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Speculation & interpretation are running rampant on the situation behind Baylor FB student-athlete Ukwuachu's sexual assault troubles & transfer from Boise State, current Washington FB HC Petersen, who formerly led the Broncos, released a statement in which he said he called Baylor HC Briles first & "thoroughly apprised" him of the circumstances of why Ukwuachu was exiting, Briles responded last night that Peterson did not mention Ukwuachu's previous history of violence toward women, more - link, link
After teasing quotes from Stanford AD Muir on Thursday, San Jose Mercury News reporter Wilner comes with a full piece, already covered COA & O'Bannon topics ($3,500 per student-athlete & not so fast on trust funds if O'Bannon injunction upheld), hiring a sports psychologist, nutritionist & "food oases" for student-athlete welfare upgrade measures, "studying the landscape" on third party rights deal as agreement with Learfield is up in two years, expects to sell 32k seasons FB tix, more - link
Oregon State AD Stansbury's backstory detailed in a piece from The Oregonian, "Sports force you to overcome something, whether it's fear or what you think you're capable of, that ends up being translated later on when you have other situations that are going to stretch you beyond your comfort zone," recounts how he originally got in the business at Georgia Tech, his experiences traveling the world, wife Karen on the allure of returning to Corvallis, "It really warms your heart to be part of a community where everyone supports the community." - link
Tennessee AD Hart reviews his department a bit, sets goal of having all programs consistently ranked in the Top 25 within the next three to five years, says he is "absolutely comfortable" with the stability of his MBB staff given the lingering academic situation at Texas, notes the Vols have done a considerable amount to educate student-athletes on topics like sexual assault, but plans to do even more, points to an "outstanding" department culture - link
Weekly 'Inside College Sports' notebook by CBSSports.com's Solomon includes thoughts on potential Congressional involvement in amateurism following the NLRB's ruling on Northwestern earlier in the week, various law experts submit feedback on the topic, wonders if the NCAA is replacing the term 'student-athlete' as recent releases included 'college athletes,' also touches on inconsistencies in penalties for academic fraud when trying to ballpark what North Carolina might face - link
Memphis announces plans for full cost of attendance coverage, calls it a "first phase," MBB & WBB student-athletes will receive full amount of $5,373, Volleyball, Women's Tennis & FB players to get $3,000 & female student-athletes in equivalency sports will get percentages of $3,000 according to their scholarship situations, Tigers will review strategies over the next year to cover all student-athletes in 2016-17 - link
Nevada plans to build a new tennis facility to be completed before the start of the upcoming season. The $2.3m building will be on campus, a change from where the current teams participate (at Caughlin Athletic Club several miles from campus). Lead gift of $600k came more than five years ago but remainder of necessary funds recently raised. First multi-million dollar facility upgrade for athletics since 2008. - link
Rice AD Karlgaard begins monthly updates via podcast, in his first installment says he looks forward to using this as an "opportunity to communicate what is going on in the department". Talks about how USA Today's Schroeder captured the "essence of who we are and who we want to be as an athletic department" (link to story). Jokes about his two years as a TV broadcaster, says he is better suited to his current role. On surpassing the fundraising goals for the most recent fiscal year, "There are two types of excellence: relative and absolute excellence, we achieved relative excellence this year... did well considering where we have been, but we are not where we want to be" - link
In letter to fans, Wake Forest AD Wellman describes the 2014-15 season as "foundational" across the board. FB HC Clawson and MBB HC Manning each achieved most important first-year goal of establishing culture in respective programs. Individual recognitions at all-time high with four student-athletes earning "ACC Player of the Year". Bevy of new construction and renovations under way - link
Take 10 minutes: Good read from former California WBB student-athlete Clarendon on topics of race, gender & faith in sports, "I identify as black, gay, female, non-cisgender and Christian. I am an outsider even on the inside of every community to which I belong. My very existence challenges every racial, sexual, gender and religious barrier." Covers her upbringing, how Cal has always been a safe place on her journey, the need to humanize the LGBT community & lots more - link
Study abroad opportunities are a staple at Michigan State & three Spartans FB student-athletes served as a 'test group' during a trip to Australia where they earned three credit hours in three weeks & immersed themselves in the culture, MBB headed to Italy yesterday, AD Hollis credits Executive Assoc. AD Pignataro who pushed the initiative long before Big Ten Commish Delany started promoting its benefits - link
Georgia AD McGarity responds to claims by the Freedom From Religion Foundation that team chaplains are a means to push religion on student-athletes, Bulldogs one of a number of departments targeted earlier in the week, "The local chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes provides optional chaplain services for student-athletes that wish to participate. Neither the University or the Athletic Association finances these activities, and they are completely voluntary" - link
