D1.ticker - News from Wednesday, December 28, 2016

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New 1.Question: Sean Frazier - Athletic Director - Northern Illinois - Discussion on a 'Group of 5' National Championship

"It’s just getting started. Obviously, Scott Barnes is actually still the AD for the time being. His termination date isn’t until early February, so we’re going to take advantage of that, have a smooth transition. It lets us start the search process right away, and we’ve already begun to put that in place. We’re expecting to be a very competitive destination for some great AD candidates, so I’m looking forward to that." That's from Pittsburgh Prez Gallagher at yesterday's Pinstripe Bowl on his looming AD search. Of note, Gallagher was joined by Deputy AD Bartholomae, who thanked the Panthers fanbase for their support as 8K+ tix were move for yesterday's matchup. (link)

Minnesota AD Coyle: "Now that our football team has completed its season following an exciting win in Tuesday night's Holiday Bowl, Coach Claeys and I will take this opportunity to reflect on this past season before sitting down together to talk about the future and my expectations for the football program." The Star Tribune's Christensen says his sources are unsure if the situation end with Claeys still leading the program or exiting, stemming from the handling of the threatened bowl boycott by student-athletes. A buyout of the entire coaching staff, including Claeys, would run $3.43M. Former Gophers HC Kill on the bowl victory, "That's probably one of the greatest coaching jobs of all time. With all that stuff going on, and all the things those kids have gone through - from their old coach to the new coach to all the stuff they had to handle - that's flat unbelievable job those guys did. [Claeys] deservers a darn contract [extension]." (link)

SI.com's Thamel writes on digital media & social media competition in college FB, starting with the daily meetings for Ohio State's support staff to strategize on creative ideas to draw eyeballs from prospective student-athletes. Clemson's team has been grabbing all sorts of content during its Fiesta Bowl preparations to leverage for the same reason. Buckeyes HC Meyer points directly at his College FB Playoff opponent as the reason the Bucks upped their own game, "They’re good. I’m not ashamed to say it. A lot of what we do around here, we studied them." Per Thamel, CU has added $167K to its payroll in the past three-plus years to support the digital growth, for OSU the number is above $100K (note: these figures seem low). Brass from both sides further dissect why they capture certain moments & how they shape the content to fit different platforms. Tigers Assoc. AD for Communicaitons Galbraith: "The central tenant (sic) of what’s it like to be a Clemson Tiger, that drives our creative team." More. (link)

Former Drake WBB AC Graham has filed a lawsuit against the school & HC Baranczyk on the grounds she was moved out of the program by in 2015 after publicly revealing she was gay. Graham claims her duties were slowly removed & Baranczyk made her take some time off after the reveal as she was "not acting like herself." Sexual orientation discrimination, two counts of retaliation, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress & harassment are the specific allegations. The University says Baranczyk has a strong commitment to diversity, tolerance & non-discrimination, will have no further comment. (link)

UConn AD Benedict makes quick work of his FB HC search, goes back to the well in hiring former Huskies boss Edsall. "Coach Edsall is the right fit for our university, football program and student-athletes. He led UConn to its most successful period in the history of our football program, and I believe he will provide consistent leadership and long-term success once again." Edsall on leaving Storrs for Maryland back in 2010, "Certainly as I look back on it, I wish I had done things differently in that instance. I completely understand and respect that there are loyal fans, supporters and former players that still have not forgotten and it will take time to forgive." Deal terms: Five-years at $1M in guaranteed comp, buyout starts at $3M, decreases by $1M until there isn't one after year three. (link)

Alabama & Washington FB student-athletes filed into Ebenezer Baptist Church yesterday in Atlanta to hear messages from civil rights leaders Young, Vivian & Clayton. Young on the Black Lives Matter movement, "These young people got angry and not thoughtful, and that's dangerous. It's not being militant, it's being stupid. Dr. King used to say in order to be free, you've got to overcome the love of wealth and the fear of death. If people can't buy you out or scare you out, then you can be free. But losing your temper, for me, is probably the worst sin." Also from Young, "You all, whether you like it or not, we've made you leaders because football is kind of our religion. But the team has gotten bigger now and many people are not ready for a world-wide league so they want to pick on people who are different. ... You're right in the middle of the changing world and you cannot escape it. The best thing to do is immerse yourself in it, learn and find a way into leadership." More. (link)

