Pac-12 Notes

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Pac-12 Notes

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March 13th

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Report: NCAA suspends all recruiting until April 15th

From 247 Sports … The NCAA is reportedly making the call to suspend recruiting for all sports both on- and off-campus until at least April 15. The news comes one day after the NCAA announced that it had canceled all winter and spring championship events due to the growing threat of COVID-19, more commonly known as coronavirus.

According to a source, head coaches at one university received a notification on Friday that all sports were prohibited from any on-campus or off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations until at least the April 15 date, per the NCAA. The move is said to be effective immediately.

Many Power conferences already implemented policies temporarily limiting recruiting prior to Friday’s report. The SEC and Big Ten were among those who already announced such moratoriums. Many schools, in addition, have already canceled spring football games and have limited or canceled spring football practice.

An unprecedented move was made on Thursday when the NCAA announced the cancellation of all spring and winter sports championships, marking 2020 as the first year since 1939 that the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament — better known as “March Madness” — will not be played. Virtually all North American sports have come to a halt within the past 48 hours — the NBA and NHL suspending their seasons, the MLB delaying the start of its 2020 season, and entities among the likes of the PGA Tour and NASCAR either postponing or canceling events. The Masters Tournament, arguably the most prestigious golf tournament in the world, was also postponed from its traditional second weekend of April date.

… Continue reading story here …

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March 12th 

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Joel Klatt: Pac-12 will continue to be pillaged by Big Ten, SEC

From 247 Sports … When it comes to Power Five athletic conferences, the Pac-12 has certainly seen better times. Financial losses, head coaching departures in football and three straight years without a team in the College Football Playoff are just some of the hurdles that the conference has recently endured as it looks to keep pace with its counterparts. But perhaps the biggest red flag, though, is that the gap between the haves and have-nots — especially on the gridiron — doesn’t seem to be shrinking anytime soon.

That’s at least the opinion of Fox Sports football analyst Joel Klatt, who, in a recent interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, expressed his concern of the Pac-12 only being further left in the dust as the SEC and Big Ten — the latter two aided by massive TV deals — continue to rake in massive amounts of cash. Klatt pointed to the recent departures of football coaches Mike Leach from Washington State to Mississippi State and Mel Tucker from Colorado to Michigan State as just two examples of what could be still to come.

“I think what you’re going to start seeing is that it’s not just going to be certain programs rising, but I think two conferences in particular, based on their revenue, are going to outpacing the other conferences to such a degree that you’re going to see such a disparity between conferences. The SEC and what they’re doing revenue wise is going to be insanely large, as well as the Big Ten — that’s what people forget, that the Big Ten rights are coming right up around the SEC rights .. the Big Ten is going to be right there because their ratings as a conference are actually better than the SEC. Maybe not the top-end game, but better overall.

You’ve seen in play out in the offseason, at my own alma mater — I went to Colorado, for those of you who don’t know. The Pac-12 has been pillaged by those who have resources … the Pac-12 does not distribute the revenue needed for their programs to compete at the highest level of the coaches market. Mel Tucker was getting paid roughly $2.5 million. They had a pool of money for assistants that was right around 3 million or just under … Michigan State comes knocking, he turns them down the first time, and then they say, ‘you know what, we really need him, because Luke Fickell also told us no. So what do we have? Resources.’ They pay him $5.5 million and give him 6 million for a pool of money for his assistants … They committed $11.5 million to coaches … why did Mike Leach go from Washington State where he can compete for the Pac-12 North to Mississippi State where he’ll never compete for the SEC? Resources. The Pac-12 will continue to get pillaged while those resources fall short of other conferences.” — Joel Klatt, Fox Sports

… Continue reading story here …

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NCAA Tournament cancelled for the first time in history

From CBS Sports … In a historic move, the 2020 NCAA men’s basketball tournament has been canceled over concerns of the spreading coronavirus (COVID-19). It is the first time the NCAA Tournament will not be held since it began in 1939.

“Today, NCAA president Mark Emmert and the board of governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships,” the NCAA announced. “This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to the spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decision by other entities.”

The cancellation affects all NCAA championships in the winter and spring, including the women’s basketball tournament, College World Series, Women’s College World Series and NCAA wrestling championships, among others. It comes just one day after the NCAA announced that it would go on with the NCAA Tournament but would do so without allowing the general public to attend.

… Continue reading story here …

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March 11th

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NCAA: March Madness to go on without fans in the stands

From CBS Sports … In response to concerns over the spread of coronavirus, the NCAA announced Wednesday that fans will not be able to attend its championships including the 2020 men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments.

“I have made the decision to conduct our upcoming championship events, including the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement. “While I understand how disappointing this is for all fans of our sports, my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing in the United States.”

The decision was made in conjunction and with advisement from the CDC, and with the NCAA’s recently-formed advisory panel which consists of experts in the public health, epidemiology and medical fields.

It took many by surprise in the industry, including Baylor players at the Big 12 Tournament.

“I will say it is kind of a reality check,” said Bears senior Freddie Gillespie.

“It’s definitely shocking just to hear this,” added Baylor senior Devonte Bandoo. “Having fans do make the experience a little bit better. It’s very unfortunate. I pray that they do find a cure. It’s something that we’ll just to adapt to.”

Baylor coach Scott Drew said he feels bad for fans who won’t get to experience March Madness this year, but had a positive spin on things.

“Normally, we practice a lot before we play games so they’re used to hearing our voice,” Drew said. “Now they don’t have an excuse where they say they can’t hear us.”

Had the NCAA not taken this step, it’s possible that individual host sites may have arrived at the decision to ban fans sooner rather than later. Earlier on Wednesday, for instance, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that NCAA Tournament games in Ohio — the First Four in Dayton and first and second round games in Cleveland — would proceed as planned but without fans, promising an executive order in the coming days to enforce such a decision. The Big West and MAC had already announced they would play their postseason tournaments without fans.