Ohio State set to dip its toe into alcohol sales & servicing at FB games as fans who sit in suites & club seats will have the option this season, similar measures have been in place at the Schottenstein Center since 1998, Buckeyes AD Smith has continued to say it's a topic his team will keep an eye on with revenue, safety & fan experience elements all in-play - link
Louisville & Indiana ink a multi-sport scheduling deal as its MBB squads will play three times from 2016 to 2018 with both hosting a match-up & a third played in Banker's Life Fieldhouse in Indy, FB series will also work the same way with the neutral site tilt taking place in Lucas Oil Stadium in 2023, followed by contests the following two seasons on campus, Cardinals AD Jurich thrilled to see natural rivalry come to fruition - link
Speaking of rivalry games for Louisville, AD Jurich also commented on the current FB scheduling setup with Kentucky, thought having the tilt as a season-opener meant a lot for the state, but that ship has sailed, "The only concern I have is that we keep playing. I want to make sure we're signed up to play forever," likes the handful of high-profile season-openers coming up, continues to say his team is doing its due diligence on another potential expansion to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium - link
Northern Illinois creates the 'Victor E. Ball' fundraiser with an inaugural event going down on November 7th at Rich Harvest Farms, Michigan State MBB HC Izzo headlines the program & will be joined by Huskies HCs, admins & student-athletes, single tickets start at $500 with table sponsorship options up to $17,500, AD Frazier points to positioning his department for greatness & the importance of generating additional revenues - link
Texas A&M boss Hyman hires Guin as Assoc. AD for Academics after serving as Assoc. AD for Student Support Services at UAB for the past two years, Guin impressed with the Aggies he's engaged with thus far, Hyman believes the academic profile for his department can continue to move forward & notes a GPA of near 3.0, presumably for the Spring 2015 semester, Guin also spent time at Illinois - link
Sleep has become a popular topic in a number of FB programs as the science around the benefits of proper rest continues to grow, some Tennessee student-athletes have beds outfitted with sensors that measure heart rate, respiration & the time it takes them to fall asleep & sends the data to 'sleep coaches,' Houston added 50 special air mattresses to its practice facility to provide a place for good naps, Texas State HC Franchione has read a lot on the topic, but has come to believe his players will "figure out what they need and they'll get it" - link
SportsDay Now's Scott reviews comments made by SEC boss Sankey at a Jacksonville Sports Council event on Thursday, focused on "excellence" for the league & says expansion is "not a front burner issue for us at the present time," Scott followed-up with a question about Sankey's general philosophy on the topic & Sankey pointed to the most recent addition of Missouri & Texas A&M who are AAU members, have great athletic tradition & are in contiguous states, which sent Scott down the rabbit hole of potential future targets - link
Colorado State FB HC Bobo's contract released by the athletic department, five-year deal starts at $1.35m & calls for $100k increases annually, AC & support staff pool is $2.4m, $25k bonus for each Mountain West victory past the fifth, $50k for qualifying for the MWC title game & another $50k for winning it, College FB Playoff incentives range from $100k to $200k, like the contract for AD Parker, includes "good faith" language about renegotiating if CSU gets into a 'Big 5' league, more - link
Interesting story at LSU where new FB DC Steele has replaced his lifelong best friend & current Texas A&M DC Chavis who continues to battle the university in a lawsuit, Steele says the pair haven't talked once about the lawsuit, yesterday a Brazos County, Texas judge dismissed claims in his state, meaning it will all play out in a Baton Rouge courtroom, attorney for Chavis plans to depose LSU staffers once proceedings continue - link
UCLA has suspended FB AC & Recruiting Coordinator Klemm for the first two games of the season, vs. Virginia & at UNLV, stemming from rules violations, Klemm also fined an undisclosed amount of money, HC Mora, "I'm not allowed to speak on it, but at least we can plan for those first couple of weeks," Bruins reduced recruiting days in the Spring by 10% & will reduce official visits by two as a result of the situation - link
Odd developments as Portland State planned a news conference this past Tuesday to announce a massive $100m gift to the university, but apparently the would be benefactor has now moved away from the table, PSU officials notified The Oregonian of the development prior to the presser, but once it never materialized journalists started digging, state Governor Brown was scheduled to attend, a planned release described the donor as a former PSU student, Trustee Stott fits the profile, but says it isn't him, nor does he know anything more - link
China's economic woes continue to be a thorn in the side of U.S. investors as it's one reason the Dow Jones industrial average is down 10.1% since early May, fell 530.94 points yesterday alone, Standard & Poor's also down 7.5% in the last three months, Wells Capital Management Chief Investment Strategist Paulsen says this had been building & doesn't think it's over, of course a downturn can also mean opportunity, more - link
