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Bradley AD Cross will step-away from the Braves department at the conclusion of the Missouri Valley WBB Tourney next month ending a five-year tenure, will depart Peoria with two years left on his contract, Prez Glasser also recently announced her plans to retire, Cross is credited with upgrading student-athlete academic performance, as well as department branding & marketing, but has been plagued by declining attendance for MBB & sub-par financial results - link
Learfield Sports announces the creation of 'Learfield Licencing Partners' that will now serve as the brand home for recent acquisitions Licensing Resource Group (LRG) & Strategic Marketing Affiliates (SMA), CEO Brown says the move continues his company's strategic plan of growing extended business lines, former LRG CEO Hardy will serve as Chairman of the newly combined entity with former SMA CEO Bernard filling role of Prez & CEO, both will report to Learfield COO Jenkins - link
Alabama reports a $33m surplus from their 2013-14 budget cycle, up from being $27.2m in the black during 2012-13, continues streak of 10 straight years with a surplus, FB alone produced $95.3m in revenue & a $53.3m positive result, royalties, TV, broadcast, internet rights & contributions all increased, ticket sales for both FB & MBB were actually down a touch, more - link
Wake Forest reels in $4m gift from former FB & Baseball student-athlete Couch that will go toward the Demon Deacons Baseball program & the department's new Sports Performance Center, Baseball portion will push forward $9m of facility enhancements including a new clubhouse & a renovation of the home dugout, Couch is CEO of Blue Ridge Companies, one of the area's top real estate developers - link
Former Notre Dame WBB student-athlete Robinson Keyes & her husband, also a former Notre Dame student-athlete, donate $5m to the Fighting Irish to endow the WBB HC position, Northwestern AD Phillips believes endowing coaching positions is a great way to preserve "broad-based programs in a variety of sports, not just the revenue sports," also says endowment agreements in his department come with an unwritten rule that it won't give the donor undue influence - link, link
Penn State's recent financial results included Men's Hockey excelling on the revenue front generating nearly $4.4m in their second season overall & first in the Big Ten, ticket sales accounted for $1.5m, Canadian sports giant TSN correspondent Westhead, "Penn State's success is (a) model for new hockey program at Arizona State. Other sunbelt schools also eyeing adding hockey." - link, link
Michigan Interim AD Hackett will ask the university's Board of Regents permission on Thursday to move forward with the demolition of the Edwards Brothers Malloy building to make way for the new $168m Athletics South Competition & Performance project, site clean-up & preparation work could be done by the end of April, facility is being funded by a $100m naming gift from Miami Dolphis owner Ross & athletic department resources - link
New Ball State AD Sandy's path to Muncie chronicled, excited to join a FBS institution where student-athlete balance is a key focus, confident his previous experience as an AD will help make his transition quick & smooth, points to his wife as a key member of his transition team as she's a wonderful entertainer, wants to build his tenure around the student-athlete experience, increasing attendance & creating a winning culture - link
Watch: ESPN FB & MBB recruiting heads Haubert & Biancardi discuss if trend of prospective student-athletes not signing a NLI will become commonplace, Biancardi says "difference makers" can use their leverage to handle the commitment game in this manner, but doesn't see it as an option for others, Haubert says the fact of the matter is that programs aren't going to wait much on decisions to be made after the normal window, more - link
Controversial outlet Vice Sports publishes piece titled, 'The Gender Discrimination Lawsuit that Could Change College Sports Forever' & digs into the move by four Iowa Field Hockey student-athletes to file suit against the university on Title IX grounds, article is pretty one-sided & includes a number of comments by attorney Newkirk who is representing former Field Hockey HC Griesbaum, Hawkeyes AD Barta & the school's Title IX office did not comment for piece, stand by statement issued on situation - link
Fresno State gets a $150k commitment from a donor that will allow MBB & WBB to travel to two remaining road trips each using a charter aircraft, AD Bartko believes it's a big deal as academic & athletic performance should be enhanced, MBB will use it for jaunts to Utah State & Wyoming, normally a notoriously difficult commercial trip through Denver that's followed by a 3-hour bus ride to Laramie, both HCs comment positively - link
The Tennessean continues pushing on Tennessee AD Hart, reviews sexual assault situation during his tenure at Florida State that former FSU general counsel Steffens says was not handled correctly, a review by the school's inspector general found that athletic department policy at the time was for staffers to report an incident to their superior before notifying anyone else on campus, led to a change in policy that all such situations must be reported to law enforcement immediately, more - link
