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Oklahoma Prez Boren with comments that stirred up college athletics yesterday on the potential of further Big 12 expansion after he said he's an advocate for a 12-member league, notes there's a careful process that would have to take place to find the right additions, in response Big 12 Commish Bowlsby says he does not get the sense that most Presidents feel adding schools is the right move & that Boren may have simply been voicing his personal opinion - link, link
USA Today's Berkowitz with a timely piece on the movement of schools bringing all its sponsorship rights, campus, athletics & more, under one roof, Cal announced yesterday a 10-year $4m deal with solar energy partner Sungevity as part of the new University Partnership Program overseen by former Golden Bears Deputy AD Fulp, notes situations at Kentucky, Washington, Ohio State & Arizona State, JMI Sports Prez Stultz says athletics are still a key player, but some sponsors want more access to campus, more - link
New Oregon State AD Stansbury officially introduced in Corvallis, Prez Ray says Stansbury fits OSU's DNA & is the perfect person to lead the Beavers, signed a five-year deal that includes a $500k base salary & another $135k in bonus potential, key quotes, "Athletics are a gateway to a better life. They are a tool to develop young people who will go out and change the world," also, "Our focus is going to be, 'What are you doing after graduation?'...(We will) grab the hearts of these young people and teach them it's possible to do more than they thought possible" - link, link
The NCAA, NBA & NABC have come together on a new rule proposal that would allow MBB underclassmen to declare for the draft, go through the pre-draft combine & receive feedback from NBA officials on their positioning before deciding whether or not to return to school during a 10-day window, student-athletes would still be prohibited from signing with an agent, membership will vote on the issue in January & if passed it could go into place next year - link
North Carolina MBB HC Williams says he's not overly concerned about the Tar Heels on-going academic situation because "It's been so bad already. It can't be any worse than it is. Every step we take is a move toward completion." Still expresses frustration of being in the current position & points to the high number of investigators involved, but knows he didn't do anything wrong, contract extension wasn't a personal validation, but good for his friends - link
Virginia Baseball HC O'Connor after his program's first National Championship in a really, really long time & the first for the ACC since the 1950s as the Cavaliers backed their way into the NCAA Tourney after losing three of four games in league post-season play & having to travel to Lake Elsinore as a three-seed, "It's amazing what a group of guys that say together and play for each other and don't give up can accomplish." UVA also the first ACC member to win Men's titles in Baseball, Soccer & Tennis in the same year - link, link
North Carolina AD Cunningham hires Moore as Senior Assoc. AD & SWA after an 11-year stint at Oklahoma to replace retiring leader Miller, Cunningham says Moore has been a part of an excellent leadership team at OU & comes with a resume strong on improving the student-athlete experience, academics & counseling, Moore most recently served as Senior Assoc. AD for Student Life & Strategic Planning with the Sooners - link
Interim Syracuse AD Sala will get a new job & title once new AD Coyle starts on July 6th, previously held the position of Managing Director of the Carrier Dome that included oversight of all athletic facilities for the Orange, set to become VP & Chief Campus Facilities Officer, Chancellor Syverud recognizes Sala's contributions in the Interim role & says his university knowledge will help create a "top-quality overall campus" - link
Alabama FB DC Smart gets a pay bump to $1.5m that keeps him in the top tier of ACs around the nation along with LSU OC Cameron & Texas A&M DC Chavis, five other Crimson Tide ACs received increases, but not OC Kiffin who is at $680k, though partly because of his deal at former employer USC, total AC salary pool up to $5.32m in Tuscaloosa - link
ESPN's FiveThirtyEight updated data on the best & worst airports in the States last week based on the time saved or added to customer travel by using a respective airport, DFW, New York's pair & Logan in Boston have the greatest gains, but all three are still in the bottom eight, Honolulu takes over the top spot, Portland, San Diego, Tampa & Salt Lake City round-out the Top 5 - link
In addition to his comments on potential league expansion, Oklahoma Prez Boren also said yesterday that he continues to be against the addition of beer & alcohol sales at Sooner FB home games, "I don't think it creates a very good gameday environment. That's my view." Adds that he doesn't have alcohol in his suite during games, OU AD Castiglione well aware of developments elsewhere, notes there hasn't been discussion either way in Norman - link
