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St. Bonaventure brass select Kenney as new AD, heads to Olean after 11 years at UMass including the last four-plus as Executive Assoc. AD, excelled on the fundraising front during his time with the Minutemen including securing the department's first $10m+ gift, Bonnies Prez Carney thrilled to hire someone of Kenney's caliber, spent a good amount of time earlier in his career at Stony Brook - link
Iowa State AD Pollard underwent bypass surgery last night after suffering a heart attack on Monday, UNI AD Dannen spent time with Pollard that night in a Cedar Falls hospital, FB HC Rhoads says he's talked to Pollard & described him as "alert & stable," Pollard appreciative of all the support & prayers, Cyclones Prez Leath appointed Senior Assoc. AD Harris as acting AD - link
Watch: Full presser of new Missouri AD Rhoades being introduced in Columbia, "This is not a fixer-upper, OK? I'm coming to a great place, but also leaving a great place...The one thing we will never compromise on is integrity & compliance. We're going to win & we're going to do it the right way. We certainly aren't going to cut corners." Also indicates he'll spend his first couple of months listening & learning - link
San Jose Mercury News reporter Wilner continues his series on the Pac-12's TV situation, reviews rising expenses for league members including new autonomy measures & possible fall-out from the O'Bannon case that combined could add up to $3m per year to the budgets of member institutions, notes the high cost of operating the Pac-12 Networks as the conference distributed $106m less than what they produced - link
Houston Prez Khator on the Cougars AD search, "We will move forward to find a dynamic leader who will take our athletics program to the next level," chairman of the Board of Regents Fertitta says UH is likely looking for someone with prior AD experience, USA Today reporter Wolken tweets sitting ADs in the MAC, Sun Belt & Conference USA would be interested, also notes candidacy of COO Yurachek - link, link
UCLA's new basketball training & performance center will be named after notble music industry executive & philanthropist Morris 'Mo' Ostin after he committed a $10m gift to the Bruins, Ostin calls UCLA hoops, "an iconic & uniquely Los Angeles institution," overall project will cost between $30m & $40m with $15m already accounted for, goal is to break ground is this Fall - link
Gonzaga AD Roth recounts series of decisions in 1998 that he believes helped the Bulldogs surge onto the national scene, included a commitment to spend $20k per game to broadcast match-ups on a regional sports network, "Oh my god, it was a ton of money," pushing to upgrade their schedule to play a number of high-profile names, changing the Zags logo & color scheme, as well as working to retaining then-AC & current HC Few - link
Georgia Tech Senior Assoc. AD Bamford is reportedly a candidate for the open AD spot at UMass & may have already interviewed, has strong roots in New England including a tenure at Yale where he broke into the industry & worked his way up the ladder, article also mentions former Rhode Island AD McElroy as a possible candidate for the Minutemen - link
Passed along in a special follow-up yesterday, Duke AD White & Big 12 Commish Bowlsby penned an opinion piece for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, provided perspective on the true aim of college athletics & how only a small minority of student-athletes participate in FB & MBB, "Largely because of football & basketball, however, the world of college athletics is in turmoil," take on common misconceptions & comment on the reality of possible sport cuts with expenses continuing to increase, lots more - link
Las Vegas seems to be the right spot for the Pac-12 MBB Tourney that will start today, ESPN personality Walton effusive on the mix of the popular entertainment destination with Pac-12 hoops, Arizona AD Byrne naturally loves the strong Wildcats support contingent that will invade the city, Zona fan Repp notes so many things to do when not watching games & timing of the event right at the start to spring break - link
Long, but excellent read from CBSSports.com on the challenging path of former Butler MBB stand-out Smith who dealt with an abnormal growth on his neck while playing in Lithuania that ended up being cancerous, multiple bouts of chemo, a near death experience detailed by the minute & comments by former Bulldogs HC Stevens on Smith's survival - link
Iowa's Presidential Committee on Athletics discussed gender equity with Hawkeyes AD Barta, committee member & history professor Vlastos says the school is losing in the court of public opinion, Barta notes confidentiality of situation surrounding former Field Hockey HC Griesbaum & how discussions on HC behavior happen behind closed doors, Women's Tennis HC Dougherty does not believe portrayal of athletics is accurate - link
