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NCAA files reply to plaintiff motion to dismiss stay in O'Bannon case, argues "it's not in the public interest" or "absolutely necessary" for the injunction to go into place before the review process is complete, which could happen on Saturday, questions potential decisions by prospective student-athletes based on monies that may not be available if the initial ruling is overturned, all up to the 9th Circuit Court now, developments covered best & most efficiently by USA Today's Berkowitz & CBSSports.com's Solomon - link, link
Indications point to Furman naming Wake Forest Senior Assoc. AD for Administration Buddie as its new AD today, has been a member of the Demon Deacons staff for the past nine years & currently has oversight of Baseball, Women's Soccer & Men's Golf, also built his resume by working with the Varsity Club, other finalists included former Jacksonville AD Verlander & UNC-Asheville AD Cone - link
From Mountain West FB media days in Vegas Commish Thompson says the average spent by members on full cost of attendance is $3,813 with only Air Force, UNLV, Nevada & New Mexico not fully-funding the effort right off the bat, notes that even with conference distributions growing, the gap between his league & the 'Big 5' continues to widen, not pushing hard for an eight-team College FB Playoff yet & not concerned about Boise State jumping to the Big 12 - link
More from Vegas as San Diego State HC Long thinks league members need to push the envelope with scheduling & get two 'Big 5' teams on their slates annually, Long's Aztecs will play at Cal & Penn State this season, "the only way you can prove you belong is to play them," HCs on hand yesterday also debated full cost of attendance with Nevada's Polian worried about autonomy implications, "When we start basing opinions and decisions and legislation off what works best for the top 30 schools in the country, we're creating a seperation" - link, link
Iowa rolls-out a $130m facilities upgrade proposal that would include a $35m renovation to the north stands at Kinnick Stadium with the addition of premium seating & suites among other upgrades, a new west campus residence hall & new digs for an indoor track & field space are the other two projects, athletics brass will have a call with the school's Board of Trustees next week to communicate vision & permission to proceed, AD Barta says directly that facilities are a key piece of the recruiting process - link
Four-part series on the tenure of Iowa AD Barta continues with its third installment & looks at gender equity, reviews hiring/firing patterns of HCs as critics point to a double standard on the performance of Men's teams & leadership changes with those for Women's sports, Barta, "Every other coach that I haven't renewed or terminated, I've done it compassionately, fairly but based on purely 'Win, Graduate, Do It Right.' In many of those cases, it came down to win, the lack of success on the court and on the field." - link
As has been widely noted, Alabama's full cost of attendance figure has increased by 39.2% for out-of-state students & 75.4% for out-of-state student-athletes in the past year & AL.com takes a look at the changes, tuition bumps & the travel portion of the calculation are two areas of note, university spokesperson Lane, "UA determined the Department of Education allowed transportation costs to and from a student's permanent residence to campus, rather than just to and from their local residence to class," breaks down the calculation even further, more - link
Georgia brass, including Prez Morehead & AD McGarity, comment on their support of the Bulldogs FB program as its budget has increased by 35.7% even amid reports of tension with HC Richt, Morehead doesn't think the relationship between McGarity & FB has changed in recent years, says "we've all come to an understanding on what is needed moving forward" with specific mention of the new indoor FB complex, Deputy AD Williams notes the reality of the situation with so many highly competitive personalities involved, more - link
ESPN's McMurphy writes on the growing sentiment by FB HCs around the nation that Notre Dame should have to join a conference in order to gain access to the College FB Playoff system, Virginia Tech's Beamer & Duke's Cutcliffe the latest to agree with peers yesterday during interviews in Bristol, NC State boss Doeren with a zinger, "Maybe Notre Dame can just play the winner of the Big 12," McMurphy notes the Fighting Irish are contractually obligated to join the ACC if they align fully with a league before 2027 - link, link
Hartford rolled-out its new logos & brand identity yesterday morning, first refresh for the Hawks in 25 years, rework process aided by agency 160over90 who worked with key constituent groups over a seven month period to design the new suite of marks, AD Goff, "The new Hawks logo is a powerful representation of where our athletics program is headed. Like never before, we are ready for Hawk Nation Domination!" - link
Interesting read on the financial situation in Cuba that is still a driving force behind athletes defecting to the United States despite a new political relationship between the two countries, just recently at the Pan American Games in Toronto, half of Cuba's Men's Field Hockey team defected, leaving the squad with only eight members, baseball historian Bjarkman notes rush of players trying to get to the U.S. before any potential changes to immigration processes go into place - link
