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National Signing Day Open Thread

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:40:10 -0500

It's upon us! National Signing Day is here! It's like a whole season unto itself! Will anyone top Florida and Texas? Will upstart Auburn out-recruit national champion Alabama? Some folks put a lot of stock into recruiting and some don't. We'll have updates along the way today. Sound off and tell us what you know about your team and what big surprises are in store for some teams!

STANDINGS:

Rivals:
Team Points
1 USC 3003
2 Florida 2938
3 Texas 2728
4 Auburn 2485
5 Alabama 2308
6 LSU 2255
7 Oklahoma 2213
8 UCLA 2105
9 Tennessee 2048
10 Florida State 1953
11 California 1875
12 Penn State 1852
13 Oregon 1851
14 Notre Dame 1618
15 Texas A&M 1587
16 Georgia 1581
17 Ole Miss 1554
18 Clemson 1551
19 West Virginia 1533
20 Michigan 1479
21 Missouri 1446
22 Virginia Tech 1430
23 Nebraska 1407
24 Miami 1347
25 South Carolina 1342

ESPN:

1) Florida
2) Texas
3) Alabama
4) Auburn
5) Oklahoma
6) FSU
7) USC
8) LSU
9) Tennessee
10) UCLA
11) Penn State
12) Georgia
13) Miami
14) Michigan
15) California
16) Ohio State
17) Texas A&M
18) Stanford
19) Clemson
20) Washington
21) Notre Dame
22) Oregon
23) South Carolina
24) North Carolina
25) Ole Miss

SCOUT:

Team Rankings
1. Florida 28 SEC 5384
2. Oklahoma 29 Big 12 5147
3. Texas 25 Big 12 5134
4. Alabama 29 SEC 4464
5. USC 20 Pac-10 4425
6. Auburn 32 SEC 4313
7. LSU 29 SEC 4063
8. UCLA 24 Pac-10 4050
9. Penn State 20 Big Ten 3857
10. Florida State 24 ACC 3830
11. Washington 30 Pac-10 3633
12. Michigan 27 Big Ten 3594
13. Oregon 23 Pac-10 3262
14. Mississippi 25 SEC 3184
15. Tennessee 25 SEC 3175
16. Pittsburgh 24 Big East 3151
17. Miami (Fl) 28 ACC 3096
18. Oklahoma State 27 Big 12 3086
19. Notre Dame 23 Indep 3033
20. Ohio State 18 Big Ten 3032
21. Georgia 19 SEC 2990
22. BYU 26 MWC 2900
23. Clemson 23 ACC 2838
24. Stanford 23 Pac-10 2814
25. Texas A&M 22 Big 12 2688 .

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Anti-Trust Review May Accelerate Playoff Debate

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:44:05 -0500

Political Football Handoff or Fumble?

Yeah, yeah, I know. We had our obligatory post-season playoff discussion just last week. But no sooner are the last comments made on that thread than the US Justice Department finally answers Senator Orin Hatch's request to consider anti-trust legalities with the current state of the BCS. What Hatch got was a definite-maybe that the DOJ will consider the matter carefully and that the Obama administration may possibly look into whether or not consumer protection laws are being violated by the current BSC fiasco arrangement.

Quick history lesson here: The Sherman Anti-Trust act is the legislation most often quoted that governs over monopolies and such, and the one you will be hearing ad nauseum. Not to be confused with the Sherman anti-tank round, although the end results may be similar. Even you non-attorney types should know a little bit about it. It's been used to break up the likes of Standard Oil and many a early 20th century railroad, not to mention Ma Bell in the early 1980s. Another quick history lesson: On the campaign trail, Barack Obama threatened to "throw his weight around" concerning moving CFB towards a playoff if he was elected president, but that may now be hollow sentiment, especially coming off light weights being thrown around in gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey and a certain senatorial race in Massachusetts. And lastly, Hatch had filed the inquiry after the 2008 season when undefeated Utah was left out of BCS contention and his constituents were left with a bad taste in their mouths for the second time in four years.

