CollegeSportsInfo.com News

D-I Upgrade Problems for WSSU?

2009-02-11T02:12:00.000-05:00

Chico Caldwell, the athletics director at Winston-Salem State since 2000, was fired yesterday by Chancellor Donald Reaves.

Caldwell, who was hired by former chancellor Harold Martin, had been instrumental in steering the Rams athletics program to NCAA Division I status. The program is in its third year of transition after having left Division II and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

When reached yesterday by phone and asked why he was fired, Caldwell said: "I don't know -- that's what I'm trying to find out."

Reaves, who was hired in February 2007, did not return a phone call to discuss his decision but said in a prepared statement that it was time for "new leadership."

"A stated goal in my short tenure as chancellor is to implement a talent strategy that has the right people in the right position at the right time," Reaves said in the statement. "The university, including its athletics program, is at a critical transition point where fresh ideas and approaches are needed, and in keeping with my commitment to the talent strategy, I believe that the athletics program and our student-athletes will benefit from new leadership."

Reaves named Tonia Walker, the associate director of athletics and senior women's administrator, as the interim AD. She has been at the school since August 2000, when she was hired as the volleyball coach and assistant AD after spending eight years as the director of public relations for the CIAA.

Walker, a two-sport athlete in college, received a bachelor's degree from Hampton in 1993 and a master's degree from Old Dominion in 1998. At WSSU, she has twice been named the CIAA senior women's administrator of the year.

Caldwell, 61, was just the fourth athletics director in school history. He was hired in the summer of 2000 after Anne Little was fired.

Little was the AD for three years. She followed Al Roseboro, who retired in the spring of 1997. Roseboro took over in 1990 to replace Big House Gaines, who until then had been the school's only AD. Gaines died in April 2005.

One of the biggest issues the athletics department faces is the transition to Division I.

Read More:

WSSU fires athletics director of 9 years

Academics could bar some schools from NCAA postseason

2009-02-10T16:11:00.000-05:00

The NCAA is preparing to deliver on an unprecedented threat to hand down postseason bans because of academic deficiencies, a prospect it says is facing as many as nine teams at eight Division I schools.

All are saddled with low Academic Progress Rates (APRs), which measure player retention and progress toward graduation. And all are seeking waivers to forestall the penalties.

Five of the teams have seen requests initially rejected, their hopes hanging on face-to-face hearings beginning in Indianapolis in 10 days or subsequent appeals to the NCAA Division I Board of Directors.

It's a notable step for the NCAA. It has long imposed bans on bowl and other postseason appearances for serious violations of its rules, but not until now has it used the penalty as a hammer in academic matters.

The men's basketball and baseball programs at Centenary are in the crosshairs, its athletics director says. Also needing waivers, according to officials at their respective schools, are Weber State's playoff-quarterfinal football team and a Texas-Arlington baseball program that claimed a Southland Conference championship and an NCAA tournament berth three years ago.

Read More...

Hoops schools vs. non-hoops schools

2009-02-10T15:18:00.001-05:00

Are You Fan Enough?

How do you know if you're a hoops school? When you're 10 games below .500 and still outdraw ranked BCS teams. Plus: A look at who's hot and not as we head down the stretch.

Read on...

Miami to hire UNC's Lovett

2009-02-10T15:16:00.001-05:00

Miami is expected to hire North Carolina special teams coach and defensive assistant John Lovett as its defensive coordinator, sources close to the situation confirmed on Monday.

According to the Miami Herald, which first reported the story, Miami could announce the hire as early as Wednesday. The move would complete Miami's offseason staff changes, as coach Randy Shannon also hired Mark Whipple as offensive coordinator to replace Patrick Nix, who was fired after the season.

Lovett will be the third defensive coordinator the program has had in three seasons under Shannon. The Canes had to replace former defensive coordinator Bill Young after one season because Young decided last month to coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma State.

Read more...

Utah lawmakers call for football playoff system

2009-02-09T19:05:00.000-05:00

"Utah's state legislature is calling for a playoff system to determine college football's national champion after an undefeated University of Utah was shut out of the national title game for the second time in four years.