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March 10th

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Statement from Pac-12: Tournament to take place as planned

From the Pac-12 … The priority of the Conference and our member universities is the health and well-being of our student-athletes, campus communities, working and volunteer event personnel and all those who attend Pac-12 events. At this time, our Pac-12 Men’s Basketball tournament, and other Pac-12 Championship events, are scheduled to take place as planned.

At the same time, in light of the ongoing coronavirus situation, the Pac-12 Conference has made a number of adjustments to its Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament taking place this week in Las Vegas, including the following:

• Arena Safety for Fans & Student-Athletes – Our MGM Resorts and T-Mobile Arena partners are taking steps to make the venue and in-arena experience as safe as possible for its employees, fans and student-athletes. That includes the implementation of enhanced cleaning protocols featuring: increased access to hand sanitizers throughout the arena, more frequent cleaning and disinfectant procedures throughout the venue, and heightened awareness of the protocols and procedures for addressing contagious diseases.

• Locker Room Access – The Pac-12 Conference has made the decision to limit access to team locker rooms to only student-athletes and essential staff at the upcoming Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament and all Pac-12 Championships until further notice. Media will not be permitted to enter team locker rooms, but will continue to have access to interview student-athletes and coaches at designated areas outside of the locker room. This decision is made given the close quarters and personal nature of the locker room environment, and after consultation with our schools, and consideration of the current recommendations of health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• Band & Spirit Squads – We are allowing our individual universities to make the determination as to whether to travel band and spirit squads in light of the coronavirus situation and the different current travel policies of our schools.

• Pac-12 Hall of Honor Event – We will reschedule this year’s Pac-12 Hall of Honor induction ceremony activities, including both the induction event that had been scheduled to take place on Friday, March 13 from 3:00pm – 5:00pm, as well as the special halftime ceremony that had been scheduled on the same day for the first semifinal game. We plan to hold the Hall of Honor induction ceremony during the 2021 edition of the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas.

• Education – We will be ensuring that our student-athletes, coaches, and conference and university personnel have access to up to date educational materials on the coronavirus. See below flier with further information on the coronavirus (COVID-19).

We are coordinating with our member universities, the NCAA, our tournament and championship event partners, state and local health authorities, and the Pac-12 Student-Athlete Health and Well-Being Board, as we closely monitor coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We will continue to analyze and implement updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local health authorities, and take the steps necessary to protect the health of participants and attendees.

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New lawsuit alleges Michigan State committed numerous NCAA violations

… a little karma can go a long way … 

From ESPN … Former Michigan State recruiting director Curtis Blackwell filed a new lawsuit in state court this week alleging more recruiting violations and wrongdoing committed by the football program under former coach Mark Dantonio.

Blackwell says in the lawsuit that the Spartans illegally and secretly taped the practices of an opposing team. Blackwell also said Dantonio required him to do things that violated NCAA rules, including visiting recruits’ homes, soliciting improper benefits for family members of recruits and tampering by contacting players enrolled at other NCAA schools to recruit them. In the lawsuit, Blackwell said his objections to these actions were part of the reason that his contract with Michigan State was not renewed in May 2017.

Blackwell worked for Michigan State’s football program from 2013 through 2017, leading its recruiting efforts during an unprecedented run of success. He was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a police investigation in 2017 after he spoke to police officers about a sexual assault claim made against three freshmen who were then on the football team. He was not charged with a crime. A report by Jones Day — a law firm hired by Michigan State to review the athletic department’s handling of that sexual assault claim — found that Blackwell was the only university employee who acted inappropriately. Blackwell’s new lawsuit disputes the validity of that report and says it ignored mistakes made by Dantonio and others at the university during the same timeframe.

Blackwell claims in a federal lawsuit filed in 2018 as well as the new state complaint filed this week that he was scapegoated by the university, which was concurrently dealing with the fallout from the Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal. Blackwell’s new lawsuit claims he was discriminated against because of his race, and asks that Dantonio be held accountable for the “intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

… Continue reading story here …

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College football attendance lowest since 1996

… Note … CU averaged 49,572 for home games last year, 98% of Folsom Field’s capacity … 

From CBS Sports … At a Google innovation hub last week, administrative leaders from each of the Power Five conferences were invited to what amounted to a two-day think tank in Santa Monica, California. Google does it all the time, inviting experts from different walks of life just to … contemplate the world.

“It sounds nebulous, but it was one of the better professional days of my life,” said Brad Wurthman, Virginia Tech senior associate athletic director. “Just being able to sit there and have them educate us on where the world is headed.”

Part of that athletic world — part of the Google experience last week — is fan engagement. How to keep folks interested in the college product.

“To put it bluntly, it was a very smart person which followed another very smart person which followed a very smart person which followed another very smart person,” Wurthman said. “We were all chuckling, ‘We get it. You guys are geniuses.'”

None of them have been able to figure out what has become a chronic problem in college football. Once again the sport’s attendance is down.

In 2019, college football attendance hit a 24-year low according to the NCAA’s official numbers. The FBS average of 41,477 per game is the game’s lowest since 1996. That’s also the fourth-lowest average nationally since 1982. (The total includes home, neutral site and bowl games.)

While the overall decline was slight — down only 379 fans per game from 2018, less than 1 percent — it marked the eighth time in nine years there had been an overall national decline.

The declines listed below are slight, but they’re still declines and something more than a trend. CBS Sports reported in 2018 that college football hit its lowest average attendance in 22 years, while in 2017 it suffered its biggest average per-game decline in 34 years.