For the record, I'm for an eventual playoff and I think most fans are, too, but it's highly doubtful that anyone wants to be made to do it at the point of the gun. Naturally, when you're dealing with over 120 public and private institutions and a large faction of athletic conferences, not to mention 140 years of precedence, change can come real slow. Like national debt payoff kinda slow. But also for the record, I think there is a strong possbility of the government having a case, were they to decide to pursue it. Alas, I can understand the defenses that the BCS and the Old Guard are going to present, too. I'm both sides of the coin.

The main sticking point of a possible DOJ case might be the uneven way that the BCS money is distributed. BCS conferences get more than the mid-majors--which seems unfair on it's surface. But the big boys are the ones who bring in the cash. And it's that 100+ years of name recognition that facilitates that end. Who had heard of Boise State outside of 7 years ago? Look at CFB like a business. It can take decades to build up your brand to become a household name. The final arbiter is the TV ratings and the millions it brings in. People vote with their viewership. And who's going to win out, prime-time programming or Leave it to Beaver reruns on Univisión?

So the ultimate downfall of the BCS may be their attempt to spread that wealth around, seemingly in line with the notions of the current administration--but maybe it didn't go quite far enough. Originally seeking to only match up the #s 1 and 2 teams in a de facto one-game playoff, the BCS drew the line in the sand and divided the haves and the have-nots--a bold notion in itself, but made the mistake of trying to share with the have-nots both some glory and some money. Is no good deed to go unpunished?

Granted, the money that the BCS brings in would pale in comparison to what a playoff would generate, and maybe there might be some inequity to it, but it's better than the old bowl system, which was really stacked on the side of the heavyweights. Alas, those days are gone forever. There's no way that CFB would go back to the old bowl system if the BCS, under pressure from the government, simply disbanded rather than morph into some sort of playoff. That would just be patently absurd. But what is fair, both with participation and revenues?

Forget about any populist sentiment you may have for just a second. The teams are still matched up by POLL rankings. It's still a beauty contest. Theoretically, any team has a chance to win it all, but they're still going to have to be elected to the homecoming court. Cinderella nobodies have won MNCs in the not so distant past. Miami in 1983 and BYU in 1984 come to mind. But typically, consistent national rankings over decades for established programs are what give them the consideration over the johnny-come-latelys in the polls. Maybe Boise State and Utah are establishing themselves right now. I wouldn't deny that, but I don't want government fiat replacing good old-fashioned hard work and boot-strapping

We can all remember when Miami and FSU were nobodies, and can see how far they've come--but over decades, not instantly. They earned it. I've said for years that the stars of mid-major conferences have to do more than moan and whine about their status. It's hard to respect your Mountain West or WAC schedule when stacked up against a SEC or Big 10 one. That's why you have to load your OOC slate with BCS teams. Boise played Oregon last year, and plays Virginia Tech and Oregon State this fall. That's the way to do it. Play anyone, anytime, any where. If I was an AD of a top school, I'd call up BSU. Tell them you'd agree to a two'fer with them: two games at your house and one on the Smurf Turf--provided it's an September game.

My gut feeling? This is all just a warning, with nothing to come of it--for now. Polling data would suggest that such a move would widely be seen by average citizens to just be government meddling, and that the weight of the blame would fall on the president, something he doesn't need at the moment with his own popularity fading faster than a 14 point 1st quarter Auburn lead. Let it keep evolving. It's getting there. I think a big push from outside might be disasterous. It gives us a little bit more to talk about though--until national signing day.

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Non-BCS Conferences to Receive Record Revenue From Last Year's Bowls

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:57:08 -0500

In an announcement that is likely to impress squat outside the BCS conferences, the AP is reporting that the BCS will pay out a record $24M to the non-BCS conferences in shared revenue from the BCS bowls earlier this month, up from $19.3M a year ago. The bump is primarily due to for the very first time, two teams from these conferences--TCU and Boise State--went to BCS bowl games. Approximately $9.8M will go to the MWC and $7.8M to the WAC. $6.4M will be divided by the MAC, C-USA, and Sun-Belt conferences.

Naturally, these amounts pale in comparison to what was paid out to the BCS conferences--The SEC and Big 10(11) got $22.2M each and the other four got $17.7 a piece. The difference being that the former conferences sent two teams each into BCS bowl games: Florida to the Sugar, Alabama to the CG, Iowa to the Orange and Ohio State to the Rose. BCS executive director Bill Hancock says that these disbursements prove that the BCS is "fair and appropriate".

