NCAA Football FanHouse

Time for Colleges to Ban Facebook?

Clay Travis — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Arizona, Campus, General CFB Insanity

Virtually every college athlete in the country is on Facebook now. This makes sense, it's hard not to be on Facebook if you're under 35, impossible if you're under 25. But Facebook has become a public relations minefield for major athletic programs across the country. Whether it's players being kicked out of school for making a threat in their status message (Wake Forest), posting racist comments about the newly elected President (Texas), setting off an internet firestorm over whether or not you actually posted messages on another person's wall (Georgia) or just having your idiotic responses to quizzes posted all over for others to enjoy (Michigan). This is just the tip of the Facebook iceberg, every program is in danger at every moment of every day. All of this attention and all of this danger raises an intriguing question: Is it time for athletic departments to ban their athletes from having social media profiles on Facebook, MySpace, and the like?

Time for Colleges to Ban Facebook? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

FSU Doggedly Fighting NCAA Over Wins

Jim Henry — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:23:00 EST

by Jim Henry

Filed under: Florida State

Florida State has returned the NCAA's volley.

FSU administrators released their rebuttal Wednesday morning to the NCAA in the latest step in the school's appeal of sanctions stemming from an academic misconduct case. The university is appealing just one of the original sanctions imposed by the NCAA earlier this year -- the order to vacate wins in as many as 10 sports.

The NCAA has not moved from its position that FSU must vacate victories in multiple sports, a ruling that would cost Seminoles football coach Bobby Bowden 14 victories and essentially end his bid to become college football's all-time winningest coach.

FSU Doggedly Fighting NCAA Over Wins originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:23:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lane Kiffin's Next Trick: Recruiting a Middle Schooler? Uh, Not Really

Mark Hasty — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:16:00 EST

Filed under: Tennessee, Media Watch, Recruiting, Prospects

In case you're wondering, here is the complete list of outrageous things Lane Kiffin has not done since becoming head coach at Tennessee:

1. Paint himself orange and skydive naked into Bryant-Denny Stadium.
2. Ask what Urban Meyer has done that's so great.
3. Consult with the UT astronomy department to see whether the universe would be annihilated if his ego was ever in the same room as Bruce Pearl's.
4. Coach in, and win, a football game.

For a moment, I had to cross off "make an outrageous scholarship offer to a middle schooler" because, well, there were reports that he just did that. Evan Berry, 13-year-old son of former Vol running back James Berry and brother of current Vol Eric Berry, has officially committed to the Vols. Or so said Rivals.com and ESPN, sort of.

Lane Kiffin's Next Trick: Recruiting a Middle Schooler? Uh, Not Really originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Texas RBs Eager to Quiet Naysayers

Terrance Harris — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:34:00 EST

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Texas, Big 12

It's hard to argue with much when a team goes 12-1 and comes within a lucky last-second play of going undefeated during the regular season as well as having a chance to play for the national title.

That is unless you play in the backfield at the University of Texas, where high production at running back is an expectation. The Longhorns, relying heavily on a group of inexperienced running backs, didn't put up the kind of running numbers that have become commonplace in Austin, where immortals like Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams once did their work.

Junior running back Vondrell McGee knows that this season the running back corps will have to make considerable strides to quiet detractors who insist the Longhorns ground attack has fallen off.

Texas RBs Eager to Quiet Naysayers originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hogs Offense Should Be Razor-Sharp

Jim Henry — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:53:00 EST

by Jim Henry

Filed under: Arkansas, SEC

Bobby Petrino's offense is not easy to learn. In fact, it is complicated.

It's not uncommon for a Petrino team to be able to run the same play out of as many 10 different formations, creating confusion for the defense. That's why Arkansas tailback Michael Smith, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2008, viewed spring drills as a blessing. Sure, Smith would rather have practiced but he was sidelined with a hamstring injury.

So Smith studied practice from a new vantage point.