With University of Utah football players on hand, the state senate adopted a resolution Monday it wants sent to President Barack Obama urging the NCAA to abandon the Bowl Championship Series in favor of a playoff system.

Utah went 13-0 and was the only unbeaten team in the country, but finished No. 2 behind Florida in The Associated Press Top 25. In the final USA Today Coaches' poll, the Utes were fourth.

Under the BCS, champions from the six major conferences — the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC — are guaranteed a spot in a BCS game. Notre Dame and schools from the other five conferences can only earn a spot in a BCS game if they finish the regular season rated high enough under a formula that relies on two human polls and six computer rankings."

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North Miami Beach, WMU coaches slam UCF football staff

2009-02-06T14:18:00.002-05:00

Forget Florida and Tennessee. The North Miami Beach and Western Michigan camps have taken some pretty harsh shots at UCF today.

North Miami Beach High School Coach Jeff Bertani told the Kalamazoo Gazettehe was stunned when players Nico Flores and Kemal Ishmael opted to sign with UCF instead of following the school's pipeline of standout players to Western Michigan.

Bertani lamented negative recruiting tactics employed by the UCF coaching staff trying to lure Flores and Ishmael to Orlando after he said they already had committed to Western Michigan. Kalamazoo Gazette beat writer Graham Couch throws in his own opinion, calling the tactics he heard were used by assistant coach David Kelly and head coach George O'Leary 'ridiculous and shameful for grown men who claim to be educators.'

UCF coaches have declined to comment on the record about any battles leading up to signing day, but there are allegations from the Knights' camp that Bertani engaged in heavy negative recruiting against UCF and strongly pushed his athletes to pick Western Michigan over the Knights. It also is unclear whether Flores and Ishmael ever actually committed to Western Michigan, with no one ever directly quoting the athletes saying they had committed before signing day."

Read more...

Anti-BCS resolution introduced

2009-02-06T14:13:00.000-05:00

A resolution has been introduced at the Utah State Legislature in support of doing away with college football's Bowl Championship Series.

SJR11, a 'Joint Resolution Urging Football Playoff,' was introduced into the Senate on Thursday by Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City. The resolution calls on the National Collegiate Athletic Association to abandon the BCS in favor of a national playoff system.

Read More..

Ex-Miami Hurricanes coach Larry Coker interested in Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners job

2009-02-06T14:03:00.000-05:00

Former Miami coach Larry Coker has applied to lead the new Texas-San Antonio football program in what would be his first head coaching job since the Hurricanes fired him in 2006.

Coker, who led Miami to the BCS championship in 2001 and is currently an ESPN college football analyst, told the San Antonio Express-News he spoke to UTSA over the phone about the job last month.

'That's as far as it's gotten,' Coker told the newspaper.

Coker said athletic director Lynn Hickey did not indicate if or when he might be interviewed. School officials have said they hope to have a head coach in place by March 1, and UTSA hopes to make its college football debut in 2011."

James Franklin to succeed Ralph Friedgen as coach at Maryland

2009-02-06T13:59:00.000-05:00

Maryland will name offensive coordinator James Franklin as coach Ralph Friedgen's successor at a 3 p.m. ET news conference today.

Friedgen, who turns 62 in April, still has three years remaining in his contract -- it expires Jan. 2, 2012 -- and he isn't expected to retire before then. But Franklin was hired with the understanding that he would have a chance to be head coach."

Le Moyne weighs move to all D-I

2009-02-05T22:59:00.000-05:00

Le Moyne weighs move to all D-I - syracuse.com: "After giving the idea a thumbs-up in concept, Le Moyne College is seriously pondering whether to match its athletic ambition with cold, hard cash.

Specifically, about $3 million worth, give or take.

That's the approximate tab the school would be looking at to move all 16 of its teams up to the NCAA classification of Division I, a major overhaul that a school committee unanimously recommended on Tuesday."

Kiffin Tattles on Florida

2009-02-05T14:17:00.000-05:00

Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of violating recruiting rules in pursuing wide receiver prospect Nu'Keese Richardson.