Not so fast, my friend. Grumbling can still be heard, most notably from those who were upset that the two upstart teams were forced to play each other as opposed to tackling some of the more traditional powers slated for BCS bowls. And Congress is once again entering the fray. Joe Barton, R-TX, a representative from the aggrieved state of Texas (for TCU, not for the Longhorns. Okay, maybe both.) showed once again that no one from conference can accurately define just what in the hell the BCS is supposed to do.

"What is the BCS theoretically about? I thought it was about the best teams playing the best teams. This simply acknowledges the reality that's it's not about that, but about revenue sharing. It's an economic cartel."

Once again, class, we will tell you what the BCS is about. Not just theoretically, but actually: It is designed to match the #1 and #2 teams in the country in a championship game. It's as simple as that. It's very ad hoc, but others want to dress it up and make it into something that it just isn't. IT IS NOT A PLAYOFF SYSTEM. If you want a playoff system, then install one. But don't try and bash the BCS in it's current state for not being something you want it to be. And maybe all that money can go into an escrow account until you've finished your bitching.

Okay, last I looked, it's the end of the season, so playoff talk may commence. Fire when ready and at will!

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Runaway Lane

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:32:35 -0500

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Shocker!!! Lane Kiffin Back to USC After Only One Year at Tennessee

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:39:06 -0500

Turning the CFB world on it's ear, USC announced late today that Lane Kiffin will be named their new head coach. This change comes only 14 months after Kiffin replaced long time Vol coach Phil Fulmer. Wringing his hands both literally and figuratively at his hastily called press conference, Kiffin said that the decision was a hard one and that ultimately, USC was the probably the only job he would leave Tennessee for.

Kiffin's departure leaves in it's wake a slew of wreckage from his inaugural stint as a college head coach--the pre-season trash talking, the admonishments by commissioner Mike Slive, three players arrested for armed robbery and all the secondary recruiting violations, including the well-publicized one concerning recruiting hostesses. It's certainly ironic that USC, a school who may very well be in the cross hairs of the NCAA's enforcement division, has now hired a coach who's recruiting habits are to say the least, suspect.

Today also saw a public turn-down of the possibility of a job offer by Jacksonville Jaguar head coach Jack Del Rio, a former player at USC, but someone who has no college coaching experience. Del Rio was the second name to be mentioned behind Oregon's Mike Riley. DC Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron are leaving with Lane Kiffin, and word has it that an effort is under foot to get current UCLA OC Norm Chow back across town to his old stomping grounds, where he served as OC under Pete Carroll early in the 2000s.

While the dust settles on today's event, I don't think that I'm going out on a limb by saying that Kiffin, by suddenly jumping ship to USC, will now become the most hated coach in all of CFB, jumping such notables as Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino, who both had perceived 'loyalty' issues. As if he wasn't already.

Anyone wanna reach Al Davis for comment?

UPDATE: There are unconfirmed reports that students ganged up en mass and have attempted to block the departure of Kiffin and were dispersed with tear gas. There are also rumors that departing coach Ed Orgeron has told early Tennessee signees not to go to class this semester in an apparent attempt to get them to sign with USC before their committment is official. Again, as of now, these are unconfirmed and we will have more as it breaks.

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Pete Carroll Resigns, With Probable Jump to the NFL

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:32:26 -0500

After rumours had been floating around all of last week, Pete Carroll resigned yesterday as HC of the USC Trojans, a position he had had for the last 9 years. It is expected that he will be named head coach of the Seattle Seahawks today, the job having just been vacated by the firing of first year coach Jim Mora. Carroll, who had a 97-19 record and won two national championships while in Los Angeles, brought respect back to a long dormant USC program.

The timing of the departure seems about right, with the Trojan's seven season conference title winning streak ending this year and with the entire school still under NCAA investigation for a host of possible violations. Originally a NFL refugee when hired at USC, Carroll has oft been mentioned as one of the colllege coaches most likely to make the jump back into the pros.

Now the search for a new coach can be done in earnest. There are many possibilities, but one name that came out early was Oregon State's Mike Riley, who was originally in the running for the USC job back in 2000. It is now thought that Riley will not make a move from Corvallis, having just inked a three-year extension that runs through 2019.