Rutgers AD Hermann says in-state student-athletes will receive just less than $4,200 for full cost of attendance & out-of-staters will get between $4,800 & $4,900, expense line item for the effort will total "just under $1 million," figures compare favorably to the Big Ten including Penn State's $4,788, Hermann knows the situation will evolve nationally, still working on the logistics of how the monies will be distributed - link
Former Hawaii AD Jay earned over $1m during his 28-month tenure on the islands, owed a $370k bonus upon his departure that works out to over $13,200 per month for the time he was in charge to go along with his $293k base salary, current AD Matlin's bonuses are now capped at $25k annually, per a spokesperson, "Ben Jay's contract is an example of the past, not the present." - link
Wisconsin's season FB ticket renewal rate hits 95% once again even as the Badgers upped prices slightly, a bit of a head-scratcher as the article actually says "there are different ways of interpreting the news" & points to years of 97% & 98% renewal, Senior Assoc. AD Doherty notes there's also been 1,300 requests for new tix, home slate isn't projected to be the greatest, $3 per game was the bump - link
Notable Oklahoman journalist Tramel reviews how the Big 12 could look with two divisions of five teams each if the NCAA approves a 2016 FB Championship with only 10 teams total (and if the league changes its mind on a title game), links back to a similar column he wrote in 2010 after Nebraska & Colorado bounced, Kansas State HC Snyder liked the idea then, just as he does now, could split members between old Big 8 & Southwest Conference affiliations - link
I hesitate including this, but to add to the Big 12 alignment conversation, yesterday Florida panhandle sports radio host McKinney tweeted, "Just learned Big 12 is getting closer to discussions with BYU and Boise State about joining the league, according to a source close to (the) deal." McKinney previously worked in the athletic departments at Ole Miss & UT Chattanooga before going the radio route - link, link
Oregon rolls-out neat hype video featuring a 360-degree perspective of what a FB student-athlete sees all around him as he enters Autzen Stadium, proceeds down the tunnel, hits the 'Win the Day' sign & runs onto the field, originally created for FB recruiting purposes, if you watch on desktop, make sure to use the arrows in the upper left hand corner to get a full look at surroundings - link
Twitter reports Q2 earnings that over-performed against Wall Street expectations with revenue of $502m, but user growth was slow & unacceptable according to Interim CEO Dorsey (link); Snapchat continues to evolve & is reportedly working on an ecommerce solution with Hearst, publisher of magazines like Esquire & Cosmo, Hearst was also one of the first companies on-board for the Discover portion of Snap (link)
Appalachian State & Nike agree to a new seven-year deal that will see all 20 Mountaineer programs don the Swoosh, ups product through the Nike Elite program to $100k (from $20k) annually in addition to specific allotments for FB, MBB & WBB, the pair originally inked a deal after ASU won its second straight FCS National Championship in 2007, the new agreement will run through 2022 - link
ADs from around Ohio comment on full cost of attendance, Cleveland State AD Parry isn't worried about Ohio State, but is concerned how Kent State, Akron, Bowling Green & Toledo make decisions on COA that could impact his Vikings, Kent State AD Nielsen notes budget limits as his department will do roughly half of its maximum, Bowling Green also not going with its full amount, Ohio AD Schaus says it's the right thing to do for competition at the highest level, more - link
Lexington Center Corp. approves a $15m technology upgrade to Kentucky's Rupp Arena to include a new center-hung scoreboard, wireless Internet & changes to the roof infrastructure in order to host more big-time concerts & shows, move is in addition to the $800k Learfield has committed to install ribbon boards around the facility's second level that will be in place by October 2nd, the rest will be completed in phases over two years, Wildcats Deputy AD Peevy says enhancements are all about improving the fan experience - link
Minnesota State gets a $100k gift from alum & St.Louis Blues Captain Backes to serve as the lead gift for the David Backes Strength & Conditioning Room at the Verizon Wireless Center, Backes points directly to his student-athlete experience in the mid-00s as key to developing the skills he's leaned-on during his nine-year NHL career, AD Buisman notes the importance of student-athletes giving back - link
Impressive creativity, though some may get on a soap box, as Tennessee's season FB tickets this year were designed after the famous look of a Jack Daniels whiskey label, font types & layout style are really close to the popular beverage that is likely a fan favorite, worth noting that the ticket sheets also include placement for DISH Network promotion - link
More cuts at Akron as 213 staff positions were cut university-wide as the school continues to right size & save $40m over the next three years, includes the closure of performing arts venue EJ Thomas Hall whose Executive Director Dahl says, "How will there be a venue for tickets for any of the shows already scheduled? This is bad for the community, bad for the university and bad for business. It's no way to operate." - link, link
More important developments as part of the 'First 4 Out' sponsored by destruction as a method of cell phone replacement (sidenote: It's incredible how sharply click rates increased with the simple mention of 'The Bachelorette') - link
