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Sports Illustrated's Staples with an impressive & comprehensive piece on the branding of 'Big 5' FB programs across the nation, interactive graphic (easiest on desktop) covers the brand positioning & what it should be for every school, also digs in to how Oregon created its high-profile status, as well as Tennessee's push with Nike on board now, UNLV's challenges under new FB HC Sanchez, the uniform combination craze & much more - link
Seven former Illinois WBB student-athletes have filed a $10m suit against WBB HC Bollant & former AC Divilbiss for creating a racially hostile environment, AD Thomas is also listed for not addressing the concerns of the student-athletes, includes a number of allegations including the coaches using more discipline on black players than white & describing predominantly black opponents as "undisciplined and unintelligent," Chancellor Wise notes the steps Thomas has already taken to monitor WBB - link
The lid is open, at least to the media, on potential Big 12 expansion & here are a handful of articles that may be of interest: Outkick the Coverage's Travis writes on the league needing to get to 14, create a league network & have Texas exit the Longhorn Network (link); Orlando Sentinel's Bianchi says simply, "If O'Leary gets UCF into the Big 12, he should be AD for life (link); Former Tulsa World writer Sittler via Twitter, "Despite Bowlsby's comment, logic suggests OU Prez Boren could get 9-1 vote in favor of expansion. Big 12's survival critical for 8 schools" (link)
Tennessee's move to Nike is complete as the pair rolled-out all new unis yesterday as part of the relationship in a full-blown production format, Nike execs were in Knoxville to talk about the new looks for the Vols, student-athletes modeled their new digs down a runway as the show also included interviews with HCs, many of whom were quick to note the recruiting benefits, filler hype pieces & more - link (release), link (SWOOSH Show)
New Mexico AD Krebs inks a new four-year deal that could keep him in Albuquerque through the 2018-19 seasons, already the longest tenured Mountain West AD entering his 10th year, base will be $319k with another $70k in potential incentives, believes the Lobos have never been better positioned, but says there are still challenges, Prez Frank points to the academic success of athletics under Krebs - link
William & Mary alum & former student-athlete Thompson commits a $3.5m gift to be earmarked for WBB, says traditionally Women's sports are under-supported & wants others to follow her lead, served on the school's Committee of Competitive Excellence that called for more funding for athletics, also highly involved in other elements on the Williamsburg campus, "at William and Mary, the kids are truly students first, athletes second" - link
West Virginia AD Lyons says renewing the 'Backyard Brawl' with Pittsburgh is one of his top priorities in scheduling, thinks it's a great thing for all involved & for college FB as a whole, article notes neither has an open out-of-conference opportunity until 2017, expects to sit down with new Panthers AD Barnes to try & make something work - link
Arkansas Little Rock AD Conque unveils new branding for the Trojans, wants to "build an identity as Little Rock's team," includes a primary mark that includes the traditional Trojan head & a secondary version with 'Little Rock Trojans' in maroon & silver, process took several months & reaffirms the athletic department's commitment to student-athletes, coaches & the community - link
More on President Obama's decision to raise the minimum salary wage for employees to earn overtime pay, Indiana Department of Workforce Development spokesman Frank said he's never seen business groups come out so quickly in opposition to an issue, the fear, of course, is the increase in the cost of doing business, former Notre Dame labor economist Ghilarducci says it will only impact companies who are "bottom feeders," more - link
Anthony Travel Prez & CEO Anthony covers a number of key topics around staging international FB match-ups with SportsBusiness Daily, says of the 2012 match-up between Notre Dame & Navy, "it's going to turn out to be life-changing for college football and certain countries," expects a sell-out for the 2016 Boston College-Georgia Tech tilt in Ireland, notes his use of Twitter to keep up with developments around the Icelandic volcano that impacted Penn State-UCF last year, more - link
New Mexico State AD Moccia makes a move with his Deputy AD spot by hiring Savage from SIU where he has served in a similar role for the Salukis since 2010, former Deputy AD McCollum will stay with the department as a liaison with former student-athletes, Moccia & Savage have a shared history back to their days at Missouri, Moccia also says a GM hire for the Aggies new Learfield Sports property could be happening soon - link
