D1.ticker - News from Sunday, January 29, 2017

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Indiana AD Glass in an email to his 53 international student-athletes, "I am reaching out directly to you during this uncertain and challenging time to make sure you know that you continue to be completely welcome here at Indiana University. Consistent with the tenants of The Spirit of Indiana: 24 Sports, One Team, we are committed to you and to diversity and inclusivity. Indiana University’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity in the context of international students and international engagement has been most recently set forth in the attached statement from President Michael A. McRobbie which I trust you will find both eloquent and reassuring. […] Since your decision to enroll at Indiana University, IU Athletics has considered you a ‘Hoosier for Life,’ and we will continue to support you in any way we can during these difficult times." (link)

Louisville MBB has a distinct international feel with a roster that includes two student-athletes who were born in the ban-included Sudan, though they're both now Australian citizens, as well as Egyptian big man Mahmoud. After yesterday's win over NC State, Mahmoud shared some of his views amid national headlines, "Realistically, you’re not going to be able to function as a country on your own. You need to have allies. […] As long as Egypt is still a good country. I’m not banned. […] Everyone here supports us. I never felt anything but support, and I’ve been here four years now. We have a good local community. If I did [experience religious discrimination] I would not be here right now." HC Pitino referenced the Hatfields & McCoys when asked about President Trump's ban. More. (link)

Same topic from Nike CEO Parker, "Nike believes in a world where everyone celebrates the power of diversity. Regardless of whether or how you worship, where you come from or who you love, everyone's individual experience is what makes us stronger as a whole. [...] Nike stands together against bigotry and any form of discrimination. We learned that on the field of play, where fairness and mutual respect are the rule, not the exception. Now more than ever, let's stand up for our values and remain open and inclusive as a brand and a company. We are at our best when we recognize the value of our diverse community." (link)

Tulsa AD Gragg says of a potential 'Group of 5' National Championship, "We (the AAC) have branded ourselves as a Power 6 and the key word is power. […] I think our conference is widely considered the best of the Group of 5 and if there is a sixth (power conference), it would be ours." Gragg also pointed to a number of AAC institutions "being pursued" for potential Big 12 membership as evidence of the league's strength, plus notes the challenges Tulsa has with a smaller alumni base & a geographic location square in the middle of Big 12 members. (link)

Iowa Board of Regents Prez Rastetter believes state universities should have control over when they play FB games with an on-going push from a state legislator to eliminate Friday night kicks. Rastetter also indicated Hawkeyes AD Barta & Prez Harreld are discussing the potential of athletics helping to fund some student scholarships, which he says is becoming a national trend, though he recognizes the need to give athletics plenty of cash to compete. (link)

Last night's Athletic Director U. was the seventh in our 'Athletic Director in Residence' series as Florida State boss Wilcox answered some key questions submitted from the D1.t audience. On supporting high-profile HCs beyond compensation, "I cannot speak for other athletics directors; however, in my opinion, the first thing you need to do is remove your own ego and focus on doing what’s best for the program to sustain success while also adhering to institutional practices and policies." Recounts his time at the NCAA, which led to a Board position with the Black Coaches Association, believes diversity hiring "is an area that still needs to be addressed and analyzed." More, including adding a member of his team from the university's legal counsel to handle all negotiations with agents of HCs, some keys to creating solid staff synergy & why having a top-notch administrative assistant is crucial as an AD. (link)

A computer issue for Delta grounded flights nationwide yesterday, just a week after a similar situation left United Airlines passengers stuck for two hours. Southwest suffered a glitch back in July that CEO Kelly called a "once-in-a-thousand-year flood." No real explanation for any of the technical hiccups at this point, but it looks like Iowa State AD Pollard was among those impacted in Atlanta. (link, link)

presented by Anthony Travel

Watch: ESPN do-everything Bilas believes SEC MBB is improving, despite the reality it may only get three or four participants into the NCAA Tournament. Points to the current cohort of HCs & their ability to attract talent, as well as "smart scheduling." "That's really the issue. It's not about what the SEC is doing against one another, it's what they're doing in non-conference games. [...] You gotta stay away from the bottom third of Division I." A bit more. (link)

St. Peter's MBB sits a game behind Monmouth in the MAAC standings & 11-year HC Dunne doesn't care if his team's style of play is pretty, he's just worried about winning. Of course, one piece of the story in Jersey City is the recent exit of former AD Pearman. The Hudson Reporter's Hague writes, "Now, since former athletic director Belinda 'Boe' Pearman is gone, unceremoniously removed from her position last month, can the program work on getting the old banners back up on the walls of Yanitelli? The old felt banners signifying championships of the past were taken down by Pearman and never seen again, replaced by a host of placards that appear to have been printed at Staples and slapped up under the baskets. A lot of the school’s alumni and former athletes would love to see the old banners put back in their proper place. Just sayin’." (link)

