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Top 10 Most Read is released every Friday afternoon, allowing you to compare the most read stories over the past seven days to your own interest list. Feedback, as always, is welcome to Matt@D1ticker.com.
#10: Auburn AD Jacobs publishes his latest "Word," unveils some of the first renderings of the coming $28M upgrade to the southwest corner of Jordan-Hare Stadium. Increased recruiting space for both FB & other Tiger programs, club amenities, new & expansive FB locker room, all the branding elements you would expect & more. "Auburn's new facility will be the gold standard of college athletics recruiting, telling the Auburn story of family, history and tradition. […] Auburn has a great story to tell. That was the starting point for the concept." Private giving has already generated 30% of the project costs. More. (link - scroll down for renderings)
#9: We don't have a final four at UNLV yet, but we're getting close. Prez Jessup will reportedly trip to Salt Lake this weekend for an airport buffet of interviews with candidates still in the mix. No names mentioned, at least not publicly, beyond those already run out by the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Anderson. UNLV's search committee is scheduled to get back together next Monday at which time finalists could be identified & scheduled for campus visits. Given that step, it'll be quite interesting to see how sitting ADs involved handle potential advancement in the process. (link)
#8:New Mexico AD Krebs comments further on the decision to part ways with MBB HC Neal, "When I made the comments (on March 10, the day after UNM finished the season with a 17-14 record and a loss in the Mountain West tournament) about retaining Craig … at that time our intention was to retain Craig, but we continued to evaluate and assess the situation. […] There were discussions about what was in the best interest of the university, and there’s no question those involved discussions about retaining Craig, terminating Craig, and a multitude of options." Points to declining ticket sales & attendance as data points that were analyzed, Neal's buyout of $1M will be paid via two $500K installments over the next two years, though those figures could decrease because of a mitigation clause, Krebs reportedly interviewed three potential successors last Sunday in Phoenix. (link)
#7: ESPN MBB lead Katz reports AAC brass will vote on the addition of Wichita State on Friday with 75% approval needed. SI's Thamel indicates his sources believe there is a "general expectation" for acceptance of the Shockers. In Thursday's 1.Question interview below, the Wichita Eagle's Suellentrop talks on more angles of the move, including if there could be any unintended consequences. Katz says WSU is willing to give up all previous NCAA Tourney units due from the MVC, Thamel has a quote from an unnamed Valley administrator, "We feel like Wichita State's departure is imminent and we're ready to move on." (link, link); CBSSports.com's Dodd says Wichita to the AAC would keep UConn from looking around & could set-off a number of league swaps in the MVC, Horizon, Summit & potentially others (though he doesn't get too deep on who goes where). Interestingly, Gonzaga AD Roth noted last weekend he would be all ears on ideas around the Big East expanding to the West Coast. (link)
#6: You'll want to take a glance at these survey results from Google on what's "cool" to teens today. Of particular note is the chart on page 12 that ranks brands on a scale of awareness & coolness. Wining on both markers are the likes of Nike, YouTube, Google, Netflix, Apple, Playstation, Xbox, Doritos & Chrome. At the other end: Vice, Line, Quicksilver, Virgin America, Sunglass Hut, Nordstrom & others. For Millenials 18-24, Nike, Amazon, YouTube, Netflix & Google are major winners. There's a ton here & you make want to take a deeper dive in your next external meeting. (link)
#5: Some donors at Cal are reportedly "furious" over the hiring of MBB HC Jones; specifically, some are displeased with AD Williams's lack of communication with them as well as his decision not to hire an outside firm, relying instead on an internal search committee. A foundation member at a rival Pac-12 school tells the San Francisco Chronicle: "Talking to the donors is in the job description of every athletic director in a major university, but Williams had zero communications with them." The Chronicle also reports that a "decades-long booster" sent Williams an angry note, canceling his 14 season tickets to MBB and severing ties with the athletics department altogether. Berkeley spokesman Benenson: "We feel good about the way we conducted the search. We spoke with dozens of donors throughout the process and took feedback on what they'd like to see in our next head coach." (link)
#4: Former Baylor MBB HC Bliss is no longer leading the program at Southwestern Christian (NAIA) after the airing of "Disgraced" doc that aired on Showtime last Friday. (link)
#3: A Reddit user had too much time on his hands, recreated all 351 DI logos using only super old school MS Paint. Some look awesome, others not so much. (link)
#2: After falling behind 10-1 to Stetson, Florida baseball earlier this week declined to return to the field after a nearly two-hour rain delay. The Gators also reportedly refused to schedule a date to resume the game during this season, citing the only open dates' proximity to the SEC Tournament, meaning the game, which was in the fifth inning at the time of the rain delay, will result in a no contest. Once umpires called the rain delay, the Florida grounds crew reportedly did not immediately roll out the tarp, waiting 25 minutes and then covering the field with the help of Stetson coaches. (link); D1 Baseball writer and editor Fitt notes that, in fact, both coaches agreed there was no need to resume the game in May. "Stetson PR went renegade." (link)
#1: You may have already caught wind of this long Twitter exchange between ESPN MBB analyst & former MBB HC Dakich & former Wisconsin student-athlete Kaminsky on the topic of student-athlete compensation. Kaminsky says all he wanted was to capitalize on his name & likeness while in Madison, indicates he "left there with no money and still owed rent through my lease. Actually lost money." Dakich: "Sure ya did... that's on you ...not one player in 28 yrs of coaching including my son left like that... but being a victim sells..." At one point Dakich calls Kaminsky a "clown." More. (link)