USC enters the coaching sweepstakes a bit late, with less than a month left before national signing day. I think that as a result, you'll see them name someone probably this week. Updates to come.

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Alabama to display National Championship Trophy Today at...Wal-Mart?

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:25:32 -0500

That's right, Crimson Tide Fans...The University of Alabama will have the ADT Waterford Crystal Trophy on display at the Tuscaloosa Wal-Mart SuperCenter.

In other news, the owners of People Of Wal-Mart have called their ISP & their hosting company to tell them that they might need some extra bandwidth this weekend as a result.

Keep it tuned to FanBlogs for some choice photos of Crimson Tide Fans with the National Championship Trophy.

(Author's Note: Alabama Fans, you guys know I've given you my fair share of BS over the years here. I wish to congratulate you on your National Title. This was just...well...This was just too sweet to pass up.)

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Final College Football Poll Results

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:00:46 -0500

AP Top 25

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Alabama (60) 14-0 1500
2 Texas 13-1 1399
3 Florida 13-1 1370
4 Boise State 14-0 1366
5 Ohio State 11-2 1224
6 TCU 12-1 1163
7 Iowa 11-2 1126
8 Cincinnati 12-1 1060
9 Penn State 11-2 1016
10 Virginia Tech 10-3 953
11 Oregon 10-3 886
12 Brigham Young 11-2 806
13 Georgia Tech 11-3 768
14 Nebraska 10-4 724
15 Pittsburgh 10-3 697
16 Wisconsin 10-3 571
17 LSU 9-4 501
18 Utah 10-3 491
19 Miami (FL) 9-4 310
20 Mississippi 9-4 296
21 Texas Tech 9-4 224
22 USC 9-4 216
23 Central Michigan 12-2 166
24 Clemson 9-5 125
25 West Virginia 9-4 91

Others receiving votes: Oklahoma 90, Oregon State 89, Navy 85, Stanford 67, Oklahoma State 40, Rutgers 37, Auburn 8, Georgia 7, Florida State 6, Connecticut 5, Arizona 5, Middle Tennessee 4, Air Force 3, Arkansas 3, Villanova 2

Rank Team (first-place votes) Record Points Final regular season rank
1. Alabama (58) 14-0 1,450 1
2. Texas 13-1 1,360 2
3. Florida 13-1 1,323 5
4. Boise State 14-0 1,312 6
5. Ohio State 11-2 1,190 8
6. TCU 12-1 1,104 3
7. Iowa 11-2 1,087 11
8. Penn State 11-2 1,071 9
9. Cincinnati 12-1 943 4
10. Virginia Tech 10-3 940 12
11. Oregon 10-3 846 7
12. Brigham Young 11-2 814 14
13. Georgia Tech 11-3 741 10
14. Nebraska 10-4 671 19
15. Pittsburgh 10-3 667 16
16. Wisconsin 10-3 587 22
17. LSU 9-4 530 13
18. Utah 10-3 466 24
19. Miami (Fla.) 9-4 336 15
20. Southern California 9-4 217 NR
21. Mississippi 9-4 192 NR
22. West Virginia 9-4 159 17
23. Texas Tech 9-4 152 NR
24. Central Michigan 12-2 123 NR
25. Oklahoma State 9-4 92 18

Others receiving votes: Navy (10-4) 89; Oregon State (8-5) 78; Clemson (9-5) 75; Oklahoma (8-5) 67; Stanford (8-5) 49; Auburn (8-5) 17; Georgia (8-5) 13; Houston (10-4) 12; Middle Tennessee (10-3) 12; Arizona (8-5) 11; Arkansas (8-5) 10; Connecticut (8-5) 10; Florida State (7-6) 9; Air Force (8-5) 7; Rutgers (9-4) 7; Northwestern (8-5) 6; East Carolina (9-5) 4; Southern Methodist (8-5) 1.