Hogs Offense Should Be Razor-Sharp originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

College Football's Statutory Take

Brian Grummell — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:25:00 EST

by Brian Grummell

Filed under: Alabama, NC State, Tennessee, Texas

Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

If He Can Get On The Field, Play Ball -- It's come to this: the 13-year-old brother of Tennessee safety Eric Berry has pledged to play football for the Vols. Nevermind that he's not even in high school, but the kid's set on Orange and who is Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin to say no? The saving grace in all of this is that verbals are non-binding and four years is a lot of time to fill where both parties could easily part ways.

College Football's Statutory Take originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bob Stoops, Pat Fitzgerald, Brian Kelly Get Contract Extensions

Mark Hasty — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:15:00 EST

Filed under: Cincinnati, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Coaching

If there's a recession in college football, it has yet to reach the coaching ranks. Well, not the head-coaching ranks, anyway. In the past week, three head coaches, Bob Stoops, Pat Fitzgerald, and Brian Kelly, have signed contract extensions that will keep them at their present jobs for a while longer.

We start at Oklahoma, where Bob Stoops is now signed through the 2015 season. Despite several big-bowl bloopers, the people in and around the Oklahoma program are happy with their head coach, and who can blame them? In addition to the extension, Stoops also gets a $250,000 raise to $3.675 million a year, plus $700,000 each July if he remains at OU. If he doesn't stay, they are so defriending him.

Bob Stoops, Pat Fitzgerald, Brian Kelly Get Contract Extensions originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Minnesota Bans Alcohol From New Stadium, Including Suites

Mark Hasty — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Minnesota, Big 10

The University of Minnesota's Board of Regents has decided to go dry. The Board acted Wednesday to ban alcohol sales at all its on-campus venues, including the soon-to-open TCF Bank Stadium.

"Acted" might be a bit of stretch, actually. "Reacted" is closer to the truth, as the Minnesota State Legislature recently enacted a law mandating that if some fans would be able to buy alcohol at University sporting events, all fans of legal age had to be allowed to.

That seems like a silly law until you consider that the U of M planned to sell alcohol to people in TCF Bank Stadium's luxury boxes while making it unavailable in the cheap seats. I'm sure the Board had its reasons, but the Legislature stuck up for the little guy for once.

Of course, all this move does is correct a quirk that made the Metrodome (pictured) doubly unique among Big Ten football stadiums.

Minnesota Bans Alcohol From New Stadium, Including Suites originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Stanford Football: We Work

Clay Travis — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Stanford, General CFB Insanity

Recently, Stanford University unveiled its imaginative new slogan for the upcoming football season. Are you ready? Hold your breath. It's astounding, it's going to rock your world. "We work."

That's it.

The sum total of Stanford's distilled brilliance, the essence of sports. Shakespeare said, "Brevity is the soul of wit," so somewhere he's laughing. Everyone else? They want the athletic department to get a refund check.

Stanford Football: We Work originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wisconsin Season Ticket Renewals Fall; Barry Alvarez Blames Economy

Mark Hasty — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:50:00 EST

Filed under: Wisconsin

Barry Alvarez (pictured right), the former head football coach and current athletic director at the University of Wisconsin, is definitely a glass-half-full guy. Most athletic directors would be sweating if their season ticket renewals fell from 99% of current ticket holders to 94% in a single season, which is what has happened, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

From the outside it might seem like the football team's recent squishiness might have something to do with this sudden dropoff in renewals. The Badgers have stepped back a bit every year under head coach Bret Bielema, with last year's squad barely breaking .500 and getting stomped flat by a toothless Florida State team, 42-13, in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Nope, says Alvarez. Taking a page from Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign manual, he says it's the economy, stupid. That's why more than 3,000 season ticket holders aren't going to re-up to watch the 2009 Badgers.

Wisconsin Season Ticket Renewals Fall; Barry Alvarez Blames Economy originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Iowa Hawkeyes Among Those Saddened By Ed Thomas Shooting

Mark Hasty — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Iowa

It's 111 miles from Iowa City to Parkersburg, Iowa, but sometimes the two places seem a lot closer. Today there's no distance whatsoever. Ed Thomas, legendary coach of the Aplington-Parkersburg High School Falcons, was shot and killed by one of his former players Wednesday morning.

