D1.ticker - News from Tuesday, November 8, 2016

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New College FB Playoff rankings: Alabama, Clemson, Michigan & Washington makeup the Top 4, followed by Ohio State, Louisville, Wisconsin & Texas A&M in the next quartet. Committee chair & Texas Tech AD Hocutt points to an eye test satisfaction by the group on Washington & a new one-loss comparative peer in Ohio State, as opposed to the Aggies, on why the Huskies are now in a key top spot. Emphasizes margin of victory does not matter, but notes a "very convincing win" by the Buckeyes last weekend in a 62-3 win over Nebraska. Calls the process "an art, not a science," More. (link); CBSSports.com's Solomon argues the committee is using inconsistent logic in putting UW ahead of OSU when the Huskies were behind a one-loss A&M last week & the Buckeyes performed as noted last Saturday. But, "[a]n argument could be made that inconsistent reasoning isn't the worst thing for the committee. It shows the committee is truly evaluating teams on a weekly basis, and perhaps correcting past mistakes. Still, the weekly exercise is often confusing to the public when reasons are stated." Again, more. (link); Committee member & Badgers AD Alvarez says his Sunday routine of watching games & creating his own standings hasn't changed in three years. Asst. Director of Athletic Communications Herb continues to be by Alvarez's side in the process. Recognizes "road traps" for teams involved, "[b]ut you still must find a way to win." (link)

FCS Playoff Committee chair & Morehead State AD Hutchinson also chats about his role in the new FCS rankings execution, another of which is due out tomorrow, "I take it for what it is. We've achieved the goal of chatter about our championship. With everything this far out still, our point of releasing the poll was certainly to begin talking about this important championship. […] We have three more weeks to improve those kinds of things. Our conversations don't dwell on that (strength of conference). We will continue to have in-depth conversations as the weeks unfold. Knowing that it's public now, we'll be spending more time this week to move in the direction we need to move. It's important for us to be able to justify every team we have slotted." (link)

More from Wisconsin boss Alvarez, this one on the development of a number of Badger student-athletes speaking out on the Camp Randall situation from the Saturday before Halloween, "I could not be more proud of our student-athletes who have the courage of their convictions to speak out about their experiences and about societal issues that are important not only on our campus but all across our country. I look forward to meeting with our student-athletes in the hope that, together, we can take action to create positive change." FB HC Chryst echoes the sentiment, appreciates the commitment to make Madison & the university the best places possible. (link)

The Big Ten released its slate of six Friday night games for the 2017 season with Rutgers, Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois, Maryland & Northwestern servings as hosts. The Wildcats are the only program that will appear twice as it will go on the road against the Iliini before welcoming Michigan State. Added to the release, "The Big Ten Conference appreciates the significance of high school football within the region and has worked to minimize the impact of this initiative by limiting the number of Friday night games. Overall, these games represent approximately 6% of Big Ten home games annually, and no institution will host more than one game in any given year. Friday night games will also be announced at least 10 months in advance to provide all parties adequate time to prepare." (link)

Really neat read from SI's Deitsch, who spent last Saturday in Baton Rouge tagging along with outgoing CBS play-by-play voice Lundquist to get a sense of the magic. Deitsch details how Verne moved his way up the ladder, shortcomings along the way when he couldn't quite break through to the top, the camaraderie of the entire CBS production crew in covering some of the most high-profile games every season, who specifically is in the booth during games & what jobs they're covering, plus Lundquist's misses at times on names, which have been widely covered on the interwebs. Analyst partner Danielson: "When you tell the story of the SEC, they had a footprint in the Southeast that was not appreciated by a lot of people. As the conference rolled out nationally, Verne ended up being the perfect guy at the perfect time. I think his genuineness and trustworthiness played well here." (link)

We're a mere two days from the tip of hoops season & Sports Illustrated's Davis provides a 10-point preview, starting with the top of the heap again expected to be the "blue bloods" of Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky & Kansas. Runs down a strong list of freshmen he believes will have a big impact, how rule changes over the past couple of years have increase scoring & arguably improved the game, HCs in new places, if Wichita State will return to Earth after the graduation of the stellar Baker-VanVleet duo (which could play a role in how much longer HC Marshall sticks with the Shockers), the incredible streak of Big 12 titles by the Jayhawks, more. (link)