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The Real Story of How Alabama Got Twelve National Titles

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:55:18 -0500

Just in time for Alabama possibly winning it's eighth legitimate national championship, we have this article from The Birmingham News that finally answers the age old question of how Alabama came to claim 12 MNCs. It is a subject that many have speculated on for quite some time. Meet Wayne Atcheson, former Alabama sports information director and the man that 'won' more national titles for the Crimson Tide than anyone except the Bear. In 1983 (he claims) as the first year director, he added five back-dated and minor-selector titles to the Tide media guide. Taylor Watson, current director of the Bryant museum in Tuscaloosa, says that it was in 1986. A look back at the 1982 media guide lists only those six titles won under Bryant (other than a footnote denoting 1934 as one).

Said Atcheson: "I've talked to university officials about it. You're about the first reporter to ever ask me about it. I want to say the right thing here. I made the change because Coach Bryant had these 25 years and six national championships and they were emphasized so much. It was on all the stationery. And when I got there, it was a matter of seeing there were five others and we should put them all together. It was as simple as that."

According to the NCAA, only 'consensus' national titles go into the 'record books', a term used selectively as we all know that the NCAA does not sanction a title in FBS football. A consensus national title is considered to be any title bestowed after 1950 by any (but not necessarily all) of the following NC selectors: AP, UPI, Football Writers Association of America, National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame, USA Today/CNN or USA Today/ESPN. Hmmm. So what made Atcheson do it?

"I tried to make Alabama football look the best it could look and just make it as great as it could possibly be," Atcheson said. "I was a competitor myself with the other schools, and what they bragged about and boasted about, I wanted people to know the best about my school."

In other words, he embellished it. And so many Tide faithful take that as the gospel for Alabama football tradition--and it happened from the mere stroke of a pen. And so as Paul Harvey used to say, now you know the rest of the story.

h/t: DC Hammer

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BCS National Championship Game Thread

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:52:20 -0500

By popular demand, it's time to discuss the last game of the season, the BCS national championship game between Alabama and Texas. Fanblogs correspondant Bama Babe has boots on the ground in Pasadena and we've asked her to send in some pictures to post, but all we've gotten so far are a few of her and Mickey at Disneyland and a shot of the back of an SUV supposedly driven by one of the Jonas brothers.

On the line tonight is the SEC's 4th straight BCS championship, and 5th out of the last seven. Also, the SEC has never lost a BCS CG, 5-0 including Tennessee over FSU for the 1998 season. Texas is looking for their second BCS crown of the decade, which would tie them with Florida and LSU with two each. USC also won two NCs during the decade, but only one of those was a BCS crown, the other being split, in 2003.

First order of business, tell us who you think will win the game and who you want to win the game. For me, an Auburn fan, although I know that strategically it's good for the conference with a win by the Tide, tactically, it might be too big an obstacle to overcome. Good thing I don't live in the state. I think Alabama wins handily, but the score is low, 24-16. As far as who I'll pull for: Hook Em!

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Tommy Tuberville to Interview at Texas Tech

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:14:48 -0500

After many rumors and a mini-campaign for the job, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville arrived in Lubbock today and will meet with Texas Tech officials Wednesday about the head coach position made available after the controversial firing of Mike Leach. Although interim coach Ruffin McNeil, who coached the Red Raiders in the Alamo Bowl, appears to have the most fan support early on, Tuberville seems to be the only other candidate seriously being considered for the job and is certainly the more marquee name. TTU AD Gerald Myers is on the record as saying that a decision could be made by this weekend.

Tuberville, 55, spent 10 years at Auburn where he compiled a 85-40 record. Before that, he was at Ole Miss for 4 years and went 25-20 there while under NCAA probabtion for two years. An Arkansas native, Tuberville has family in the area and experience recruiting Texas, as he was a former DC at Texas A&M. Although the offensive philosophies of TTU and Tuberville don't seem to jive, he did have this to say: "It'd be crazy to change it. That's a trademark of Texas Tech now. It's helped put them on the map. It's helped in recruiting, I've noticed. Mike's had a good chance of getting quarterbacks and receivers to come there--in the past, (Tech) wasn't able to get them. We've run a lot of the spread over the years and I'm very familiar with it"

The heart of the matter is if Texas Tech is ready to pony up the kind of money that it's going to take to land Tubs. Leach was a home-grown project and brought the Raiders virtually all of their success. With so many rumors going on about the distaste that the university had for shelling out so much money for a mere football coach, it's hard to imagine that they're going to ante up for a big name off the open market. Perhaps they may prefer the farm system approach and bring McNeil along at a leisurely pace. I'm not sure that's going to work. After last season's success and a solid showing this year, TTU officials should consider how quickly their name might fade from the bright lights of the CFB world.