Opening weekend of the Baseball season with new, lower-seamed balls, shows an up-tick in offensive production, SEC programs accounted for 34 home runs in their first 43 combined games compared to 18 through the same number last year, ACC HR figures up as well, though Big 12 & Big Ten numbers were even or down, scoring was up on average to 11.52 runs per game from 10.4 on opening weekend in 2014 - link
Austin Mayor Adler says he's open-minded on the funding model that could see a new facility built in the city that would serve as home for Texas MBB & WBB as the Frank Erwin Center will be demolished in the coming years to make way Dell Medical School's expansion, Longhorns AD Patterson has been pushing for public involvement on the project that would add a large multi-purpose venue that the city does not currently have - link
Former Duke FB student-athlete & co-Founder of Logistical Athletic Solutions Maurides details growth of the company & their popular Teamwork platform that has nearly 800 clients in the college space, says motivation to build product was a direct solution to his trouble of keeping good track of his schedule during his time playing for the Blue Devils, started with $300k in seed money, currently working to build-out a version for high schools, more - link
Portland State AD Rountree names Howland Assoc. AD for External Affairs, heads back the Vikings department after a short stint at Oregon State, previously served as Asst. Director of Development at PSU, will now be charged with fundraising, donor relations, sponsorships, marketing, ticketing & other external responsibilities, also a former FB student-athlete at the university - link
Watch: Seton Hall MBB student-athlete Gibbs was assessed a flagrant foul 2 & ejected from last night's match-up with Villanova after hitting Wildcats student-athlete Arcidiacono in the face with a closed fist during a scrum for a loose ball, profusely apologized via social media after the game, Pirates HC Williard says he will address the issue with his leading scorer - link
Mississippi State AD Stricklin says he's waiting for more information from Shorter Travel on the Aerodynamics (ADI) plane that lost engine power while ferrying the Bulldogs MBB squad back to Starkville after a game at Missouri & had to make an emergency landing, Clarion-Ledger reported ADI received a letter from the Department of Transportation that stated its CEO was unfit to run an aviation company, HC Ray just concerned about student-athlete welfare - link
Fundraising staffers at North Carolina & North Carolina State comment on their department's approaches to covering additional expenses incurred by full cost-of-attendance, UNC Director of Annual Campaigns Fulton says giving levels were increased for the first time in 10 years to help offset costs, NC State Assoc. Executive Director of the Wolfpack Club Wood notes that no major on-going facility projects will be impacted, both talk about how they are informing donors, more - link
Tennessee FB HC Jones takes exception to the term 'spread offense', says everyone uses it, but that there's no standard definition, thinks opponents will sell against a school by calling it a West Coast offense, also believes a spread offense can mean a finesse approach & wants to be clear that his offensive units will never be without a strong running approach - link
Lehigh Athletics, along with the school's Pride Center, are set to host the first-ever LGBTQ Equality Night at MBB's game against Bucknell later this month, programming will include a pre-game rally with food & drinks that may also feature a speaker, student Jean-Pierre started working on the event after seeing a similar integration at Colgate, says it shows his school is ready to move forward - link
Hawaii's student newspaper, The Voice Kaleo, wonders why outgoing AD Jay is leading the campus discussion on possible sport program cuts when he's set to exit at the end of June, instead of potentially increasing student fees to help fix the budget situation for athletics, calls for further support from the state legislature, "they need to put their money where their mouth is & support the program financially" - link
HC moves: Ball State AD Sandy makes his first HC hire by appointing alum Northcroft as HC of the Cardinals Field Hockey program, coming back to the States after a four-year stint as AD & Field Hockey Coach at Brisbane Grammar School in Australia; USF parts ways with Women's Tennis HC Moreno as AD Harlan says reasoning was "for not meeting the standards expected of a head coach," Moreno led the Bulls to six NCAATourney appearances in 10 seasons - link, link
Ticker Inside a Ticker: Korn/Ferry International (KFY) closed at $30.35 on Friday (+0.14/0.46%) • Daily high/low ($30.43/$29.96) • 3-month high/low ($30.43/$25.93) • 6-month high/low ($30.82/$24.21) • 1-year high/low ($32.56/$23.23) • 5-year high/low ($32.56/$12.19) • Market cap ($1.53b) - link