With Savage's exit for Las Cruces & a couple of other departures from his development staff, SIU AD Bell plans to restructure the department & will not replace all four openings, "It's kind of a unique storm, but, first off, I'm very excited for those guys...Everybody made decisions that were in the best interests of their families, so, totally understand that," expects to announce changes by early August, calls the hiring process compressed, but good timing - link
San Jose State AD Bleymaier plucks Waller away from the Mountain West office to become Senior Assoc. AD for Business Operations, spent the past two years as Senior Assoc. Commish/CFO with the league after a 24-year stint at Boise State where he spent half that time as Assoc. AD & CFO, Bleymaier excited to add someone of Waller's caliber - link
With fewer FB guaranteed pay days FAU's 2015-16 budget has decreased by 3.9% to $26.34m, AD Chun has publicly stated his desire to dial back the number of such engagements for his Owls as they'll only play one next season, at Florida, after traveling to Nebraska & to Alabama last year, for the first time FB will have six on-campus home games including the season-opener against Miami - link
The unique FB match-up in 2016 between Tennessee & Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway has seen tickets move briskly, the Vols quickly sold-out of their 40k allotment & the Hokies are well on the way to doing the same, BMS has another 70k they're moving & facility EVP & GM Caldwell has been surprised at the number of fans buying who don't really have an allegiance & simply want to take in such a neat event, does not believe many tix will be left by next summer - link
Interesting read from ESPN on the history of strength & conditioning programs that have become an important element of athletic departments nationwide, Nebraska's Epley pointed to as the tipping point in the early 1970s, data shows weights & speeds of FB student-athletes have progressively upgraded, Epley notes, "I had no idea what the opportunity was back then," weight rooms are now very much a part of the 'arms race' - link
We all use cellular data by the truckload every single day & the race for your (or your athletic department's) allegiance is one of the fiercest business battles in today's landscape, introduction of LTE-U network could change the game as it runs off the same global pipes as Wi-fi, by 2019 Americans are expected to consume 10x more mobile data than just last year, profits in the billions are at stake between wireless carriers & the cable industry with Wi-fi at the center - link
Footwear industry expert Powell takes a good look at the Nike announcement yesterday of a succession plan to co-founder & Chairman Knight, notes the health of the company that has an incredible 62.7% share of the U.S. sneaker biz, runs down the list of potential CEOs once current leader Parker transitions to Chairman, says Marketing Chief Edwards, Prez of Geographies & Sales Hill & COO Sprunk could all be in the mix - link
The interview everyone is talking about as Michigan FB HC Harbaugh joined ESPN's Colin Cowherd yesterday in a session that can only be described as uncomfortable or awkward, via Twitter Harbaugh later said, "In my experience of participating in interviews, I've found it takes 2 to produce a clunker! I'll take 50% responsibility 4 this clunker." - link, link
Purdue AD Burke knows the pressure is on his FB program to move forward with a more successful upcoming campaign, "We're competitive people. We'll take that pressure." Notes the state of the program when he decided to make a HC change, thinks the Boilermakers roster is more filled-out now with Big Ten-caliber student-athletes, "You've got to do it the right way. You've got to build a foundation." Calls the strategic planning behind FB "20-20" & looks to include facility upgrades & John Purdue Club advances - link
Former Rider Softball HC Carroll has filed a Title IX suit against the university claiming she was dismissed in 2014 after complaining about the level of support women's programs received in comparison to men's, Carroll won three conference championships with the Broncs, points to larger coaching staffs, locker rooms closer to playing fields & more scholarship monies for men, no major comment by the university on the matter - link
Akron Prez Scarborough has consistently been in the news for the past couple of months & earlier this week said he "would not have built that stadium," referring to InfoCision Stadium which serves as home for Zips FB. The program recorded the lowest attendance last season for all FBS programs, annual debt service for the facility is $4.3m, Scarborough also said his search for a new AD will be focused on hiring, fundraising, budgeting & planning skills - link
Yesterday was a big day for SIDEARM Sports as the leading web partner rolled-out 13 new sites including five for 'Big 5' institutions, 11 more coming in the next two months, continues adding to its portfolio, Prez & CEO Rubin appreciative of his team's efforts & his company's alignment with Learfield, Learfield Chief Content Officer Ferreira calls SIDEARM "incredibly talented" & a solid addition to the breadth of services offered - link