I'm sure Tuberville's price has come down quite a bit since the days of Hog-hunting raises bumped up by uber-agent Jimmy Sexton, but there could be more to it than that. It's been oft-rumored that Tubs wants to make it back down to College Station--remember the innuendo two years ago that he was going to run off there and replace Franchione. Some are saying that Tuberville's real motive is to force the hand of A&M. Mike Sherman's demise is being mentioned more and more often, and Tuberville's plane touching down in Lubbock might cause ATM to move forward any plans for a coaching change--mainly for the sole purpose that TTU doesn't get him.

Texas and Oklahoma are the perrenial powers in the Big 12, but the position of big dog for the second tier of teams in the conference is wide open. Landing a proven winner like Tuberville in Lubbock might designate the Aggies to the middle of the pack for quite a while, and it might be too much for them. Personally, I don't see TTU hiring Tuberville, but it will certainly be interesting to see how the conference shakes out after his visit.

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Orange Bowl Open Thread

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:58:04 -0500

Sorry for the dearth of material the last week. After all, I am just a scrub blogger and I did take a trip down to Tampa to watch my boys survive a never-say-die Northwestern team. Now that all is right in the world (except the temperature) we'll try and get some more up this week.

If you've paid any attention to the bowls and are in the pick em contest, you've noticed that the favorites are getting pounded. In tonight's Orange Bowl, played appropriately enough in Landshark Stadium, nee Dolphin Stadium, nee Pro Player stadium, nee Joe Robbie stadium, the favorite is Georgia Tech, but don't sell the Hawkeyes short. Hopefully we'll have a better game than the Fiesta bowl last night, which was anything but festive.

Stay warm AND thirsty, my friends.

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Texas Tech's Leach Suspended For Alamo Bowl

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:30:43 -0500

Mike Leach has been suspended from all duties as head coach for the Red Raiders while an investigation is pending from a complaint filed by a player and his family. Ruffin McNeill, the defensive coordinator, will replace Leach this Saturday night in the Alamo bowl against Michigan State. No further information is known at this time as the university is declining comment, citing privacy concerns.

Leach and Texas Tech have seemingly had a strained relationship the last few years, with Leach's awkward courtship for the Auburn job last season and difficulty in signing a renewal of his contract earlier this year.

Maybe the powers to be in Lubbock are taking no chances in the post Mangino climate, since alledged abuses on players by the former Kansas coach came to light the past few weeks. We'll keep you updated as more information breaks.

h/t: OU Ron

UPDATE: It has been confirmed by ESPN that the player in question is Adam James, the son of ESPN analyst and former SMU running back Craig James. It's reported that James, a sophomore wide receiver, was excused from practice by doctors concerned over a possible concussion and an elevated heart rate. When he came out on the practice field, Leach told a trainer to take James the darkest place and make sure that he could not sit or lean for three hours. James wound up in an electrical closet and confined for three hours. Reports of him being waterboarded seem to be exaggerated, although the confinement seems to have happened on two occasions.

Leach's attorney is now in the process of trying to have the suspension lifted. Craig James, who was scheduled to work the Alamo bowl, will not do so now. Damn.

UPDATE:

The Texas Attorney General will represent Texas Tech University before a judge tomorrow morning in San Antonio against Mike Leach, who is seeking a court injunction to bar the university from suspending him. According to online blog of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Leach's attorney will argue that the coach's contract with the university does not empower the school to suspend him.

In other news, ESPN.com's Joe Schad is reporting that Leach's attorney now expects that the coach will be fired from the university -- perhaps with cause -- as a result of this incident. Regardless of the outcome, the end result of this situation is that Leach's market value as a head coach is virtually zilch, his reputation damaged beyond repair.

Interestingly, Texas Tech will owe Leach a longevity bonus of $800,000 if he is employed as head coach as of January 1, 2010.