* NCAA records date back to 1978 for the Pac-12 | ^ MWC records begin in 1999

… Continue reading story here …

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March 9th

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Salary wars reach new heights: Ohio State with four assistants over $1 million

From NBC Sports … In 2019, Ohio State had one assistant earn at least $1 million in base salary. In 2020, it’ll have four.

The Buckeyes on Monday revealed that new defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and defensive line coach Larry Johnson have all joined the 7-figure club.

Coombs leads the pack at $1.4 million, a whopping $900,000 raise from his last season at Ohio State in 2017. Wilson will earn $1.2 million, a $250,000 raise from last year. Mattison and Johnson will both earn $1.133 million; Mattison was Ohio State’s lone $1 million earner last year ($1.1 million), while Johnson made $900,000.

With the moves, Ohio State is the first college football programs to pay a quartet of assistants top the $1 million mark, besting the 2019 Clemson staff’s three. The Tigers dropped from three to two in 2020 with Jeff Scott‘s departure for South Florida, but Clemson will still pay its assistants ($8.145 million) slightly more than Ohio State ($8 million).

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March 8th

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The Athletic Roundtable: Writers pick 2020 Pac-12 division winners 

From The Athletic … If you had to pick right now (and we’ll ask this again in the summer), who would you pick to win the North and the South?

… and, no, in case you were wondering, there is no beat writer for Colorado … 

David Lombardi (covers Cal and Stanford) … I just can’t get behind USC while the current coaching leadership is there, even though the Trojans should have the league’s most talented roster. I think Utah repeats in the South, and I think the Utes will face Pac-12 North champion Cal — riding a full season of health from quarterback Chase Garbers — in the conference title game.

C.J. Holmes (covers Arizona) … It’s so early; have we no shame? In the North, I have to go with Oregon. Yes, the Ducks need a new QB. But defensively they should be among the best in the conference again. The Ducks just need to make sure their offense is simply stable to have success in 2020. In the South, I like Arizona State over USC. The Sun Devils are losing big parts of their offense in Brandon Aiyuk and Eno Benjamin. But, man, Herm Edwards is building something in Tempe and Jayden Daniels is going to be an absolute stud in 2020. The staff turnover hurts, but I love the Sun Devils’ returning talent and incoming recruits. I expect Arizona State to be the class of the division.

Christopher Kamrani (covers Utah) … Who has the guts to not pick Oregon in this roundtable? Not me. In the North, it’ll be Oregon. The Ducks have to replace Justin Herbert and four starters off that offensive line, but Penei Sewell is still there and I think he’s one of the best players in college football. Plus Mario Cristobal loaded up on defense with a bunch of four- and five-star dudes, so, yeah, it’s the Ducks. Again. In the South, it’s a little more murky, but I’ll give the slightest of edges to USC over Arizona State at the moment. Kedon Slovis flourished under Graham Harrell in Year 1, and while the Trojans do lose Michael Pittman Jr., every other star receiver returns. The Trojans have a tough schedule again in 2020, but I think with a revamped staff, Clay Helton’s guys get to Las Vegas as Pac-12 South champs.

Dough Haller (covers Arizona State) … I’ll take California in the North. Justin Wilcox has done a tremendous job in Berkeley. The defense loses key parts, but the system is in place. And having quarterback Chase Garbers healthy for an entire season should be huge. In the South, you always start with USC because of the star power, but in this case, the drama might trump the talent. Clay Helton’s job security again will be a distraction, so I’ll go with Arizona State. The Sun Devils return a rising star in quarterback Jayden Daniels and an experienced defense that returns eight starters.

Antonio Morales (covers USC) … Oregon and USC. I think Oregon’s defense is the best unit in the North and should propel it to another division title despite their losses on offense. And USC returns 17 starters while the rest of the Pac-12 South is in a state of flux.

Christian Caple (covers Washington) … Oregon in the North and USC in the South. I think Washington will at least challenge in the North, but the Huskies have a lot more to prove at this point. Meanwhile, there simply is no excuse for the Trojans not to win their division. They return a promising starting quarterback, a ton of talent at the skill positions and a bunch of young defensive stars in the making. Defending South champion Utah has to replace basically every key contributor from last season. Arizona won’t be in the conversation. UCLA likely won’t, either. Colorado went 5-7 and just went through a coaching change on top of losing its two best offensive players. Arizona State is my current No. 2 pick, mostly because of quarterback Jayden Daniels, but even the Sun Devils have a lot of holes to plug. This is USC’s division to lose.

Tyson Alger (covers Oregon) … Oregon and USC. The Ducks are replacing some important pieces at quarterback and on the offensive line, but a good defense got better, and it’s not like the Ducks were blowing teams out by 20 points per game last season. I will say I’m intrigued by what Cal can do with a healthy Chase Garbers. In the South, USC’s Kedon Slovis might be on the precipice of one of those “this guy is the best QB in the country” seasons, and I’ve heard quarterbacks are important.

… Continue reading Roundtable here (subscription required) …

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March 6th

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Herm Edwards to Paul Finebaum: Pac-12 “very competitive from top to bottom”

From 247 Sports.com … It’s no secret that the Pac-12 Conference has taken a hit from a national perspective in recent years. Last season was the third consecutive in which no team from the Power 5 conference reached the College Football Playoff.

Even Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott has admitted the league’s shortcomings. In December he said being left out of the CFP was “painful” and harmful to the Pac-12’s brand.

Arizona State football coach Herm Edwards was a guest Tuesday on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” and the interview covered a wide variety of topics, including the current state of the conference.

Finebaum asked Edwards his thoughts on the Pac-12.

“It’s very competitive from top to bottom … I think we all feel comfortable playing each other,” Edwards said. “Every Saturday you never know what’s going to happen. I look at college football this way: because of the emotions of young people there’s always gonna be upsets, that just happens.