More Oklahoma as the school's Board of Regents approved an additional $105m for upgrades to Owen Field, bowling in the south end zone, as well as adding suites & premium seating, will begin quickly after the 2015 season is complete as AD Castiglione points to a very tight construction timeline, Prez Boren says fundraising for the project is going well & that athletics has saved $25m for the effort - link
Learfield Sports & Game Theory Group come together to give student-athletes access to some of the biggest corporate brands in a key move for professional placement, Learfield EVP & Chief Revenue Officer Rawlings says his team hears all the time that sponsors would like a deeper integration with student-athletes who bring a highly attractive skill set to the table for all sorts of companies - link
HC moves: Illinois AD Thomas hires Perry as Softball HC, Perry on the move again after HC stops at Ball State, Western Kentucky & Birmingham Southern in the past couple of years (link); Eastern Illinois AD Michael tabs Anderson as his new Baseball HC after three seasons serving as Pitching Coach for the Panthers (link); UT Rio Grande Valley AD King will be on the search for a new Men's Golf HC after Kirakossian exits to become an AC at Pepperdine (link)
Southern Miss AD McGillis confident in the direction of the Golden Eagles FB program & says the first order of business is becoming the best in Conference USA again, notes more adversity ahead for MBB, but impressed with the job of HC Sadler to date facing issues head-on, WBB on a solid trajectory after a WNIT appearance that saw record crowds at Reed Green Coliseum, Baseball expected to be Regional-caliber next year - link
SIU Edwardsville AD Hewitt says Senior Assoc. AD for External Affairs Coomer is "qualified and deserving" of the opportunity to become AD at Austin Peay where he's one of our finalists, "Like all of our family members here at SIUE we want Jason to reach his full potential...It would be a significant loss for our department, but a great step for Jason." Coomer has been with the Cougars since 2008 & in his current role since 2012 - link
VICE Sports digs-in on a topic that has been heavily debated over the last couple of years & asks if Yahoo's foray into streaming the NFL will be the jumping-off point for a sports TV revolution (note: Yahoo is reportedly asking for $200k for a :30 spot in their streaming broadcast in October - link), Variety correspondent Roettgers notes the reality of the lucrative TV situation for the NFL & why there's still little motivation to move away from the model even as viewing trends slowly migrate to mobile devices - link
Is this tweet from Memphis Prez Rudd yesterday coincidental given the comments by Oklahoma Prez Boren on possible Big 12 expansion? "Will be announcing new football & basketball facilities soon, stay tuned. Committed to competing at the highest level." Includes a rendering of what looks to be the new digs - link
Florida Atlantic leaders fully expect its FB home season-opener against Miami to sell-out as over 20,000 tickets have already been moved in the 29,419-capacity FAU Stadium, AD Chun, "This is an event and there's never been a game of his magnitude in Palm Beach County." Former FB HC & brand champion Schnellenberger says it's a great opportunity for the Owls to sell a lot of season tickets, early offer to season ticket holders to buy additional single-game tix resulted in $110k of revenue - link
With changes in the Big 12 on penalties around allowing fans to rush the court, Texas Tech AD Hocutt says his staff led by Assoc. AD for Facilities & Management Ryan are well equipped to handle the new guidelines, believes solid plans are in place & notes an unsolicited email from an Iowa State fan last year who complimented the Red Raiders court storming after they upset the Cyclones in Lubbock - link
Louisiana Tech AD McClelland has received some heat for the transfer restrictions he placed on MBB student-athlete Stapleton who is leaving the Bulldogs program that eliminated all options in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Conference USA, 2015-16 non-conference opponents & the University of Florida, "Those limitations are historical to a non-specific request for a release...We didn't just say how can we carve out places we don't want Xavian to go?" - link
DUI issue for Michigan Assoc. AD for FB Minick comes to a close as he pleaded guilty to the offense & received eight months of probation along with $1,325 in fines, Minick's blood alcohol level was .185 or more than twice the legal limit, since the incident Minick has been straight-forward about his mistake as HC Harbaugh noted an internal discipline plan - link
North Carolina Central is moving forward on eliminating Women's Bowling & replacing the program with Women's Golf, Bowling will not participate in 2015-16 competitions & its student-athletes on scholarships are free to transfer to another institution or finish up at NCCU & keep their current financial support, synergy with the department Men's program & geographic access to prospective student-athletes cited as benefits of Women's Golf - link