One name I'm quite sure we'll hear more as the FB HC carousel starts spinning faster is Ohio State AHC/DC & former Rutgers boss Schiano & the AP's Russo dives in on the "master's degree in coaching" Schiano is earning in Columbus. "Any relationship is about fit. I've had opportunities that just weren't a fit for me to be a head coach. If and when the fit is right that's when I'll do it and the same for them. […] At 50 years old you say, well I've done this, but there's some many things that if I ever do it again as a head coach that I will incorporate into what I do. And I think we've done a lot of good stuff over the years, but I think meshing the two together will be really powerful." OSU HC Meyer says hiring Schino has "...worked out even better than I thought." (link)

Charlotte AD Rose continues to battle student attendance challenges at 49er FB games as the gap between the percentage of tix claimed versus those used continues to increase & stood at 54.6% through the first four home games of the season for a 4,500 allotment. "I don’t know what the answer is. […] Our goal is to fill the stadium, that’s it. Whether it is students in the seat or paying people, we want the atmosphere in here to be as such that nobody wants to come in here and play us." Assoc. AD for Ticket & Facility Operations George notes the possibly of a penalty system, Rose points to student fees & the need for butts in seats. (link)

Interesting short read from Barron's, "Can Under Armour Win the Long Game?" UBS stuck with its "neutral" rating of UA, but added for the stock that's down 18% in the last two weeks, "It’s clear to us that UA’s recent guidance update (while disappointing for the stock) presents a realistic view of the financial commitments UA needs to make to capitalize on its long-term global opportunity." UBS also bullish on UA's push on footwear & connected devices amid a growing universe of app users. (link)

Inside Higher Ed's Jaschik writes on Donald Trump winning the Presidential election. Reviews concern from higher ed leaders on issues of diversity, inclusion & international relations for a Trump tenure, as well as fervor caused around the nation with chalkings at a number of universities. Kentucky professor & author Thelin: "If Donald Trump wins the presidency, the losses for higher education will not be as dire as feared by higher ed advocates. The strengths and weaknesses of U.S. higher education are deep and, hence, impervious to any single candidate or election. Donald Trump is very proud of his degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. For all his bombast, he knows that our colleges and universities are good and significant." (link); More from IHE, this one on how university endowments planned for who may be elected & the moral of the story looks to be major money wasn't shifted around due to the uncertainty of the outcome. (link); It's water under the bridge at this point, since July 1, Hillary Clinton outspent Donald Trump on national ad spots in sports programming by a wide margin: $22.37M vs. $9.54M. (link)

More on Harvard MBB standout Edosomwan as the Crimson are camped in Shanghai ready for tomorrow nights season-opener against Stanford. The East Asian Studies major recounts back to 9th grade when he first became fascinated with China, "I thought about China relative to the world and the economy and how it’s one of the biggest powers in the globe. So I was like, ‘Hmm, maybe there’s something here,’ and it developed into a passion." Edosomwan has already visited the country a number of times & last summer started a conference to assist Chinese students understand the transition to schools in the States. In part, "We talked about rejection . . . because we can’t have the kids think that (if) you go to an Ivy League school that you’re perfect. We get rejected, and things don’t work out perfectly. That was really important that we’re honest with these kids and be as real as we can." (link)

presented by Anthony Travel

Hartford AD Goff revamps his senior staff, bumping Strauss-O'Brien to Senior Assoc. AD for Internal Affairs and Development/SWA, Devitt to Asst. AD for Academic Services and hiring Northeastern's Bell as the new Assoc. AD for Compliance. Goff: "Hartford Athletics is blessed with some outstanding people on its administrative team. Holly [Strauss-O'Brien] and Amanda [Devitt] are both well-deserving of an increased role with our department, and Justin's [Bell] experience in the compliance world will be tremendously valuable. Our department got a lot better today." (link)