“You think you know your teams but there are so many things to go on during the day that you can’t control as a coach anymore. Why? Because they have this thing called a phone and there are so many other people in their life right now besides the football coach. You have them when they’re in the building … but when they leave the building there’s other people and other things that are in their brain.”

… Continue reading story here …

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March 5th

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Bill Marolt among those being inducted into Pac-12 Hall of Honor

From CU Buffs.com … Bill Marolt, who earned acclaim as a standout student-athlete, coach and athletic director at the University of Colorado, will be among the inductees in the 2020 Pac-12 Hall of Honor class to be honored at next week’s Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas.

The Hall of Honor is the Pac-12’s most prestigious recognition of the greatest on and off-field contributors to Pac-12 athletics. Formal induction will take place on Friday, March 13, during a ceremony prior to the semifinals of the 2020 Pac-12 tournament.

Following induction, the class will be honored during a special halftime ceremony of the day’s first semifinal matchup at T-Mobile Arena.

The 2020 Hall of Honor class will be the 19th since its creation in 2002, and the third to feature legendary figures from an array of sports after the Pac-12 expanded the field to be inclusive of the broad-based athletics success across the Conference of Champions. Each year a new inductee from each Pac-12 university is welcome into the Hall of Honor.

“The extraordinary achievements of this year’s Hall of Honor class represent the very best of our universities’ rich history of excellence athletically, academically and professionally,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “The Pac-12 is incredibly proud to call them our own and to honor their legacies.”

Marolt is one of just six Buffs to win four NCAA individual titles, doing so as a skier for legendary coach Bob Beatty in the 1960s. He then went on to become Colorado ski coach in 1969, leading CU to seven consecutive nationals titles.

Marolt then went on to coach the U.S. Ski Team from 1979-84, coaching American skiers to three Olympic gold and three Olympic silver medals in that span, including a record five medals in the 1984 Olympics.

Marolt then returned to CU as athletic director in 1984, where he led the Buffs to more than a decade of success. He left Colorado in 1996 to lead the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association for 18 years, where he led the USA to unprecedented success during that era.

Marold is also a member of the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and CU Athletics Hall of Fame.

The complete 2020 Hall of Honor class: Sean Rooks, Arizona; Melissa Belote Ripley, Arizona State; Bill Marolt, Colorado; Don Bowden, California; Dan Fouts, Oregon; Joni Huntley, Oregon State; Jennifer Azzi, Stanford;  Jonathan Ogden, UCLA; Barbara Hedges, USC;  Kathy Kreiner-Phillips, Utah; Lincoln Kennedy, Washington; Jeanne Eggart Helfer, Washington State.

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March 4th

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Have the Buffs gotten so bad that CU will be relegated to a lower conference in the next round of realignment?

From Andy Staples at The Athletic … The people in charge have changed. The landscape has changed. But two interviews given in the past week by USC’s athletic director have made one thing abundantly clear. If the Big 12 wants to pull a Count of Monte Cristo and gut the league that tried to sentence it to college sports purgatory 10 years ago, it’s going to have the chance.

And given the opportunity, it absolutely should do it.

Last week, Ryan Abraham of 247Sports asked new USC AD Mike Bohn during a podcast interview whether the Trojans would be willing to consider independence or joining another conference. “I think right now, and (Pac-12 commissioner) Larry (Scott) would agree with this, everything’s on the table,” Bohn replied.

Spoiler alert: Larry absolutely would not agree with this.

Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com then called Bohn and asked him to clarify. Bohn said that USC is “aligned” with the Pac-12. He also said this:

“There’s no talk of (leaving), but guess what? If it was on the table, we would certainly explore that. But I’ve got to be careful. The league is really tender.

“The context that I was talking about was whether it was league TV stuff, creative pieces with any other type of deliverable, it has to be on the table. Guess what? If that helps (the league) understand the importance of what our campuses are going through, so be it.”

Those words could not be reassuring to the people at Pac-12 headquarters. Nor should they be surprising. The leaders of Pac-12 schools, especially the ones such as USC that provide the league’s drawing power, grow more frustrated with each passing day as they fall farther behind the Big Ten and SEC.

A new media rights deal is coming for the Pac-12, but not until after the Big Ten and SEC make new deals that will allow them to continue to dwarf the Pac-12’s revenue-generating capacity. Short of making people suddenly care about Cal football the way Auburn or Iowa fans feel about their teams, there isn’t much anyone in the Pac-12 can do to change the league’s trajectory.

But what if there was another way? What if there was a league that had the capacity to take on the Pac-12’s biggest earners and create a new entity that could get closer to those numbers the Big Ten and SEC can generate? And what if that league already had a financial setup designed to appeal to programs whose leaders are sick of subsidizing conference members whose brands aren’t nearly as strong?

Well, there is such a league.

The Big 12.

Between now and when the Pac-12’s media rights deal — and accompanying Grant of Rights agreement — runs out in spring 2024, the Big 12 needs to invite USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Arizona State. The Big 12 needs to do to the Pac-12 what the Pac-12 tried to do 10 years ago to the Big 12. It needs to do it unapologetically. If we learned anything from the previous rounds of conference realignment, this is a kill-or-be-killed business. The Pac-12 took its shot in 2010 and missed. The Big 12 can secure its long-term survival by ensuring it doesn’t.

… Continue reading story here (subscription required) …

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March 3rd

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Utah suspends two players with pending rape charges; starting DE out for “personal things”

From deseret.com … Utah coach Kyle Whittingham announced Monday that wide receiver Donte Banton and linebacker Sione Lund have been suspended from the team indefinitely while working through some things.

“Whether they get reinstated or not will be determined at a later time,” said Whittingham, who later noted that the suspensions followed a violation of team rules.

