D1.ticker - News from Monday, January 9, 2017

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1.Question Throwback (below) - Joe Galbraith & Jonathan Gantt - Clemson - Social & Digital Media Strategy

Clemson FB HC Swinney in his post-game presser on the heels of an epic National Championship win, "That has to be one of the greatest games of all time, just absolutely incredible, to have to take the field and go down the field to win the game, that's what it's made of. That's what I told 'em when it was over. This is what it's all about right here, boys. […] There was no upset tonight. That's the last thing I told them when we left the locker room. I said, when we win the game tonight I don't want to hear one word about this being an upset. The only upset is going to be if we don't win the dadgum game. I don't want to hear one word about it. This is an expectation, the last thing I told them." More. (link); Here's video of Swinney's emotional on-field interview after the clock hit zero. (link); Alabama HC Saban: "To win three straight SEC Championships, to be in the playoffs three straight years, to win a National Championship last year, you know, these guys have really done a fantastic job of representing the university, and I'm really proud of these guys and they're winners in every way. As I said before, one game doesn't define a team, and I think our team demonstrated time and time again this year that they were winners. I'm extremely disappointed that we didn't have a better outcome today, but I'm also at the same time very proud of what this group of young men was able to accomplish." More. (link)

Todd Turner's Collegiate Sports Associates is on the wire again & this time it's a report that it's landed the Tennessee AD search assignment after just recently inking a deal to assist with the same process at UNLV. 247Sports.com's Brice refers to the five-year, up to $3M contract UT has with Parker Executive Search, though the university is not obligated to use Parker on every search. Also from Brice, "Candidates widely mentioned thus far for the athletics director’s position on Rocky Top include, but are not limited to, Northwestern’s Jim Phillips, Arizona’s Greg Byrne, Chattanooga’s David Blackburn and Cincinnati’s Mike Bohn, as well as Kentucky’s Mitch Barnhart and Oregon’s Rob Mullens." (link)

LEAD1 will host its first "Sports Congressional Gala" at the Trump International Hotel in D.C. in November because of its large ballroom & Prez/CEO McMillen notes he's had a solid relationship with President-elect Trump for 30 years. On ideology conflicts with the host venue, "I’m sure Washington had conflicts, too. He owned tons of land in the western frontier, so he had tons of conflicts. It was an interesting time. Real estate is a tough thing because you can’t sell it, and I think back to presidents that had great wealth." Former Chief White House ethics lawyer Painter: "Any intermingling with U.S. government business and Trump Organization business is very risky. I would, at a bare minimum, with respect to this particular event, prohibit White House personnel from attending." (link)

More from SEC Commish Sankey's CFP presser on Sunday. On pro players practicing with college teams: "We have Olympians practicing with track teams, and basketball probably in greater numbers than others will have former players come back. There’s probably good and bad. Former players probably say ‘Wait a second, you’re going to put me in pads and a helmet, I’m gonna go out there?’ I don’t think it’s a healthy distraction, but I think it’s almost a non-event, to be quite honest with you, because it’s been a non-event for a long period of time in a number of sports." On late-season rivalry games hurting teams rankings and his level of control in addressing that: "Do we have control? Sure, but those are important rivalries, those are in-state rivalries, all with ACC schools, and we’ve honored that as part of our schedule. We have great rivalry that weekend among conference opponents. The Iron Bowl, notably, so we’ve not looked at a different approach to that weekend. From the standpoint of allowing more teams to be ranked highly, I don’t have to go back very far to show four SEC teams in the top five or six, so I don’t think placement of those games affects our ability to have teams highly ranked." On how often the realigning of divisions topic is discussed: " It comes up I think every time there’s more than six media gathered together to ask. That’s about it. We’ve had 25 years of a great football championship (game) and great football competition with the divisions, and people have followed our league, so we’re pleased to have set a quality example of how we should establish divisions." (link)

The San Jose Mercury News' Wilner goes in on the divorce between Cal & former FB HC Dykes, notes a poor cultural & stylistic fit between the two from the get go. On rumors AD Williams' move now was about going after former Oregon HC Kelly, "It’s unlikely that we’ll ever know beyond a reasonable doubt. My instinct … and multiple sources are in agreement … is that Dykes was going to get fired regardless of Kelly’s situation. Once he decided to dance with Baylor (and Houston), that was it." Points to possible red tape & the holidays at the university that could have held up the decision given the odd timing of the announcement. Believes the university is focused on hiring a new leader who truly wants to be in Berkeley, a bit more. (link)