WVLT-TV reported that Kiffin told a group of fans at a signing day breakfast celebration Thursday morning that Meyer phoned Richardson while the recruit was making his official visit to Tennessee recently.

"I'm gonna turn Florida in right here in front of you," Kiffin said, according to WVLT-TV. "While Nu'Keese was on campus, his phone kept ringing. One of the coaches says, 'who's that?' And he said, Urban Meyer."

Richardson, a Pahokee, Fla, native, signed with the Volunteers on Tuesday, despite having indicated he would sign with the Gators.

Kiffin told the crowd, "I love the fact that Urban had to cheat and still didn't get him."

Tennessee spokeswoman Tiffany Carpenter told The Associated Press the school would not file an official complaint to the NCAA.

A Florida team spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Top 25 College Football Recruiting Classes (ESPN)

2009-02-05T14:15:00.002-05:00

Here's ESPN's take on this years college football recruiting:

1. LSU

2. Alabama

3. Texas

4. USC

5. Florida

6. Georgia

7. Miami (FL)

8. Florida State

9. Ohio State

10. Michigan

11. Oklahoma

12. South Carolina

13. North Carolina

14. Notre Dame

15. Tennessee

16. Penn State

17. UCLA

18. Virginia Tech

19. Clemson

20. Arkansas

21. Rutgers

22. Mississippi

23. Mississippi State

24. South Florida

25. Auburn

Big Sky Update...NAU developments

2009-02-04T14:27:00.003-05:00

A quick followup to the previous article about the Big Sky.

On the CollegeSportsInfo.com forums, we've been looking at some developments with one of the schools:

Looks like NAU must submit a proposed list of budget cuts of about $22 million for FY09(this school year)to the Arizona BOR by next Monday.Unclear whether any athletic programs will be cut in this current proposal since budget cuts for athletics in the NAU draft proposal appear to be less than $700,000.However there will also be additional budget cuts for FY10 which begins on 7-1-09.Link to draft of NAU FY09 budget cuts at http://www4.nau.edu/president/FY2009%20BudgetOptions.pdf

Georgia Coach Candidates

2009-02-02T15:18:00.001-05:00

I normally cover this during the off-season, but Georgia started us off early:

Considered "A" list candidates:
Jeff Capel - Oklahoma coach
Sean Miller - Xavier coach
Anthony Grant - VCU coach
Tubby Smith - Minnesota coach
Bob Knight - former Texas Tech coach

Bob Knight interested in Georgia Bulldogs job - ESPN

2009-02-02T15:17:00.000-05:00

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Sunday that if Knight were offered the Bulldogs job, he would take it, a source close to the coach told the newspaper.

On Monday, Knight said he has not had contact with Georgia and revisited his past stance about whether he'd return to the college ranks.

"I have never said that I wouldn't coach again. I've simply said in the past, if the right situation came along, I would be interested," he said.

Georgia fired Dennis Felton last Thursday after the Bulldogs (9-12 overall, 0-6 SEC) got off to an 0-5 start in the conference. Associate coach Pete Herrmann was named interim coach for the remainder of the season.

Knight, 68, left Texas Tech in the middle of the 2008 season. The winningest men's college basketball coach in history with 902 victories coached the Red Raiders from 2001-08 after a 29-year run at Indiana that ended in controversy.

"He doesn't want it to look as if he's pursuing the job," the source close to Knight told the Journal-Constitution. "He'd like to be offered it, and if offered, he'd take it.

Ivan Maisel: Ten Commandments for learning how to recruit

2009-01-31T20:58:00.000-05:00

You're a 25-year-old graduate assistant who's just gotten your first full-time college coaching gig. You're given a car, an expense account, some snappy golf shirts with the team logo and a territory to recruit. The head coach sends you out the door and into the high school world and wishes you good luck.

Oh, and one more thing: Don't come back without players who will win a conference championship.

What do you do...

Condi Rice as Pac 10 Commish?