AL.com columnist Talty speculates on what Conference USA would do if they choose to push UAB out of the league, Rice AD Karlgaard foresees more realignment, though he calls it "minor," Atlantic Sun Commish Gumbart wants his league to stay flexible as it could hypothetically be a landing spot for the Blazers, Middle Tennessee AD Massaro has previously mentioned Liberty or James Madison as potential replacements - link
Arizona Asst. Professor of Higher Education Cabrera comments on the Oklahoma frat video of members singing a racist song that has been front & center news, Cabrera has conducted a number of studies interviewing white male college students about their views on race, not at all surprised at the development, does not believe racism is any worse in the South, only that it's a more open topic, notes the popularity of playing around with the N-word, lots more - link
Old Dominion's new deal with Under Armour is worth $400k annually, a 7x increase from their previous agreement with Nike, Virginia-Pilot obtained the contract through a FOIA request, FB, MBB & WBB get $325k to $350k credit for uniforms & equipment per year, competitive performance bonuses range from $5k to $100k, pact can be renegotiated immediately if the Monarchs join a 'Big 5' league - link
Conversation continues around possible changes to basketball that would reverse the downward scoring trends, Big 12 Commish Bowlsby notes the difficulty in getting rules altered, Kansas HC Self says it's easier to coach defense than offense & much of the current issues are simply a result of bad offense, Utah State AD Barnes thinks 'watchability' is a key piece, more - link
HC moves: SIU-Edwardsville will not renew the contract of MBB HC Forrester after eight seasons & a 81-146 cumulative record that included the Cougars transition from DII to DI; Utah Valley MBB HC Hunsaker will step away once the current season is complete after 13 years leading the Wolverines; Air Force set to find new leadership after announcing they will part ways with WBB HC Williams who went 22-128 in five seasons; North Texas also on the search as WBB HC Petersen will exit after a 5-24 campaign - link, link, link, link
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Oklahoma's Board of Regents approve $160m project to bowl-in the south end zone at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium that will also include new suites & club seating, AD Castiglione says the regents agreed to split the total $350m upgrades into two phases, Prez Boren emphasizes the Sooners aren't asking for any state monies, outlay to be paid for by bonds from ticket revenues - link
NBC News looks at the impact of success during March Madness, starts with UConn's overall growth since WBB started their dominant run, reviews situation at Butler, where AD Collier says corporate sponsorship & licensing revenue have grown exponentially thanks to MBB's high-profile run, also touches on George Mason & VCU, new IMG College Multimedia Prez Pernetti, "...it doesn't matter who you are or where you're seeded. When good things happen, it's a validation of the event." - link
Notable Arkansas alum/donor & owner of the Dallas Cowboys Jones still feisty as ever, suggested he & plaintiff attorney Avenatti take a courtroom argument outside during yesterday's proceedings on the seating drama around Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium, District Court Judge Lynn told the pair, "Stop. This is not hand-to-hand combat," Jones maintains his organization did everything possible to accomodate all ticket-holders throughout the process - link
Plaintiff lawyers in the O'Bannon case have decreased their request for fees down to under $50m (from $50.9m), still a long way from the less than $10m figure the NCAA is arguing for, says the NCAA is trying to re-litigate during the costs & fees phase that should be rejected "particularly given the NCAA's repeated refusals to produce any information about its own legal expenditures or time records in this case." - link
Sport Business Journal reviews gifts for MBB & WBB student-athletes participating in conference post-season play & the NCAA Tourney, Beats by Dre headphones highlight swag, teams that go all the way to the National Championships will rake in nearly $4k in gifts, Fossil watches part of Final Four package, online gift suites also popular that give student-athletes a wide selection to choose from, more - link
Also from SBJ, the NFL is projecting total revenue for the league to reach $12b next season, an increase of $1b thanks to TV escalators & the over-performance of local revenue as teams have heavily invested in the fan experience, which looks to be paying off, Jacksonville Jaguars say their haul increased by 25% last year during a 3-13 campaign, five years ago Commish Goodell challenged his league to get to $25b by 2027 - link