Outgoing Southern Miss AD McGillis camps with the Hattiesburg American's Munz to recount his tenure with the Golden Eagles. Proud of the what his department team has accomplished & notes heartache in leaving, "You always wish you’d have achieved more. But that’s human nature. There are things on the horizon that we didn’t get to yet that I’ll enjoy from afar. The people are the hardest thing to walk away from, hands down. But I don’t really look at in terms of unfinished business. You just recognize those things are on the horizon. There’s no question, though, that a renovation of Reed Green must be in the future. And I’m sure the next athletic director, the university leadership and community leadership will come together to make that a reality." (link)

SportsBusiness Journal is back from its holiday break & had a handful of key reads, including this one on how sports organizations, including some in the college space, handle relocating season ticket holders with moves to renovated or new facilities. Clemson's $63.5M revamp of Littlejohn Coliseum reviewed with comments from Asst. AD for Ticket Operations & Sales Godfrey on working through the process with significant layout & capacity changes. Technology is a key piece of the overall story as departments are leveraging the likes of Ballena & VR options to show fans the views for their new seat locations. Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment's Allphin says the focus should be on getting your biggest fans closest to the action, not necessarily optimizing everything for revenue's sake. (link)

A newly formed DI Football Competition Committee will "conduct research and provide counsel regarding the sport" and report to the Football Oversight Committee. Arizona State AD Anderson is the inaugural chair of the FCC that features a dozen others, including Nebraska AD Eichorst, MAC Commish Steinbrecher, SMU FAR Rogers, Colgate AD Chun, Ohio State student-athlete Mack, South Alabama FB HC Jones, UNC FB HC Fedora, Big 12 Sr. Assoc. Commish Stewart, C-USA Sr. Assoc. Commish Hanks, Florida AD Strickland, Wyoming FB HC Bohl and Youngstown State AD Strollo. (link)

Interesting read from Inside Higher Ed: "Gender Roles and Presidential Spouses." A recent study by the University of Minnesota found that 84% of these spouses found their roles satisfying, very satisfying or extremely satisfying. Female spouses were more likely to limit or quit their own careers when their spouses became presidents. Lead investigator and UM professor Hendel: "We did a lot of comparisons based on whether the institution was public versus private, whether it was located in the North or other parts of the country, size of institution. The only variable which turned out to have statistically significant results for several of the items was, in fact, gender." Roughly 24% of presidents have made the decision to take or turn down a job based on the spouses' expected role. Lots more. (link)

The NYT's Rosenbloom strategizes on how to get around new checked baggage rules from around the airline industry, though some include needing a particular tier of membership. United's "basic economy" fare does not give passengers space in overhead bins & not all bags sizes are treated equally from one brand to another as Southwest has some of the largest dimension measurements allowed & KLM Royal Dutch Airlines some of the smallest. If you're getting a new bag to fit all standards, make sure to measure it yourself before purchase as Consumer Reports found nine of every 11 carry-on bags are actually larger than advertised. (link)

presented by Anthony Travel

Keynote sexual assault survivor/activist Brenda Tracy spoke at the AFCA's annual convention yesterday: "I don't hate football. I don't hate men. It's only 10 percent of the population doing this. Ninety percent of our men in this country would not commit a violent act. So let's get them to start speaking out." She suggested having written zero-tolerance policies signed by players, bringing in survivors (like her) to talk to the group and further discussion on the true meaning of consent. Afterward: "We all have to band together to do this. It's kind of football that victimized me in the first place, so it seems kind of strange to think the very thing that hurt me so much could heal so much, but it is. And I looked out in that room, and I saw a lot of hope. And I hope that all these people will partner with me and other survivors to change this culture." (link)

Georgia Tech AD Stansbury is interested in making some changes at Bobby Dodd Stadium similar to what he did at UCF and Oregon State. Stansbury: "Both of those [the UCF and OSU projects] were the result of trying to find ways to enhance the fan experience. Looking at Bobby Dodd, that is definitely something that we’ll look to do. I don’t know that it’ll be a beach club or a party terrace, but we will be looking at every opportunity to provide an in-game experience that may be different. [...] In this day and age, when you’re competing against yourself on TV, you’ve got to provide an in-game experience that you just can’t get at home, and so we’ll definitely be looking at the stadium and what opportunities there will be enhance the fan experience." (link)

