in 2016 to Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium once all upgrades are complete, east stands staying put for now so a big hole doesn't fill up with snow over the winter, capacity to increase to 16k, AD Sell hopes to move needle on season tickets from 3,500 to 5,000 - link
Tennessee AD Hart says he hasn't heard anything from the NCAA for weeks on the investigation into possible improprieties by MBB HC Tyndall during his tenure at Southern Miss, does not expect to receive a notice of allegations anytime soon, has been impressed with Tyndall's ability to put together a roster & effectively coach his squad - link
Virginia Delegate Cox to sponsor legislation that would cap the amount of student fees athletic departments in the state could generate, points to student fees as one reason tuition has accelerated sharply since 2002, athletics fees make up 12% of total costs paid by students at 15 state universities, goal is for athletic departments to fund at least half of their budgets with self-generated monies - link
Panini America squares-away deal with nearly 200 CLC schools & aligns the college trading card category with rights from professional player associations that will allow for cards of current pros to be featured in their collegiate uniforms, also gives Panini rights to key logos & marks, special cards to start rolling-out this spring - link