The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will drop two MBB and WBB league games, going from a 20-game schedule to an 18-game one next season. Goal is to help improve RPI and SOS for members. Siena AD D'Argenio: "Playing an 18-game conference schedule will give members the opportunity to play additional non-conference opponents who, if done strategically, will help them advance their program and be better for the entire membership." Other scheduling policy updates include requiring the top-7 ranked MAAC teams to play non-conference games against opponents ranked in top-250 ranking of the 3-year or 5-year Average Winning Percentage, but the bottom four MAAC schools don't have non-conference scheduling restrictions. Additionally, schools may not schedule more than two away guarantee games, unless the proceeds from a third can in turn buy a home guarantee game that doesn't require a return game on the road. (link)

North Carolina's Faculty Athletics Committee met yesterday to review student-athlete exit interviews and surveys policies, including some of this year's changes. Senior Assoc. AD/SWA Moore: "We’re doing a much more thorough job than most other schools I know of. In reality we have three different seasons, we’ve got fall sports, winter sports and spring sports, so one of the adjustments that we’re planning to make this year to try to continue to increase response rates and hopefully to capture student-athlete responses more near to when they actually finish their sport is to distribute the survey online three different times." (link)

Scheduling revenue: Washington FB to get $4.1M when the Huskies travel to Atlanta to open the season against Auburn in 2018 at the new Mercedes Benz Stadium. UW on the hook for $1,792,825 for 7,917 tickets from Peach Bowl, Inc. In addition, the Huskies will be comped three 22-person suites, 100 hotel rooms, and 125 tix to the College Football Hall of Fame. (link); McNeese State's MBB will get a combined $410K from its five away guarantee games this season: Purdue ($90K), NC State and SMU ($85K), Memphis ($80K) and Tulane ($70K). (link)

All Dayton MBB games will be televised this season, but the tilts against Vanderbilt and George Mason will also be streamed via Facebook Live. The pair is part of the 15-game Atlantic-10 Conference lineup for Facebook Live. Flyers AD Sullivan: "For us, broadcast TV is still our primary distribution focus... We’re a television-driven program, but social media sites have really placed a priority on live video, and they’re starting to enter the live sports space. Now games can be shared with worldwide audiences, and we think it’s an experiment that makes a lot of sense. We want to make sure we protect our television assets, but distribution and engagement with the fans is rapidly evolving. The A-10 is being innovative with its media agreements, and this is part of it. We’re fully supportive of it and excited about it, but TV is still the most important thing for Dayton." (link)

HC notes: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi AD Lazenby will hire a new Women's Soccer HC after the four-year tenure of former boss Caldwell that produced 14-50-6 (12-30-3) results. (link); Minnesota FB HC Claeys is in year one of a three-year, $4.5M deal, but admits he wants to stick around even longer, through the conversation with AD Coyle won't start until after the season is over. Claeys: "We enjoy being here and with the new facilities going to be coming along here pretty soon... obviously, yeah, we would like to get something worked out... I do think that us and the staff and the things we’ve been through, I think we’ve proven that we can get things done here at the University of Minnesota." (link)

Free eBook, "Fan Engagement Study for NCAA Division I" is a 34-page research report on how NCAA fans use digital channels to follow their favorite schools. The eBook and an accompanying infographic, "Sports Apps vs. Other Apps," cover the various ways that sports fans follow their favorite schools today, from game attendance to mobile apps. It is based on a 2016 research study of 550 college sports fans. (link)

presented by Hopscotch

Baylor: The NCAA has informed BU that it will avoid sanctions similar to the ones levied against Penn State for the Jerry Sandusky scandal, but the school is still being investigated over whether or not student-athletes received preferential treatment through BU's disciplinary process (link); AD Rhoades expresses concern that the FB HC search will be affected by the environment surrounding the program right now and that he wishes ACs had been focused on game-planning instead of composing the tweet defending former HC Briles a game (link); To that latter point, interim HC Grobe says "My problem is that I want to focus on 100-plus great kids. I don't think we can do that if we're fighting other battles right now." (link)

Think rivalry game trophies don't matter? Fans, and even some student-athletes, are up-in-arms over a recent redesign of the Victory Bell, which goes to the winner of the Duke/North Carolina FB game. The makeover includes colors and logos for both schools, replacing a tradition that the winning school got to spray paint the bell with its own colors; a tradition that caused more than $27K in damage to the visiting locker room two years ago. UNC AD Cunningham: "Every other rivalry trophy or symbol I’ve ever seen has both teams on it, and the winner gets the prize and they keep it. And it exchanges back and forth. And anytime I’ve ever been near the Victory Bell, I have to explain to people what it is. It’s a bell on a cart. I actually think having both logos on it gives you some idea what it is." (link)