The Utes, Whittingham added, will also be without senior defensive end Maxs Tupai. He’s getting some personal things squared away.

“We hope for his return but that’s in question right now,” Whittingham said. “So those three guys you won’t see, potentially, for the entirety of spring. But we’ll see what happens.”

— Banton, a sophomore, played in 11 games last season (eight on offense) and made one catch for 10 yards.

— Lund, a junior, saw action in 13 games and made six tackles. The Stanford transfer started in Utah’s win over UCLA.

— Tupai was on the field for all 14 games in 2019. In 31 career games for the Utes, he’s made 55 tackles, including 9.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage with four sacks.

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UCLA’s Chip Kelly opens his third spring practices on the hot seat

From bruinsnation.com …

Key Position Battles

1. Quarterback: Colson Yankoff didn’t transfer from Washington to ride the pine and the reports were that Yankoff might have been the Bruins’ starter last season if Washington hadn’t blocked him from playing immediately. Dorian Thompson-Robinson will have to step up his game significantly if he wants to keep the starting job heading into the Fall.

2. Linebackers: UCLA has lost a lot of talent among the linebackers due to graduation. That means that the younger guys and the new guys will need to step up.

3. Running Backs: The graduation of Joshua Kelley opens up a starting spot at running back. While Demetric Felton returns, he isn’t really built to be the every down back that Kelley was. That means that there will likely be a battle to fill the role that Kelley filled the past two seasons. It looks to be a battle between Kazmeir Allen and Martell Irby, but Jahmon McClendon could be the dark horse here.

Who’s Back

There’s only one person I’m going to mention here who’s back. Yeah, you guessed it. Defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro is back for another season running Kelly’s defense, although no one knows why. There’s no sugarcoating the fact that Azzinaro’s defense last year was awful and that he should have been fired.

Over the weekend, Ben Bolch of the LA Times quoted Dan Guerrero in an article about Azzinaro’s new contract, which actually includes a $50,000 raise to $700,000. Guerrero said:

[W]e hired the football coach to run the football program and our jobs are to be supportive of that endeavor. Ultimately, the coach will make those decisions that he feels are best for the program and we will be supportive of that.

That’s one of the weakest quotes Guerrero has ever given and it’s a sorry excuse for him not doing his job and not approving the renewal of Azzinaro’s contract. When your head coach is 7-17 over two seasons, you don’t let him keep underperforming coaches on his staff. You insist on changes and Guerrero failed to do that.

The lone consolation is that all of UCLA’s assistant coaches have been given two-year extensions except Azzinaro. Azzinaro was only given a one-year extension.

Well, given Kelly’s current trajectory and unless he manages to really turn things around, both Kelly and Azzinaro may not be coaching in Westwood this time next year.

Thankfully, it won’t be Guerrero who makes that decision next Fall. Hopefully, the next AD’s decision isn’t overly influenced by Guerrero’s budget mess.

… Read full story here …

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March 2nd

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Canzano: Like USC, Oregon should consider leaving the Pac-12 

… For context, John Canzano is to the Oregonian what Kiszla is to the Denver Post. Loves to stir the pot … 

From the Oregonian … Twice in last week USC athletic director Mike Bohn has uttered public comments that should rattle the frosted-glass windows of Commissioner Larry Scott’s office at Pac-12 Conference headquarters.

Bohn shouldn’t be alone.

The University of Oregon should be doing it, too.

A week ago, when asked by USCFootball.com’s Ryan Abraham if the Trojans would consider football going independent or joining another conference, Bohn said, “I think right now, Larry would agree with this, everything is on the table.”

As in, say, if NBC approached USC and wanted to sign the Trojans to a lucrative Notre Dame-like television partnership, they’d listen. And they should, given the poor trajectory of the conference. Bohn later doubled down in an interview with Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.

“There’s no talk of [leaving], but guess what? If it was on the table, we would certainly explore that,” Bohn said. “But I’ve got to be careful. The league is really tender.

“The context that I was talking about was whether it was league TV stuff, creative pieces with any other type of deliverable, it has to be on the table. Guess what? If that helps [the league] understand the importance of what our campuses are going through, so be it.”

Bohn later added, “I don’t want to walk it back, but hopefully that gives it a little more context.”

… USC isn’t the only brand in the conference with potential options. NBC might love to have the Ducks in a Notre Dame-like deal. So might ESPN, which will feast in March on the sweat of Sabrina Ionsecu and her teammates.

So what’s keeping Oregon from entertaining all offers?

It’s a question Mullens and Schill have to be asking themselves. The Ducks’ brand merits that kind of influence. A deep exploration of the options would be wise. Oregon may compete against the best programs in college football for a national title soon, but if so, it will do so as an outlier.

Oregon is competing at a tremendous financial disadvantage because of enormous media rights distributions that the SEC and Big Ten enjoy. Also, the Ducks are left to create their own exposure, as they’ve become a far bigger and more impressive brand than the Pac-12 itself.

This isn’t about UO leaving the Pac-12. It’s about Oregon being eyes-wide-open and increasing its leverage within the conference. Because if the financials don’t improve in the next cycle, something drastic may have to be done.

… Continue reading story here …

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March 1st

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Report: Alabama finds new strength and conditioning coach (and why it matters)

… Why it matters … CU’s strength and conditioning coach Drew Wilson was reportedly a candidate for the Alabama job … 

From ESPN … Alabama has moved quickly in replacing longtime strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran by reaching an agreement with Indiana’s David Ballou, sources told ESPN.

Cochran, who had been Alabama’s strength coach under Nick Saban since Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007, left last week to join Georgia’s staff as its special teams coach.

… Saban told ESPN last week that he planned to conduct a nationwide search for Cochran’s replacement and was confident that Alabama’s new sports science center, scheduled to open this fall, would help attract some of the top candidates in the country.