The NFL is pushing further into the world's most populous nation, has already started streaming live games through major social media player Sina Weibo's pipes. First American sports league to leverage a relationship with Sina Weibo & its nearly 300M unique monthly users, a total comparable to Twitter & YouTube here in the States. From the release, "The NFL now has over 1.5 million online viewers across China each week and viewership continues to grow. Additionally on average there are over 5 million views of NFL clips in China each week. Many people watch the games played early in the morning via "in game" video clips." (link)

presented by Anthony Travel

FB prospective student-athlete Calloway says Ole Miss HC Freeze described the Rebels' NCAA troubles in this context, plus you'll notice the mention of a possible bowl ban next season. "Well, Coach Freeze told me when you’re that big and out there with faith in Christ, he’s like, ‘What do you expect? Jesus got nailed to the cross.’ So, he was just telling me sometimes things like that happen, but that’s never going to change how he’s going to treat his players and take care of them. Even if — I don’t know if he really did make the mistake, doing what he did or not — but I can just tell he’s a good person, great person. I know they’re looking at maybe a bowl suspension [for 2017]. I don’t know what they’re gonna do. But I don’t think that’ll affect anything as far as how he treats his players and stuff like that." (link)

New Oregon State AD Barnes gets lauded from multiple angles. OSU FB HC Andersen on his time with Barnes at Utah State & what he brings to Corvallis, "He's up front. He's honest. He takes great pride in his job. He's always on the cutting edge as far as having ideas. He is very structured and organized and does a great job of creating an environment of family and unity. Maybe above all, he does a tremendous job of sharing the vision of where the department is headed." Mountain West Commish Thompson recounts being impressed with Barnes' leadership & vision with the Aggies, "He always had a can-do attitude and an ability to say, 'We don't have these limitations. Let's figure out a way.'" Eastern Washington Deputy AD Hughes, who was the Men's Golf HC when Barnes was AD in Cheney, believes there will be a focus on facilities & donor cultivation in Corvallis. Lots more praise. (link)

James Madison FB HC Houston & Youngstown State HC Pelini, as well as their coaching staffs, are handling the three-week break between the FCS semifinals & the National Championship like a FBS bowl scenario & timeline. Houston: "We're treating it like a bowl game, because you have a little bit of a break (for the holidays) and then you have practices without school in session, then you have a remote location that you're going to." Houston himself has never been a part of a true bowl game, though Penguins boss Pelini has certainly experienced his fair share. (link)

Despite the success the Kennesaw State FB program has enjoyed in its first two years, AD Williams says the university is ignoring the temptation & bucking the recent trend to move to the FBS, "I don’t let (the FBS conversation) breathe. [...] We’re not getting caught up in what everybody else thinks we should be doing. Let’s be who Kennesaw State is." KSU sold out all six of its home games & drew almost 9,000 fans per kick to Fifth Third Bank Stadium in 2015, going 6-5 in its inaugural season and this year, the Owls averaged over 7,700 fans per game & finished with an 8-3 record. (link)

NewsOK.com's Carlson analyzes the coming contract extension discussion originally announced back in the summer, but still unsigned, for Oklahoma State FB HC Gundy once the Pokes are done with tonight's Alamo Bowl tilt with Colorado. With a win, Gundy will have led OSU to five double-digit win seasons in the last seven, a win total that had only been accomplished three times in the program's history prior to Gundy taking over in 2005. AC pool pay may be one hold-up as a kitty of $3.283M is less than the likes of Missouri, Kentucky & Mississippi State. AD Holder: "We will look forward to addressing the extension after the bowl." (link)

Employees in "high-trust organizations" are more engaged, more productive, enjoy better relationships with their colleagues and stay with their employers longer, according to the Harvard Business Review's Zak, who uses neuroscience to support a series of principles designed to build a high-trust culture. Among those principles, Zak contends that recognizing excellence is most effective when it occurs immediately after a goal has been achieved, when it comes from co-workers and when it is "tangible, unexpected, personal and public." Next, Zack explains that assigning a difficult but achievable task releases neurochemicals which intensify focus and strengthen social connections: "When team members need to work together to reach a goal, brain activity coordinates their behaviors efficiently." Finally, Zak cautions against looking over employees' shoulders and suggests trusting that they will succeed. "Ultimately, you cultivate trust by setting a clear direction, giving people what they need to see it through, and getting out of their way...High-trust companies hold people accountable without micromanaging them." (link)

Miami (FL) gets a significant matching commitment from CNBC's "The Profit" star Lemonis in an overall push that aims to land $3M in the Canes coffers. Lemonis will match half of all gifts up to $2M, equaling $1M from his pockets. "All funds will be directly used by the athletics department to enhance the student-athlete experience and resources in the classroom, in competition and in life skills and career development." Lemonis presented AD James with a $250K check yesterday before the Russell Athletic Bowl to get the snowball rolling. (link)