After playing in front of a barely half-full stadium in 2015, Illinois has decided to move its planned FB games vs Northwestern from Soldier Field in Chicago back on campus. The Illini will instead play at least one future game at the home of the Chicago Bears, in 2018 vs South Florida. UI AD Whitman: "We feel strongly that we should play our traditional rivalry games in Champaign, but at the same time we are committed to a strong presence in Chicago. Our intent is to play a major nonconference opponent at Soldier Field once every four years." FB HC Smith echoes the importance of maintaining that presence: "Hosting a game in Chicago is great for recruiting, while also giving the largest base of Illinois graduates access to Fighting Illini football." (link)

Cincinnati FB HC Tuberville continues to address the incident following Saturday's game in which he lost his composure with a heckler: "I haven’t slept since then. Of course, I haven’t slept a lot this year anyway, because we’re struggling a little bit. Obviously, everybody knows that. But you can’t do that. You can’t put yourself in a situation where you let it get to you." Says he's been taken to task by coaches he previously worked for, but believes he has the backing of the administration and that the program is in a better place than when he took over. Also takes a shot at the media for writing negative articles about the program that have an impact on recruiting. (link)

With its FB program having its best season this decade, Florida A&M has the chance to set its all-time four-game attendance record this Saturday. Included in that, FAMU's homecoming game had a nearly $4.5M economic impact on the county, with more than half the crowd coming from outside the county and spending nearly $2.5M in the area. HC Wood recalls his days at Southern & Miami (FL) when FAMU fans would help fill the opposing stadium and believes that the crowds are helping with recruiting. Assoc AD for Tickets and Corporate Sales Asa credits both the sales and coaching staffs for the improved game-day experience: "With the band being back, with some of the in-game experiences the athletic department provides, it’s getting the word out. It’s fun to be at FAMU again. It’s fun to be at a game and it’s not just about football." (link)

Also noticed: Niagara is 60% on its way to raising $1.4M for Baseball & Softball facility upgrades that will commence after the 2017 season. (link); The NIT MBB committee adds Kennesaw State AD Williams and former Cal, Stanford and Montana HC Montgomery to the eight-member group this season. (link); Vine might not be dead after all as Twitter is considering some sales opportunities for the video platform. (link); New Mexico Baseball HC Birmingham is part of the university's Presidential search committee. (link); Syracuse adds Game Plan. (link); No new stadium for the San Diego Chargers, per voters, impacts San Diego State. (link); Buffalo continues crowdfunding campaigns, this time for Baseball, Softball & both Tennis programs. (link)

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(Posted from most recent over the last 30 days)

(NEW!) Associate AD Business Operations (New Mexico State University Intercollegiate Athletics / Las Cruces, NM): Manages overall business & administrative affairs for a major university. Directs & oversees activities related to budgeting financial management, operations & programs & personnel administration.
More details HERE.

Athletic Motion Graphics Designer (University of Oklahoma - Norman / Norman, OK): OU Athletics is seeking a Motion Graphics Designer who will be responsible for utilizing After Effects & 3D software to produce videos, graphics, commercials, and big screen animations. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director for Ticket Operations (University of Arkansas / Fayetteville, AR): The Asst Athletic Dir for Ticket Ops oversees the staff and day to day operations of the Athletic ticket office and box office for all athletic events. To apply: http://jobs.uark.edu/postings/17136. More details HERE.

General Managers & Account Executives (Peak Sports / Multiple Cities, USA): These positions are responsible for, yet not limited to, overseeing and executing the advertising, sponsorship, and corporate relationship building on behalf of the university. More details HERE.

Associate Vice President/Executive Director of Athletics (University of San Diego / San Diego, CA): The Athletic Director will lead and oversee all aspects of the athletic department, and ensure that it continues to uphold the values and mission of the University of San Diego. More details HERE.