Ballou and Rhea will work closely with Alabama head athletic trainer Jeff Allen, who is the lone remaining football staff member who came with Saban to Alabama in 2007.

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February 28th

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NCAA Rules Committee: Players can wear “0”; two-minute limit on instant replay reviews

From CBS Sports … The NCAA held a rules committee conference call with reporters on Friday about a group of new rule changes, and among them is one that quite literally amounts to nothing. Starting next season, players will be allowed to wear the No. 0 on their jersey, in an effort to cut down on teams having numerous players with single-digit numbers. The rule still needs to clear one more hurdle before it is fully approved.

Of course, the NCAA didn’t just have a bunch of media members on a large conference call to talk about aesthetic changes to jerseys. There were other notable new rules and enforcements discussed as well. Here are some of the things that were discussed:

• Officials will get two minutes to review a play. If a review takes longer than that, the call will stand.
• Players must be accompanied by coaches during warmups, and the jurisdiction of officials will be moved to 90 minutes before kickoff, back from 60, to prevent pregame skirmishes.
• The post-targeting “walk of shame” has been eliminated. Players ejected for that penalty can stay on the sideline.
• A call to teams and players to stop faking injuries

Back to No. 0 now being allowed, though. In addition to giving teams another jersey number to use, it also inadvertently creates a wonderful collection of possibilities for celebrations and trash-talking from players. Think about it: a cornerback wearing that number could use it to represent the number of yards a quarterback, or receiver, will get if the ball is thrown his way. A receiver could wear it to represent how many people can guard him, a nose tackle could wear it to signal how many runs are getting past him, and a punter could even wear it without any real reason because it’d be one of the few things that could make a punter actually look tough on the football field.

… Continue reading story here …

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Larry Scott’s contract extension up for discussion: “The future of the conference is at stake”

From the San Jose Mercury News … Campus official across the Pac-12 have begun discussing the future of commissioner Larry Scott and believe a decision on his contract could come by the end of this year, if not sooner, according to conference sources.

Scott’s deal expires in two years, but the window is somewhat condensed, sources said, by the timing of the Pac-12’s media rights agreements.

Although the deals with ESPN and Fox run into the spring of 2024, formal negotiations likely would commence 18-21 months earlier, in the fall of 2022 — or just after Scott’s current contract expires.

And the Pac-12’s strategy, according to sources with experience in media deals, would have to be mapped out well in advance of the fall of 2022.

With that convergence of events, a contract extension would position Scott to lead the media rights negotiations that one source called “the most critical thing in the history of the conference.”

If Scott doesn’t want or doesn’t receive a contract extension, a long lead time would be required to find a commissioner, who would then need months to establish his/her strategy for the negotiations.

“They can’t wait until 2022 to make a decision on Larry,’’ a source said. “The future of the conference is at stake. By this summer, they have to know if he’s staying or going.”

… Continue reading story here …

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February 27th

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Jon Wilner Pac-12 Projections: CU 5th in fluid South Division

From the San Jose Mercury News … In formulating these projections, the Hotline didn’t merely gaze into our crystal ball.

That would be the lazy approach to prognosticating.

Instead, we smashed open the crystal ball, collected the molecules inside, blasted them together inside a particle accelerator, then put the atomic remnants from those collisions under an electron microscope to tell us exactly where each team will finish in 2020 based on depth chart, coaching staff and schedule.

You’re welcome.

North Division

• Oregon
• Cal
• Oregon State
• Washington
• Stanford
• Washington State

South Division

• USC
• Arizona State
• UCLA
• Utah
• Colorado: A team that won just five games, that lost its quarterback, best player, best lineman and head coach, that took a February gut punch — that team is not our choice for last place. The Buffs don’t have enough anywhere to compete for a top-tier finish. But the defense should be serviceable, and if new coach Karl Dorrell squeezes anything out of an offense with a huge hole at quarterback, CU’s backslide will be limited (or perhaps non-existent).
• Arizona

… Read full story here …

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Updated CBS Mock Draft: Laviska Shenault moves up to No. 19 overall pick

From CBS Sports … At this juncture, as workouts begin at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, I think a nice chunk of the receiver class is going to go off the board early, then teams are going to wait until Round 2 or Round 3 to address the position.

And in this mock, you get four receivers inside the top 15, with the Philadelphia Eagles moving up to get their guy.

The draft order is now set. Position rankings are based on our composite prospect rankings.

First Round … From the Pac-12:

No. 5 – Miami Dolphins – QB Justin Herbert, Oregon … With two quarterbacks already gone, the Dolphins instead stay put and go with Herbert as the experienced prospect with all the tools to be an All-Pro.

No. 19 – Las Vegas Raiders (feels weird to write that) – Laviska Shenault, Colorado … Shenault is almost built like Saquon Barkley and has similar springiness and contact balance in space. He’s a yards-after-the-catch monster, which is precisely what Jon Gruden wants in his West Coast offense.

No. 24 – New Orleans – Brandon Aiyuk, Arizona … The Saints have to get more complementary receivers, and with Aiyuk’s incendiary speed and gigantic wingspan, he’s the perfect No. 2 to Michael Thomas.

… Read full mock draft here …

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February 26th

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Chris Kapilovic (almost) doubles his salary in move to MSU

From mlive.com … Chris Kapilovic left Colorado to follow Mel Tucker to East Lansing and received a substantial raise.

Kapilovic, Michigan State’s new offensive line coach and run game coordinator, signed a two-year contract with an annual salary of $700,000.

By joining Tucker’s staff, Kapilovic landed a hefty raise. He made $425,000 at Colorado last year, according to salaries compiled by USATODAY.