After Baylor's Cactus Bowl win over Boise State on Tuesday night, DC Bennett offered, "Art Briles is as fine a man as I've ever been around and I've done this 40 years. We didn't have Title IX in place. It was a systematic failure." One-year HC Grobe said in retrospect he was surprised at the "caustic" attitude of the media, "I came in thinking when Baylor -- right or wrong -- to let Art go, the president resigning, the athletic director resigning, I kind of thought people would say, 'Good for Baylor. They had this problem and they took strong action.' That's what I assumed." (link); More Grobe in a piece from USA Today's Schroeder, "I wish I could have been more of a calming influence between the university and the coaches. […] It spun out of control for a while,” he said, “and it affected all of us. I’m proud of our guys, because once we saw we’d gotten off track, we got back on track. … There’s really no road map to this thing. The coaches didn’t have a road map, the players didn’t have a road map, I didn’t have a road map." (link)

Missed from last week, but a pretty good read from CBSSports.com's Parrish on the challenges of being the MBB HC at UCLA. Notable, as well, coming off the barnburner in Eugene last night as the Bruins lost their first game of the year to Oregon. On overcoming the turbulent season last year that had some calling for his job, Alford says: "Those trials and that tough season just opened up some doors for some special things. And I don't know if this will be that special season. But we're having fun right now." Student-athelte & son, Bryce, along with wife Tanya, both acknowledge the "FIRE ALFORD" fly-behind banners that showed up last year. Tanya: "...And those people [who flew the banner], those are people I don't know. They're nameless people. And if that's the way they live their lives, I feel sorry for them that they're that bitter. I always wish the best for people. So it's kind of sad that that happened. […] It’s a lot more fun now." More. (link)

Arizona MBB HC Miller recently weighed in on the current one-and-done landscape in college basketball, giving voice to the frustrations and shortcomings of the current system. "It’s just a really hard dynamic in college sports. It’s very, very difficult in college basketball. I don’t think it’s good for anything but that’s the way of the world and we’re gonna do the best that we can. [...] The one-and-done model is completely upside down in any area of civilization. You don’t become a lawyer and go to law school for a year. [...] A doctor, a college professor. You don’t leave college as an undergraduate student and say 'I’m all set here. I’m going to be one of the best teachers at the University of Arizona.' [...] Most of the time what nobody understands except the college world is their thought process on becoming an NBA player starts in 10th grade. It’s not about college." (link)

TV/Streaming: "There's too many bowl games!" From a TV ratings standpoint, no, there's not. From the 17th through the 23rd of this month, "Every bowl game was in the top five in sports for the day save for one and all of them made the top fifteen on cable overall. 2.5 million viewers for a football game between Troy and Ohio! That’s just a ridiculously good number for those two teams in that bowl game." The hard data flies directly in the face of Forbes contributor Rishe's piece from earlier in the week on an eroding rights model for bowl games because of ratings attrition. (link); More on that front from SBD/SBJ's Ourand: "Remember the Quick Lane Bowl with Maryland and BC? It had cable's 4th biggest audience Monday (3.019M viewers) to MFN, MNF pre and MNF post." (link); ESPN has started rolling-out its "hybrid linear & streaming interface" on AT&T DirecTV set top boxes that allows viewers to switch between all ESPN linear networks & on-demand content in one experience flow. Five states in the mix so far, more coming. (link)

Also Noticed: The whole story is behind a paywall, but Hawaii's deal with Under Armour is expiring, which could lead to its first full-department deal. (link); New Mexico opened its new $2.4M Baseball clubhouse. (link); Penn State fans quickly gobbled up 23K tickets for the upcoming Rose Bowl matchup with USC, along with 2K packages from PrimeSport. (link); Oklahoma State brass expect to have 15K supporters at the Alamo Bowl tonight. (link); From ESPN FB recruiting analyst Crabtree: "81 Under Armour All-Americans were asked which fan base was most annoying on social media, and Tennessee was listed at No. 1 by 9 prospects." (link); The fight to legalize sports gambling in New Jersey will get consideration for review by the U.S. Supreme Court on the 13th of next month; the disposition of whether SCOTUS will review the case will be announced on the 17th. (link); Twitter rolls-out full 360-degree video integration. (link)