2009-01-30T22:31:00.000-05:00

From the Seattle times:

So here's an intriguing name as a candidate to become the new commissioner of the Pac-10 Conference --- former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Two sources said that she is on the list of candidates to replace Tom Hansen, having shown definite interest in the job. Indications are that she may not be the favorite, though it's unclear who is. But a hire of Rice would obviously get a lot of attention for the conference. ... Rice was provost at Stanford from 1993-99 --- it was under her watch that the school hired Tyrone Willingham as football coach and the two have remained friends --- so she knows the conference well, and it's through some of those contacts that her interest in the Pac-10 commissioner's job has apparently come about. Rice has said she was planning to return to Stanford to teach."

MAC commissioner Rick Chryst resigns after 10 seasons - ESPN

2009-01-30T21:52:00.000-05:00

MAC commissioner Rick Chryst resigns after 10 seasons - ESPN: "Mid-American Conference commissioner Rick Chryst has decided to resign after 10 seasons. Chryst will stay with the conference through the end of his current contract, which ends June 30.

'I have been privileged to serve an outstanding group of institutions, administrators and student-athletes during a time of unprecedented achievement for the MAC,' Chryst said in a statement Thursday. 'The conference stands for all of the best values -- academically and athletically -- in major college athletics, and I truly believe it is firmly positioned to sustain its competitiveness for a long time to come."

Big Sky to Lose a Football Member?

2009-01-29T18:59:00.005-05:00

Our favorite CollegeSportsInfo.com forum member recently listed an article from the Idaho Statesman about the state of the Big Sky and finances and asks an interesting question: is the Big Sky set to lose a member?

Article out of Boise discussing the financial problems for the state supported schools in Idaho.Apparently each one is looking at budget cuts.Two thirds of the way down the article,in the mood of if you think we have it bad,this quote from Idaho State interim AD Jeff Tingley,"one school in the Big Sky Conference is weighing whether to drop football entirely".
Any guesses on which school Mr Tingley is talking about? Link to article

CSI Forums Down...and now back up!

2009-01-29T15:57:00.003-05:00

Update: Looks like they fixed themselves quickly. Might need to add a google custom search to the forums instead.

------------------------------
I noticed that anytime I tried using the "search" feature of the forums, that I was getting almost zero results unless a very specific word (usually a name) was being used.

So I used the "search index" feature of the forums hoping to remedy and update the search feature. Alas, it seems something happened along the way. Fingers crossed that it fixes itself. I'll update the blog once I notice the problem is fixed.

Thanks,
Quinn

Matt.Peloquin.info

2009-01-29T15:37:00.003-05:00

Introducing...

Matt.Peloquin.info

For the past 4-5 years, I've been posting updates on the CollegeSportsInfo.com blog for such news as conference updates, coaching changes and general NCAA news. Rarely have the topics strayed too far from general sports.

So I figured it was time to launch something more personal, with a focus less on sports. I'd like to introduce you to Matt.Peloquin.info.

It's just another blog, but I wanted to give my friends in the CollegeSportsInfo.com community a first look.

The area I have been covering the most on it is an experiment that started a few months ago. I canceled my DirecTV subscription and have gone the past 3 months without watching TV. Instead, I've only used internet streaming and torrents. So in the "Kill Your TV" section, you'll find updates as to what I'm watching. In time, I'll be putting together some detailed and organized resource listings for free streaming of virtually everything you ever want to watch.

I'm also going to rely heavily on user submissions. So if you have any recommended videos for me to watch, or even just resources, please submit them.

So take a look at Matt.Peloquin.Info and let me know over there what you think!

Boise St. President on a Future MWC Invite

2009-01-29T15:19:00.001-05:00

Boise State president Bob Kustra said Tuesday morning that he considered recent comments by Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson a "final statement for now" on the Broncos' hopes of joining the nine-team league.

Boise State is a member of the Western Athletic Conference, but Kustra has made no secret of his desire to join the Mountain West, which includes Utah, BYU, TCU, UNLV and Colorado State among its members.

Thompson told USA Today this week that his league was not interested in expansion unless another team could guarantee entry into the lucrative Bowl Championship Series.

"Unless there is evidence, concrete evidence, that would say this will get you an automatic bid — not just get you closer but get you or guarantee you — I think we'll just play on with the current nine (MWC schools). There's cohesiveness. There's balance, four home games and four road," Thompson told the paper.