While Thomas sent his players to a wide variety of colleges and other walks of life, the connections between Aplington-Parkersburg and the University of Iowa go deep. Countless Falcons have gone on to become Hawkeyes; several of those players have made the leap to the NFL. The list includes Green Bay's Aaron Kampman, Detroit's Jared DeVries, and Denver's Casey Wiegmann. That's not bad for a pair of towns whose population adds up to less than 3,000 people.

As might be expected, many of Coach Thomas's former players feel a great loss. Some of Thomas's best-known players have shared their feelings -- as best as they can -- with the world.

Iowa Hawkeyes Among Those Saddened By Ed Thomas Shooting originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gambling Site Releases Odds on Next School to Violate NCAA Rules

Clay Travis — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:45:00 EST

Filed under: Gambling, General CFB Insanity

You know 2009 is the the summer of NCAA violations when sports betting sites take aim at the action. In a sign as momentous as when the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (this might be in my mind because I went to see the most epically bad movie of the summer in Year One. Seriously it's awful.), BetUS.com laid action on which school was the most likely to receive the next NCAA violation. NCAA president Myles Brand just broke a crystal gavel in the NCAA corporate offices.

USC leads the pack at 8-1, followed by Ohio State at 9-1, Florida and Ole Miss at 10-1. I think I speak for everyone when I say that Tennessee at 14-1 is an extremely attractive option. And how in the world is Iowa also 14-1, don't you at least have to have good players for penalties to seem likely? Or is that a subtle nod to the slow derailment that has been the Kirk Ferentz era? Regardless, I think we all know what this means, the NCAA enforcement procedure has become such a joke, that we can all have fun with teams breaking the rules. See no evil, hear no evil, fear no evil: Welcome to the 21st Century NCAA.

Gambling Site Releases Odds on Next School to Violate NCAA Rules originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Once More Oregon Gets New Unis

Chas Rich — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:14:00 EST

by Chas Rich

Filed under: Oregon, Pac 10, Media Watch

It is really never news when the Oregon Ducks get new uniforms. The Nike fashion template seemingly has variations, alternative jerseys, subtle changes and hundreds of different combinations. So, the announcement of new uniforms being unveiled should have been met with a collective yawn.

It's the claim by Oregon that this is only the "fifth edition of Oregon's football uniform evolution" since 1996 that seems highly implausible.

Yet according to the Ducks, this is truth as long as you only consider the significant changes. Then the timeline goes 1996 Cotton Bowl, the 1999 season, 2003 and then 2006. Things like last year's duck feathers on the shoulders apparently don't count in the way Oregon defines new uniforms in their evolution.

The new uniforms -- which still includes duck feathers as an option -- are again of the mix-and-match combo scheme loved by Oregon and Nike. Between the pants, helmets and jersey choices, there will be some 80 different uniform combinations.

According to the press release, the new uniforms weigh in nearly 25% less than the prior models. They will fit closer. Expect them to have a real slimming effect on the linemen.

Once More Oregon Gets New Unis originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:14:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Iowa Lineman Arrested for Mo-peding While Drunk

FanHouse Newswire — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:47:00 EST

by FanHouse Newswire

Filed under: Iowa, Police Blotter

DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) -- Iowa offensive lineman Kyle Calloway has been arrested and charged with operating a mo-ped while intoxicated.

Iowa City police say Calloway was arrested early Saturday after officers stopped him while he was driving into a barricaded area.

Police say the 22-year-old senior was given a breath test, which registered 0.106. The legal limit in Iowa is 0.08.