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The Top 20 Most Valuable College Football Teams

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:16:17 -0500

For those of you familiar with Forbes magazine, they have been publishing annual valuations of all the professional sports teams for years, but for the last two, they've put together the value of the top college football teams as if they were a capitalized business. Unlike professional franchises which can be bought and sold in the open market, our teams belong solely to the university and their capitalization must be measured in a different sort of way. For Forbes, they looked at the *dividend* that is paid out to the *shareholders* in three different fashions: 1--Profits made for the university to plow back into football and into academic programs; 2--Revenue generated for the teams' respective conference; 3--Revenue generated for the surrounding community.

1) Texas, $119M value, $59M profit, Austin metro population, 1.51M

2) Notre Dame, $108M value, $38M profit, South Bend pop. 317k

3) Penn State, $99M value, $50M profit, State College pop. 145k

4) Nebraska, $93M value, $49M profit, Lincoln pop. 295k

5) Alabama, $92M value, $38M profit, Tuscaloosa pop. 207k

6) Florida, $88M value, $41M profit, Gainesville pop. 259k

7) LSU, $86M value, $39M profit, Baton Rouge pop. 774k

8) Ohio State, $85M value, $36M profit, Columbus pop. 1.77M

9) Georgia, $84M value, $45M profit, Athens pop. 189k

10) Oklahoma, $83M value, $40M profit, Cleveland county pop. 240k

11) Michigan, $81M value, $34M profit, Ann Arbor pop. 347k

12) South Carolina, $80M value, $37M profit, Columbia pop. 728k

13) Tennessee, $78M value, $29M profit, Knoxville pop. 691k

14) Auburn, $70M value, $30M profit, Auburn pop. 133k

15) USC, $68M value, $33M profit, LA pop. 9.68M

16) Michigan State, $57M value, $28M profit, Lansing pop. 454k

17) Arkansas, $56M value, $20M profit, Fayetteville pop. 444k

18) Texas A&M, $52M, $22M profit, College Station pop. 207k

19) Wisconsin, $48M value, $17M profit, Madison pop. 562k

20) Oklahoma State, $47 value, $18M profit, Stillwater pop. 78k

Probably the biggest surprise in the group: South Carolina, who despite a long storied tradition of winning, seems to have some of the most loyal fans in the country. They've certainly seen big dividends reinvested during Spurrier's tenure.

Every team except Notre Dame and USC is from the SEC, Big 12 or Big Ten conferences. Twelve of the teams in the group would be considered 'southern' teams. The SEC itself has eight of it's twelve members on the list.

The top three smallest markets: 1) Stillwater, OK 2) Auburn, AL 3) State College, PA

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Breaking: Meyer not retiring; will take leave of absence

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:24:48 -0500

Despite text messages from his wife saying there was "no chance" Urban Meyer would reconsider his shocking retirement announcement, apparently he has done exactly that.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Gators coach Urban Meyer will take a leave of absence for an indefinite amount of time before returning as head coach. Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio will take over as the interim head coach.

Meyer, who had attributed his retirement decision to concerns over his health, admitted to the New York Times that he had been suffering from chest pains. Meyer revealed that he had passed out for 90 minutes and needed hospitalization following the SEC championship game. Multiple outlets have said that Meyer told his team that he has been hospitalized several times since that incident, all related to additional medical tests for a cardiac condition.

Palm Beach Post beat writer Benjamin Volin commented that Meyer may need a heart valve replacement, an in-patient surgical procedure which would require Meyer to be monitored in the intensive care unit and be sidelined for considerable time before until cleared to return to work.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen said that Florida AD Jeremy Foley had floated the leave of absence option to Meyer for at least a week before Meyer made his initial decision to retire.

In a press conference in New Orleans today, Meyer said his change of heart and decision to take the leave of absence rather than retire came after spending time with the team at practice in the wake of his initial announcement.

"It was our players," Meyer said.

He informed his wife and children of the decision as they joined the team for the flight from Gainesville to New Orleans.

During the Q&A portion of the press conference, Meyer declined to discuss any specific medical condition that prompted his decision, but said that he did not have a heart attack. He would not disclose medical advice doctors have given him regarding stepping away from coaching.

As far as a timeline for his return, Meyer said the "intention is there" to be back as the head coach.

"If I am able to go coach, I want to coach at one place... it's the University of Florida," Meyer said.

When pressed for his "gut feeling", Meyer said that thinks he will be back on the sidelines for the 2010 season.

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