Tucker, who spent one season as Colorado’s head coach before being hired by Michigan State on Feb. 12, signed a six-year deal with an annual salary of $5.5 million. His contract also calls for a pool of $6 million for his 10 on-field assistants, which is more than a million more than former coach Mark Dantonio’s staff made in salaries in 2019.

Kapilovic’s contract is the first released by the university for Tucker’s new assistant coaching staff. The program has already announced nine assistants while Tucker has yet to name a defensive coordinator.

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L.A. Bowl now official: Pac-12 No. 5 v. Mountain West No. 1

… Pac-12 No. 1 – CFP or Fiesta Bowl (Rose Bowl being a playoff game this year) … Pac-12 No. 2 – Alamo Bowl … Pac-12 No. 3 – Las Vegas Bowl … Pac-12 No. 4 – Holiday Bowl … Pac-12 No. 5 – Las Vegas Bowl … Pac-12 No. 6 – RedBox Bowl … Pac-12 No. 7 – Sun Bowl … Pac-12 No. 8 – Independence Bowl … 

Press release from the SoFiStadium.com … SoFi Stadium, the new home of the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, and Hollywood Park, a 298-acre sports and entertainment destination, officially launched its new collegiate football bowl game, LA Bowl. Today, LA Bowl unveiled its new logo and introduced its brand publicly.

“Similar to SoFi Stadium, the LA Bowl game is designed to deliver an authentic Southern California experience,” said Jason Gannon, managing director, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. “In addition, our bowl game events throughout the week will embrace Los Angeles as the entertainment capital of the world.”

LA Bowl, coming December 2020, is an annual game that will feature Mountain West’s No. 1 selection versus Pac-12’s No. 5 selection. The game will be at SoFi Stadium from 2020 through 2025. Information regarding ticketing will be shared at a later date.

“We are thrilled to partner with LA Bowl and bring a Pac-12 presence to the new state-of-the-art facility at SoFi Stadium, in one of the biggest markets right in our footprint,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “The entertainment presence of the new facility will provide great experiences for our student-athletes and fans as the Pac-12 continues its postseason matchup with the Mountain West.”

LA Bowl will celebrate the tradition of great college football in Los Angeles through an extraordinary game-day experience that focuses on premium hospitality and highlights the diverse community of Los Angeles. Throughout the week leading up to the game, LA Bowl will also host a series of events for the teams, their families, fans and locals.

“The Mountain West is delighted to partner with the Pac-12 Conference and the outstanding management team assembled at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park to launch this exciting new bowl game,” said MW Commissioner Craig Thompson. “Los Angeles is a tremendous market firmly within our footprint that is home to a large number of our member institutions’ alumni and the area from which many of our student-athletes are recruited.  This will be a top-flight postseason destination for the No. 1 selection from our Conference.”

For more information about LA Bowl, including ticketing, go to www.SoFiStadium.com/LABowl and visit @LABowlGame on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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February 25th

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ESPN grades new hires (CU’s Karl Dorrell receives lowest grade among all Power-Five hires)

From ESPN … The 2019 coaching carousel spun very slowly — and with the volume on low. This cycle projected to be quiet and ended up even quieter, as potentially landscape-shifting jobs like USC and Auburn remained filled.

But there were still several strong hires made, which should pay off in the coming years. Unlike last year, which featured the return of two national championship winning coaches who had been off the sideline — Mack Brown (North Carolina) and Les Miles (Kansas) — this year’s batch of new coaches lacks an obvious theme, although two fired ACC coaches (Willie Taggart and Steve Addazio) didn’t have to wait long for their next opportunities. Several schools promoted a coach, perhaps a nod to this year’s playoff group (three of the four were promoted).

A disclaimer before the grades: I’m hesitant to label any coach a bad hire before seeing what he can do at his new program. My lower grades here have as much or more to do with the process that led to certain hires than the end result. While I used to roll my eyes when agents, search firm executives and athletic directors talked about “fit,” it’s more important than ever.

Washington …

2019 coach: Chris Petersen (stepped down)
Replacement: Jimmy Lake, previously Washington’s defensive coordinator

Grade: A-

Petersen’s decision to step away from coaching provided the biggest surprise of the cycle, but the decision to promote Lake makes a lot of sense. Although Lake hasn’t been a head coach, he brings a diverse background as an assistant, a strong schematic profile and a charismatic personality that will allow him to lead the program and connect with recruits and their families. He helped Washington become the Pac-12’s best defense, and eight of his former defensive backs play on NFL rosters. Lake, who turned 43 on Tuesday, worked for Petersen both at Washington and at Boise State, and also held stints with three NFL teams. He had Power 5 head-coaching interest but always seemed like a good option at Washington. Although his time with Petersen will help, Lake is also more outgoing and could grow the program’s profile in different ways than his mentor.

Washington State … 

2019 coach: Mike Leach (left for Mississippi State job)
Replacement: Nick Rolovich, previously Hawai’i head coach

Grade: A-

Several years ago, someone close to Rolovich, 40, described him to me as a young Mike Leach. The label not only applies to Rolovich’s pass-happy offense but his unique personality. He will entertain both on and off the field. His approach should connect well with the Washington State players Leach recruited, and the transition shouldn’t be too turbulent. Athletic director Pat Chun recognized that Washington State historically has been at its best with exciting, pass-oriented offenses and expects that to continue with Rolovich. He also found unique ways to win at a Hawai’i program that, like Washington State, lacks the resources or geographic advantages other programs in its league enjoy. Aside from Rolovich’s lack of Power 5 experience, either as an assistant or a head coach, there’s a lot to love about this hire.