Attorneys for former Boise State FB student-athlete Jackson are blaming former Kansas rower Tackett for creating a “social media fervor” that led to their client's offer from KU being rescinded. Tackett is currently the plaintiff in a Title IX case against KU, which involves an alleged sexual assault that occurred during her time as a student. Jackson's legal counsel has served Tackett with a cease and desist order, claiming she made "false and defamatory statements" about Jackson on social media without any factual basis. In an email, Associate AD of Public Affairs Marchiony denied public opinion impacted the decision to rescind Jackson's verbal commitment to the program. (link)

A Miami fan has admitted to making up a false story that was posted on a Rivals message board which claimed Florida FB was facing major NCAA violations after a recruit recorded video of two Gators coaches offering him cash. The allegation would eventually go viral after getting shared on Twitter. The Canes fan posted this explanation: "Guys, this was a massive troll job executed to perfection by none other than myself. I posted this beauty on the Rivals Mainboard on Wednesday night. To be honest, I thought I was a rather obvious troll, but the @UGArecruiting twitter handle picked up my post and tweeted it out. That caused it to go viral, and now everyone is talking about it across multiple sites." (link)

New Mexico State's 20-2 (7-0) MBB side will head to Rio Rancho, right outside Albuquerque, for a matchup tonight with Northern New Mexico (NAIA) as AD Moccia takes the Aggies three & a half hours north to its largest alumni base. Rent at the Star Center will run $12K & after all is said & done Moccia expects to at least break even. It'll be the third tip in five days for first-year HC Weir's squad, but he sees value in connecting with the fan base & working "through these stretches as the season unfolds." (link)

As you're likely aware, notable college FB voice Fowler is also ESPN's lead on major Tennis coverage, including yesterdays historic Nadal-Federer men's final from the Australian Open. The broadcasting team at Rod Laver Arena is actually located on ground level beyond a baseline & Fowler connects the position to his normal FB perch, "Sometimes it’s so intense, it’s frightening. For example, Serena is every bit as intense playing Venus as she is for other matches and maybe more. We can see it on her face. I would not want to call a football game on the sidelines because you need to see the all-22. But in tennis, it is a privilege to have that position and to look into their souls like that. It is a little bit addictive." Lots more. (link)

Politics aside, an interesting read from recode's Kafka on how some New York Times reporters communicate key information via their Twitter feeds, not in an actual NYT edition, which seems a bit perplexing as one can be monetized (in theory) & the other cannot. Head of Communications Murphy: "Several journalists use Twitter as a reporter's notebook, especially when covering live events. It's a useful tool for the journalist and it pulls back the curtain a bit on the reporting process for our readers." That said, Kafka notes conversations at the highest levels of the paper on how to better leverage the valuable real-time Twitter content. Some certain corollaries here for sports. (link)

presented by From Now On

New FIU FB HC Davis is no stranger to south Florida, but it's also the reunion with Panthers AD Garcia that was important for his reentry to the college game. Davis: "He is invaluable. Would it have been a deal breaker had he not been here to help? I don't know." Garcia: "I will say this: He is working harder today than I've ever seen him work in his life. He's enjoying every single minute. I'm telling you, he starts texting me at 5:30 in the morning and we're still talking on the phone past midnight. He is seven-days-a-week, nonstop. His staff works so hard. But the head coach outworks everybody." More Davis on Garcia, "He's always thought outside the box. If you're going to have an athletic director, you need somebody who's constantly looking for advantages and ideas, and I love that." (link)

Illinois MBB dropped a close decision to Penn State on Saturday, running its record to 13-9 (3-6), but HC Groce says AD Whitman is fully in his corner, "He and I talk daily. Josh is great, supportive. We're all in this together." The Fighting Illini haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2012-13, Groce's first Champaign campaign, & would seem to be on the outside looking in at this point, but the Chicago Tribune's Ryan notes a "respectable" RPI of 47 with nine regular season games still remaining. (link)

Admitting that he was "depressed" and "unhealthy" at the end of his tenure at Memphis, new Georgia Tech MBB HC Pastner has rekindled his love for the game this season as his surprising Yellow Jackets (13-8, 5-4 ACC) are looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. Pastner was candid in describing the latter part of his time at Memphis: "You won a game, and it was only relief. I was depressed. It ate at me like you wouldn’t believe. I wouldn’t leave the house because I felt I let the entire city down. I would literally just sit on a chair in my house. I’d go to work when I had to go to work. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t eat. I was unhealthy." (link)