Iowa Lineman Arrested for Mo-peding While Drunk originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tennessee's Tragic Trio: Stallworth, Little, Goodrich

Clay Travis — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Tennessee, Police Blotter

On Oct. 19, 1998, the St. Louis Rams' Leonard Little drove his Lincoln Navigator through a red light and crashed into a car driven by a 47-year-old mother. Later tests confirmed his blood alcohol level was .19, more than twice the legal limit in the state of Missouri. The next day the mother died.

On Jan. 14, 2003 Dallas Cowboys cornerback Dwayne Goodrich spent a night out with friends at a local strip club. At two in the morning, he hopped on the interstate. That night a car caught on fire on that same interstate and three good Samaritans rushed to aid the motorist caught inside. Goodrich struck all three, killing two.

On March 14, 2009 Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian in Miami Beach while driving his Bentley at 7:15 in the morning. Stallworth had been out drinking the night before and blood tests later confirmed he was impaired at the time of the accident.

What do all three of these men share in common besides being NFL players who have killed others while operating vehicles? They all played collegiate football for the University of Tennessee.

Tennessee's Tragic Trio: Stallworth, Little, Goodrich originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lack of Minority Hires Galls NCAA Official

Tim Povtak — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:26:00 EST

by Tim Povtak

Filed under: Coaching

ORLANDO -- The NCAA has a problem that is so glaring, it makes people cringe every time they see the numbers. It makes Charlotte Westerhaus mad.

It should make you mad, too.

"It's appalling, disturbing, embarrassing,'' Westerhaus said. "People should be asking why this is still like it is. People should be asking questions every time there is an opening.''

Westerhaus is the NCAA vice-president of Diversity and Inclusion, and she isn't shy about letting you know her opinion on the lack of minorities that are head football coaches throughout her organization.

Of the 582 schools that play either Division I, II or III football (excluding the historically black universities), only 3.9 percent have head coaches of color.

Lack of Minority Hires Galls NCAA Official originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:26:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Who Didn't Get a Sweet Contract in the K-State Athletic Department?

Chas Rich — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:43:00 EST

by Chas Rich

Filed under: Kansas State, Big 12

If the complete strangeness of what was going on in the Kansas State athletic department while Bob Krause was running things was going on at any other program, you would have to think it would be bigger news. Yet it barely seems to make a ripple in college sports.

First it was learned that Krause gave former head coach Ron Prince a "secret" side deal the summer before Prince's firing. Now it turns out that Krause also rewarded his deputy athletic director, Jim Epps, with a long-term contract, complete with a buy-out clause if he were to be fired.

Who Didn't Get a Sweet Contract in the K-State Athletic Department? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

20 Years Later, Barry Switzer Doesn't Recognize He Was Oklahoma's Problem

Terrance Harris — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:04:00 EST

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Oklahoma, Big 12, Coaching

Former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer says he's moved on. He doesn't dwell on his decision that stunned Sooner nation and crippled the football program 20 years ago Thursday when he suddenly resigned.

OU was in a heap of trouble back then, with five players being arrested on various felony charges and the program had been slapped with three years of NCAA probation for recruiting violations. Who could forget a tearful Switzer admitting on June 19, 1989, that too much had transpired for him to continue on as the Sooners coach?

20 Years Later, Barry Switzer Doesn't Recognize He Was Oklahoma's Problem originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

NCAA Stands Firm on Florida State Appeal, Seeks to Vacate 14 Wins

Jim Henry — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:50:00 EST

by Jim Henry

Filed under: Florida State, ACC

The NCAA has not moved from its position that Florida State must vacate victories in multiple sports, a ruling that would cost Seminoles football coach Bobby Bowden 14 victories and essentially end his bid to become college football's all-time winningest coach.

FSU officials on Thursday morning released previously withheld public documents in the university's appeal of NCAA sanctions. The NCAA allowed FSU to release the information sought in a lawsuit with Florida news organizations. FSU transcribed the information from a secure NCAA Web site that does not permit printing or downloading.

Read the Documents (PDF Documents)
Florida State's Appeal | NCAA's Response to Appeal

NCAA Stands Firm on Florida State Appeal, Seeks to Vacate 14 Wins originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.