"We've run all sorts of models. And there's no model where a 10th member would guarantee us automatic access."

Read More...

College Hockey Realignment Underway

2009-01-29T15:06:00.001-05:00

Here's a good post from the CollegeSportsinfo.com forums that sums up the upcoming movement:

It appears that D-1 hockey realignment is following a grand plan (in the wake of the CHA disintegration).

Hockey East Association stays at 10 teams (no change)

ECAC Hockey League stays at 12 teams (no change)

Atlantic Hockey Association absorbs Niagara and Robert Morris to go to 12 (approved 1/27)

WCHA (currently 10 teams) opened up for expansion to 12 -
(likely to admit Bemidji State + one other applicant (likely a team transferring from CCHA))

CCHA (currently 12 teams), assuming they lose a team to WCHA expansion, has application from U Alabama-Huntsville to replace team #12.

This will shove all 58 D-1 hockey teams into 5 conferences.

The question is "who wants to move to the WCHA, and who will WCHA accept along with Bemidji State ?"

WCHA has made overtures to:
Nebraska-Omaha (CCHA) - they seem happy where they are, and
Northern Michigan U (CCHA) - former WCHA member - geographically they are a rival of WCHA's Michigan Tech in the U.P.

Other obvious possibilities: Alaska - Fairbanks (CCHA) and Air Force (AHA).

First, Air Force... they are the only team in AHA west of Pennsylvania. They seem to be a good competitive fit in AHA with Army, and the fact that the AHA has set a lower limit on scholarship players. Air Force fits geographically with the WCHA (Denver and Colorado College are in WCHA), however, Air Force would be at a competitive disadvantage, not being able to recruit foreigners or Canadiens. If they were to move to WCHA with Bemidji State, I suppose that would open a slot in AHA for UA-Huntsville, although UAH would then have to agree to trim schollies from 18 to 12, as Niagara and Robert Morris will have to.

Second, Alaska-Fairbanks... WCHA seems to want to avoid Fairbanks, even though this would offer the obvious pairing with WCHA member Alaska-Anchorage. I would think in a 12-team league, they could go to a 22-game schedule, and play everyone home-and-away. One trip to Alaska could hit both locations over the course of a single weekend (1 trip to Alaska), so the travel thing doesn't seem that different than visiting just UAA. Fairbanks is quite a bit smaller than Anchorage, and BITTERLY cold during the winter. Anchorage is on the Pacific Ocean, and not nearly so "arctic"... If others could expound upon why UAF is so unattractive to the WCHA, I'd appreciate hearing about it....

UNC-Charlotte Football Update

2009-01-29T14:47:00.001-05:00

Charlotte has announced details for football seat-license packages for its proposed football program, and where fans sit in a yet-to-be-built stadium will depend in large part on how much they pay. The FSLs were originally offered at $1,000 per seat, and $1,000 seats remain available, The Charlotte Observer reported. But the finished plan offers two primary tiers of seating, Green and Gold. Green Tier FSLs will cost $1,000 each for up to four tickets, and the money, which can be paid in four annual installments, must be paid in full by June 30, 2013. Gold Tier seats will be between the 30-yard lines and will cost $2,500 each. Gold Tier seats also will require a minimum annual contribution of $1,500 to UNCC's athletics foundation, starting in the 2013 fiscal year.

Alcorn St. Coach Loses Appeal

2009-01-29T14:32:00.001-05:00

Ernest T. Jones' bid to hang onto his job as head football coach at Alcorn State ended Tuesday after a university committee rejected an appeal of his firing.

Jones was fired Dec. 11 -- exactly a year after being hired as the Braves' coach. He signed a three-year, $140,000 contract in December 2007.

He appealed the firing to a university grievance committee, which held a hearing on his employment status Jan. 16. Jones remained head coach through that process, but university officials said his termination was complete with Tuesday's announcement.

A phone listing for Jones could not be found.

According to the statement Tuesday from the university, Jones was terminated for "malfeasance and contumacious conduct."