Director, Corporate Partnership Services-External Relations (Stanford Athletics / Stanford, CA): Position will manage day-to-day sponsorship engagement activities and provide outstanding client service to Team Stanford elite level corporate sponsors. More details HERE.

Assistant Director of Athletic Giving for Athletics (Elon University / Elon, NC): Elon University is seeking a dynamic individual to serve as Assistant Director of Annual Giving for Athletics. More information can be found at https://elon.peopleadmin.com/postings/3835. More details HERE.

Director of Ticket Operations (Elon University / Elon, NC): The main job responsibility is to plan, organize and implement all activity related to box office, game day and season ticket sales for football, women’s basketball, men’s basketball and baseball. More details HERE.

Associate Athletics Director for Compliance and Student Services (IUPUI / Indianapolis, IN): Oversees IUPUI’s compliance with NCAA and Summit League legislation, and institutional policies. Ensures compliance monitoring systems operate effectively, assess eligibility of student athletes. More details HERE.

Business Manager (Boston University / Boston, MA): Oversees the athletic department budget, its business office and full-time staff members. Responsible for forecasting, revenue-generation strategies, and all income, expense and fundraising accounts. More details HERE.

Director – Business Development, Corporate Sponsorship Sales - University of North Carolina (Tar Heel Sports Properties - Learfield / Chapel Hill, NC): This role will build a high volume of new business and implement high-level corporate marketing partnerships, while also maintaining relationships with corporate partners and the athletic department. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director for Major Gifts (Texas State University / San Marcos, TX): This position is responsible for strategically planning and implementing major and annual giving fundraising efforts by identifying, cultivating, and soliciting alumni and other key constituents. More details HERE.

Director of Athletics (Administrator III) / Student Affairs (California State University - San Bernardino - CSU) / San Bernardino, CA): Reporting to the VP for Student Affairs, the Athletics Dir is a member of the Div of Student Affairs Sr Mgmt Team and a larger leadership team. Please visit hrd.csusb.edu for more information. More details HERE.

Assistant Director of Development (Michigan State University, Spartan Fund / East Lansing, MI): Adding a talented fundraiser to an already dynamic Spartan Fund team. Focus will be on donors/prospects between annual and major gifts. Have to be a self starter and ready to get after it! More details HERE.

Development Associate (Stanford University / Stanford, CA): This position will provide support to the Buck/Cardinal Club fundraising program and activities while working with front-line fundraising staff, donors and volunteers. Job Code: 72771. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director - Sport Administration (The University of Delaware / Newark, DE): All facets of sports administration for UD's 21 varsity athletics programs. Lead the creation, execution & metrics of success for varsity program’s vision planning strategy & ongoing assessments. More details HERE.

Director of Facilities and Game Operations (Texas State University / San Marcos, TX): This position will coordinate operations of events held in athletic facilities and assist in the management, administration and supervision of Texas State athletic facilities and game operations. More details HERE.

Assistant Director of Ticketing & Analytics (Georgia Tech Athletics / Atlanta, GA): Manage data collection, analyze and present results to the appropriate athletic department staff to help direct marketing and ticketing decision making processes. More details HERE.

Director of Compliance (UCP IV - Program Assistant II) (University of Connecticut Division of Athletics / Storrs, CT): The University of Connecticut is accepting applications and nominations for the position of Director of Compliance. This individual will report to the Sr. Assoc. Director of Athletics for Compliance. More details HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director for External Relations (University of North Carolina at Asheville / Asheville, NC): The position reports to the Director of Athletics and manages all aspects of External Relations for the Athletics Department. Primary responsibilities include: Managing media relations/communications, social media/digital strategies, video production, advancement functions including International Management Group (IMG), marketing, promotions, and ticket sales and service. More details HERE.

Dir. of Athletic Bands/Assoc. Dir. of Bands (Rutgers University / New Brunswick, NJ): The Music Dept. of the Mason Gross School & Div. of Athletics at Rutgers Univ. invites applications for a candidate to develop a comprehensive marching band program in the “Big Ten Conference”. More details HERE.

Compliance Coordinator (Cal State University, Los Angeles / Los Angeles, CA): Seeking a Compliance Coordinator for Athletics. A bachelor’s degree required. A completed online Cal State LA employment app. required. For complete job announcement, please visit our website. More details HERE.

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