Northern Illinois AD Sean Frazier goes in on the need for a serious look at a 'Group of 5' National Championship. Frazier's position stems from financial challenges for G5 institutions & the potential for TV & corporate sponsorship revenue to buoy bottom lines. Additional points of discussion center around brand exposure, fan base engagement, the reality of a 'Power 6' push, if 'Power 5' institutions would be in favor of such a move, timing from a TV programming standpoint, scheduling considerations & more. Listen. - link (length - 19:17)

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(Posted from most recent over the last 30 days)

Senior Associate Athletic Director / Executive Director of the Mountaineer Athletic Club (West Virginia University / Morgantown, WV): The West Virginia University Foundation, Inc., is seeking a Senior Associate AD/Executive Director of the MAC to lead all development activities for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. More details HERE.

Assistant Broadcast Engineer (University of Arkansas / Fayetteville, AR): The Asst Broadcast Engineer will work in a team television production environment within the Broadcast Services Department assisting the chief broadcast engineer. More details HERE.

Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development (Temple University / Philadelphia,PA): Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development is responsible for the management of all advancement activities for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. More details HERE.

Assistant/Associate Director of Development, Intercollegiate Athletics (The Pennsylvania State University / State College, PA): Assistant/Associate Director of Development needed to join the Nittany Lion Club external fundraising unit supporting Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, a member of the Big Ten Conference. More details HERE.

Head Coach - Women's Soccer (University of Massachusetts Lowell / Lowell, MA): This position responsible for leading, developing and managing a competitive Division I program. To learn more and apply, please visit: jobs.uml.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=55269. EOE. More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director, Facilities and Capital Projects (UCLA, Department of Intercollegiate Athletics / Los Angeles, CA): This Senior Staff position will lead and oversee all aspects of current and future athletic facilities, Capital Projects, and venue scheduling related to the Department of Athletics. Requisition#25086. More details HERE.

Head Coach, Women's Soccer (The University of Delaware / Newark, DE): The Head Coach for Women’s Soccer is a valued member of the Head Coaches’ team within the Department and is responsible for all aspects of operating a fully funded NCAA Division I varsity program. More details HERE.

Head Coach, Women's Volleyball (The University of Delaware / Newark, DE): The Head Coach for Women’s Volleyball is a valued member of the Head Coaches’ team within the Department, upholding and embracing the departmental mission of “Inspiring Greatness Together.” More details HERE.

Senior Associate Commissioner / Legal Counsel (Big 12 Conference, Inc. / Irving, TX): The Big 12 is hiring a sports administrator and attorney who thrives in an independent, exciting and fast-paced environment and who can thrive in the complex and varied world of collegiate sports. More details HERE.

Client Partner (Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement / Irvine, CA): Responsible for assigned territory’s transaction revenue target and client retention; provides strategic consulting & best practices in areas of ticketing, marketing, fundraising & fan engagement. More details HERE.

Assistant Director of Athletics - Marketing & Ticketing (Brown University / Providence, RI): This position is responsible for increasing the overall visibility of Brown University Athletics by leading & managing marketing, promotions, & ticket sales. Brown University is an E-Verify Employer. More details HERE.

Associate Director, Annual Giving Programs (University of Michigan Athletics / Ann Arbor, MI): The Associate Director of Annual Giving will lead strategy of our Annual Giving efforts to retain approximately 27,000 donors and acquire new donors in support of Michigan Athletics. More details HERE.

Senior Associate AD for Internal Operations (Western Illinois University / Macomb, IL): Responsible for managing academic services, business operations, compliance, and equipment services, in addition to sport programs. Resource on issues for female student-athletes, including Title IX. More details HERE.

Assistant/Associate AD for Marketing, Promotions & Ticketing (Fordham University / Bronx, NY): Fordham University, a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference & Patriot League, seeks to hire an individual for the position of Assistant/Associate Athletic Director for Marketing, Promotions, & Tickets. More details HERE.

Assistant/Associate AD for Facilities & Event Management (Fordham University / Bronx, NY): Fordham University, a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference & Patriot League, seeks to hire an individual for the position of Assistant/Associate Athletic Director for Facilities & Event Management. More details HERE.

Director of Development (University of South Carolina Upstate / Spartanburg, SC): The director is responsible for major gifts, planned gifts and annual fund support designated for the benefit of the Upstate Athletics facilities, programs and student-athletes. AA/EOE employer. More details HERE.

Associate Athletic Director for Student Support Services (Cleveland State University / Cleveland, OH): Assists the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics to develop goals and set direction for the department and assigned sports. More details HERE.

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