Public health officials in Washington have determined that artificial turf fields that use recycled tire crumbs to mimic soil are safe to play on after Washington WSOC AC Griffin compiled a list of former and current players who were diagnosed with cancer after playing on the surfaces. Despite the conclusion drawn by the experts, Griffin says she keeps coming back to those "little black dots": "When I keep adding up these things, in my head, it's the one thing that I still don't feel great about." (link)

More from around Higher Ed: Inside Higher Ed took a stab at compiling all statements from key Higher Ed leaders around the nation on President Trump's ban. Includes the likes of AAU Prez Coleman, a number of Ivy League bosses & many more. (link); One candidate that won't be the next Prez at Florida Gulf Coast is Kennesaw State Provost & VP for Academic Affairs Harmon, who has pulled his name from the process. (link); Cornell has landed a $150M gift from H. Fisk Johnson & his SC Johnson brand for the university's biz school. (link)

Also Noticed: The back & forth between New Mexico & "watchdog" website NMFishBowl.com continues. (link); Interesting to consider that department stores increased their advertising load in the NFL's conference championship games by 53.5% from a year ago to $92.3M. Begs questions/statements around the topics of offline-online competition, TV's ability to scale for mega brands & once again, the stickiness of sports programming. (link); Nationwide has re-upped with the NFL, will remain its 'official auto, home and life insurance sponsor.' Pact is for four more years. (link)

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(Posted from most recent over the last 30 days)

Sports Law & Business Lecturer (Arizona State University / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law / Phoenix, AZ): Lecturer will teach 4-6 courses on general sports law as it applies to high school, collegiate, professional sports; will advise JD students on sports research papers. Other duties as assigned. More details HERE.

Graphic Designer (The University of Delaware / Newark, DE): Supports areas across the athletic department. This individual is responsible for creating print and digital promotional materials for athletic teams, and areas within Athletics. More details HERE.

Assistant Director of Development, Athletics (The University of Akron / Akron, OH): The University of Akron, a NCAA Division I institution and proud member of the Mid-American Conference, is now accepting applications for an Assistant Director of Athletics Development / Z-Fund. EEO/AA Employer/Veterans/Disabled. More details HERE.

Director of Corporate Partnerships (American Baseball Coaches Association / Greensboro, NC): The ABCA Director of Corporate Partnerships will oversee sales and execution of all sponsorships. The ABCA has grown to more than 8,300 member coaches and 5,000 attending the annual convention. More details HERE.

Development Officer - Cowboy Joe Club (University of Wyoming / Laramie, WY): Responsibilities include direct involvement with the annual fund drive; game day parking operations/enforcement; premium seating; assisting with auctions, golf tournaments, outreach activities. More details HERE.

Part-time Ticket Sales Representative, Intercollegiate Athletics (Ball State University / Muncie, IN): Market and sell full seasons, partial seasons, group tickets, and mini ticket plans, through outbound sales activities for all ticketed sports. EEO/AA EMPLOYER/Veterans/Disabled. More details HERE.

Director of Athletics (California State University - San Bernardino - CSU / San Bernardino, CA): The Athletics Director is a member of the Div of Student Affairs Sr Management Team. The position directs and administers intercollegiate athletics. Please visit hrd.csusb.edu for more information. More details HERE.

Director of Athletics (Long Beach State University / Long Beach, CA): Long Beach State University (LBSU) invites nominations and applications for the position of Director of Athletics. LBSU Athletics is in Division I in the Big West Conference. More details HERE.

Manager, Talent Management (The University of Delaware / Newark, DE): Responsible for fostering a commitment to diversity & inclusiveness throughout the org. incl but not limited to, staffing & programming. Create, execute, evaluate comprehensive Talent Mgmt prog. More details HERE.

Assistant Director, Athletic Communications (Northwestern University / Evanston, IL): Northwestern Athletics is seeking an innovative & multi-dimensional communications professional w/ graphic design & photography exp to assist in the publicity of Chicago’s Big Ten Team. Job ID 30120. More details HERE.

Marketing and Promotions - Graduate Assistant (Ball State University - Muncie, IN): BSU opening for Marketing and Promotions G.A. 2017 fall semester. Admission to a BSU graduate program is required. Weekly commitment includes office hours as needed, staffing sporting events: weekends/evenings/holidays. More details HERE.

Executive Director, Athletics Development (Syracuse University / Syracuse, NY): Syracuse athletics is seeking an executive to lead all development activities for the athletics program, including direct oversight of the Orange Club. This will be a key senior leadership position. More details HERE.

Assistant Men's Soccer Coach - Goal Keepers (Appalachian State University / Boone, NC): Assist the head coach in the development and management of all facets of a NCAA Division I soccer program. More details HERE.

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