While Alabama lost last night's national championship game, Bloomberg's Novy-Williams reports that Clemson -- and everyone else in CFB -- has a long way to go to catch up with the Crimson Tide's financial investment in the sport. The Crimson Tide reportedly spent $51M on FB in 2015 compared with Clemson's $24M, while also bringing in $97M, twice that of the Tigers and more than the new national champs' entire athletic budget. Despite the gulf between the two, Clemson still spends more than 75% of other top-tier programs, and the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots," Novy-Williams says, continues to grow. 'Power 5' institutions spent an average of $90M on athletics in 2015 while their FBS peers, excluding the military academies, spent a third of that, and new TV deals, such as the B1G's latest agreement which will bring in about $440M annually, will continue to deepen the chasm. Novy-Williams calls the overall CFB business model unsustainable, but says the "dynasty programs will be the last ones to fill the shifting landscape." (link)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution publishes another piece from Bloomberg's Novy-Williams in which the author examines why, when the risks are so high and the returns so demonstrably unreliable, colleges continue adding football programs -- 57 in the last eight years alone. Novy-Williams identifies three reasons: football serves as an engine for alumni donations; raises a school's profile beyond the region, ostensibly allowing for a larger student recruitment pool; and community pride. East Tennessee State, for example, began its FB program in 2015, funding it, in part, by approving a $125 student fee to cover $2.8M of the program's cost. ETSU AD Sander: "That was the only way we could do it. It's much more than trying to create revenue, because it's not going to do it. There's no doubt about that." But adding FB has taken some of the weight off of the MBB team, which was playing several "guarantee games" each year, bringing in about $600K but saddling the team "with a losing record early, turning off fans and demoralizing the athletes. ETSU was damaging its most important sport just to support the others." Sander: "The university decided it was better for quality of life, better for branding, better for enrollment, and the expectation here in town is to have football." More. (link)

HC Notes: Stanford Women's Volleyball HC Dunning calls it a career after 32 years as an HC & five National Championships. "I am a very lucky person. I have had the joy of coaching in a sport I love for decades." (link); Air Force FB HC Calhoun gets a one-year extension in Colorado Springs that could now keep him with the Falcons through 2021. (link); After an impressive run this past season, Colorado HC MacIntyre inks a three-year extension worth $16.25M over the next five years. (link); Buffalo Men's Soccer HC Riddle exits for the same job at Northern Kentucky. Pretty direct in comments about the desire to work with more resources. (link); Stony Brook AD Heilbron hires Wyoming Assoc. HC Belzung as the new Women's Volleyball HC for the Seawolves. (link); Michigan State WBB HC Merchant is back on the sidelines after collapsing during a game last week. Says she's "OK, but not 100 percent." (link)

More from the ABCA Convention in Anaheim as D1Baseball's Fitt details additional legislative talk. UMass Lowell HC Harring proposes to eliminate the 25% scholarship floor & bring back the one-time transfer exception, though that seems like a long shot. Fitt: "Some coaches are concerned that getting rid of the 27-man counter rule will hurt parity and help the big powers, but it’s important to note that the 35-man roster cap isn’t going anywhere. The 35-man cap is probably the single biggest reason for the increased parity in college baseball over the last decade; big schools can’t carry 25 walk-ons anymore." There's sizable momentum behind allowing programs to play games in the Fall that don't count against the maximum of 56, as well as the need for a fourth full-time AC. More, including pace of play thoughts. (link)

SBD/SBJ's Ourand goes in on Twitter's focus on sports programming & despite relative low engagement for NFL streaming compared to viewership on TV, COO Noto highlights the percentage of eyeballs under 25 & the NFL's branding ability to get other deals done. "We think the strategy we’re following makes sense for Twitter." (link); BAMTech now has an even bigger competitor as NBC Sports & Turner have combined their streaming operations. iStreamPlanet CEO Babic says BAM needs a high-level adversary, "This is not about huge volume; this is not about having 3,000 customers. It’s about having 30-50 customers that we can help grow their businesses and build their digital brands." (link); Pre-roll ads longer than 15 seconds are the worst. How about mid-roll, limited to 15 seconds, no earlier than the 20-second mark of the video? Facebook may test. (link)

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Former Clemson AD Phillips with more perspective on his time with the Tigers & the hire of HC Swinney after last night's National Championship win: "It's a good thing that I had a president [Jim Barker] who trusted me and had a wonderful relationship with our trustees. I'm pretty sure there were reservations, because on paper, Dabo didn't have the credentials that a lot of these other folks we talked to did. But Jim accepted my recommendation, stood behind it with the trustees, and the rest is history. ... What I kept coming back to was that Dabo was worth the gamble, if you want to call it a gamble, and I'd been around him enough to know that he was a great fit for Clemson." Lots more Swinney love from the former Tigers AD. (link); Swinney in his on-field interview last night right after the victory: "And I know Terry Don Phillips is sitting at home. Terry Don, I’m not here without you, brother. Appreciate you." (link)

In his three years as AD, Arizona State's Anderson has overseen a laundry list of wholesale changes, including a $256M (at least) renovation of Sun Devil Stadium, relocation of the baseball team from Packard Stadium to Phoenix Municipal Stadium, several marquee hires, including MBB HC Hurley, and negotiated an 8-year, $38M apparel agreement with Adidas, to name a few. Anderson says he and his staff are most proud of adding four new new programs and providing academic assistance through scholarships while much of the NCAA is beset by a climate of funding woes. The ASU AD also credits Prez Crow for his vision of public-private partnerships which are fueling the department's expansion: "You have to have the confidence to be able to go out and financially support your case, and we've been able to do that. We didn't just add a sport and then say, 'oh, by the way, how do we figure out how to support it financially?' The last thing you want to do is start a sport and then unplug it." (link)

A crowdfunding project called "Wings Up" has helped North Dakota raise $32,496 since launching on December 1. The online campaign, which hopes to raise a total of $305K, has been beneficial for the Softball program to the tune of $10K and the Swimming and Diving programs have generated $14K. AD Faison on how the idea came about following the threat of programs being possibly cut due to the university's budget shortfall: "The president challenged our coaches to get more engaged in fundraising. We met with the Alumni Association staff and they came up with the idea." (link)

Kentucky State Auditor Harmon announces the state will move forward with an audit of the Louisville Arena Authority, the board which oversees the KFC Yum! Center. Harmon explains that the process will examine whether the facility is complying with revenue-sharing agreements and that if "these procedures identify additional risks or red flags, we will consider expanding the scope of the audit." The arena authority has acknowledged that it will be unable to make debt payments by as early as 2020 unless additional revenue sources can be found. The arena receives $9.8M in annual metro government funding but otherwise relies on a TIF (tax-increment financing) district around the facility, in addition to revenue derived from other arena events. Authority chair Cox says the group will lobby the KY General Assembly for a restructuring of TIF legislation which would allow the TIF agreement to extend to 30 years. The auditor's office is "hopeful" that work will be finished by the summer. (link)

Deepest condolences to the Northwestern community after WBB student-athlete Hankins was found unresponsive in her room on campus yesterday. Police in Evanston are investigating the matter, but the school says there was no evidence of foul play. The Wildcats' game tomorrow at Minnesota has been canceled. AD Phillips: "We are heartbroken and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jordan Hankins. Our love and thoughts are with her family, teammates and friends. [...] Our department is solely focused on supporting those who adored her." (link)

Also Noticed: Can't get behind the Tulsa World's paywall, but this one looks interesting, "Why does Bob Stoops work so well with his superiors? Credit Steve Spurrier for his example." (link); LSU's lawsuit with former FB DC & current Texas A&M staffer Chavis is headed for a jury trial. (link); Missouri has hired a new Asst. AD for Community Relations with an acute focus on St. Louis & it's former FB student-athlete & current radioman Richards who gets the assignment. (link); Belmont Men's Soccer is headed from the Horizon to the SoCon as an associate member. (link); We all love oral histories & here's one on "Steve Sarkisian’s 500-day odyssey from USC to Alabama." (link)

Seems like decent timing to roll this one back out: The Clemson duo of Associate AD for Communications, Joe Galbraith, and Director of New & Creative Media, Jonathan Gantt, on how the Tigers have achieved impressive social & digital growth over the last couple of years. Topics covered in today's segment include how they filter creative ideas from others around college athletics, the continuous conversation around improvement & goals, the future of how communications departments operate as it relates to individual sport programs & more. Listen by clicking the link. - link (length - 9:21)

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(Posted from most recent over the last 30 days)

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