Michigan State … 

2019 coach: Mark Dantonio (retired from coaching)
Replacement: Mel Tucker, previously Colorado’s head coach

Grade: B+

Tucker was a late addition to my candidate list for MSU, but the more I studied his profile, the more I liked him for this job. The only thing preventing a higher grade is only one year of college head-coaching experience (5-7 at Colorado last fall). But Tucker seems like a better fit at Michigan State, where he started his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Nick Saban in 1997. A Cleveland native, he played in the Big Ten at Wisconsin and spent three seasons coaching under Jim Tressel and Dantonio at Ohio State. Tucker, 48, knows MSU and brings a similar defensive profile as Dantonio, but two other factors make him unique: his extensive experience in the NFL and his high-level recruiting success at programs like Ohio State, Alabama and Georgia. MSU will need a clear recruiting vision to build back its roster, and Tucker could elevate the overall talent level without compromising other areas. Although Luke Fickell seemed like the ideal hire here, Tucker is very similar and should do well long-term in East Lansing.

Colorado … 

2019 coach: Mel Tucker (left for Michigan State job)
Replacement: Karl Dorrell, previously Miami Dolphins wide receivers coach

Grade: C-

I graded Colorado on a curve of sorts, as the timing of the search — in mid-February, when the coaching carousel had slowed and 2020 recruiting had finished — really hindered the process. Dorrell has been a Pac-12 coach, winning 10 games at UCLA in 2005 and reaching a bowl game in all five seasons with the Bruins (look at what has happened to the program since his firing). He also has familiarity with Colorado as the team’s offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach under Bill McCartney. But it’s hard to get excited about a 57-year-old who wasn’t on anyone’s radar as a head-coaching candidate until Colorado came calling. Colorado couldn’t land Eric Bieniemy or Steve Sarkisian and seemed to be scrambling for viable candidates before settling on Dorrell. He hasn’t coached at the college level since 2014, when his Vanderbilt offense averaged only 17.2 points per game. Dorrell isn’t a dynamic personality and will need very smart staff hires to sustain the momentum Tucker had begun building.

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Steve Addazio, Colorado State, C-: This isn’t so much about Addazio, who did a good job making six bowl games in seven seasons at Boston College. Colorado State’s search process had some issues, as the school seemed set to hire Butch Jones and Kevin Wilson before turning to Addazio, who, like previous coach Mike Bobo, has no direct ties to the school or the area. Urban Meyer’s involvement in the search — Meyer and Addazio are extremely close friends — also concerned many throughout the industry.

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Laviska Shenault was with Kobe Bryant and his daughter for their last Lakers game

From theDNVR.com … On Dec. 29, 2019, luck shined down upon Laviska Shenault Jr.

While attending a Dallas Mavericks-Los Angeles Lakers game at the Staples Center, as a courtesy of his soon-to-be agency, Klutch Sports Group, news came down that a couple of clients who were supposed to attend the game wouldn’t be making it.

This meant that Shenault was getting a seat upgrade. A big one. Courtside at Staples Center, a status symbol like no other, a place for L.A. royalty.

And when he got to those seats, he was met by the king of the city.

Kobe Bean Bryant.

Kobe and his beloved daughter Gianna were seated directly next to Laviska and agent Rich Paul as the Lakers defeated the Mavericks 108-95.

What nobody knew at the time, though, was that this would be the very last Lakers game ever attended by either Kobe or Gigi. As the world now knows, less than one month later, the two, along with seven others, would tragically die in a helicopter crash that seemed to tilt the earth off of its axis.

On Tuesday, at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Shenault opened up about that evening for the first time publicly.

“That was a very special moment,” he told DNVR. “I know he was a great father. He was a great dad.”

Kobe and “Gigi” were starting to pop up more and more in NBA arenas. The 13-year-old Bryant was quickly developing a Mamba-like obsession for the game, and the Mamba himself was becoming obsessed with sharing his wealth of knowledge with his daughter.

“He was great at just explaining what was going on,” Shenault explained of the interactions between the two. “He was a great family man, of course, everyone sees that. They were just talking the whole time. He was trying to help her understand things and they were just laughing and having a good time.”

… Continue reading story here …

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February 24th

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Jon Wilner: Dorrell hire “more shrugs than sizzle” – the best CU could do?

From the San Jose Mercury News … The Karl Dorrell hire has generated more shrugs than sizzle with many Colorado fans and in the media, and it’s difficult to envision an instant bump in CU season-ticket sales.

And the Hotline’s reaction, frankly, is essentially the same.

Dorrell, a Miami Dolphins assistant, wouldn’t have been on our list of 20 potential candidates to replace Mel Tucker.

(And if you had suggested his name for the 21st spot, we would have assumed it was in jest.)

Dorrell was an undistinguished head coach in his only previous tenure, which ended during the second Bush presidency.

He spent most of the past 13 years in the NFL, never mentioned as a candidate for head coaching jobs at the pro or college level … not a hot name or a warm name or even a room-temperature name.

Karl Dorrell is the best Colorado could do?

But with a deeper dig, with a longer look, the other camp — the camp in which Dorrell makes some sense — is faintly visible on the horizon.

… Continue reading story here …

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February 21st

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Colorado State faculty ask university leaders to cut athletic spending in historic vote

From the Coloradoan … Colorado State University’s on-campus football stadium opened 2½ years ago.

While the debate over the real and perceived impacts of the $220 million stadium have since quieted, unease over the university’s increased athletic spending is still roiling in the stadium’s shadow.

Citing annual NCAA reports that show the university’s “subsidy” to athletics — funding from CSU’s general fund and a mandatory student athletic fee — had increased to $25.4 million in 2018-19, CSU’s Faculty Council passed a resolution Nov. 5 urging the “administration to significantly reduce athletic program subsidies, and to use the savings to support the university’s primary academic mission.”

The resolution, faculty council’s first in 11 years and one of only a handful in the past 35 years to be approved and forwarded to the administration, passed by a 46-24 vote with one of the council’s voting members abstaining. The 128-member Faculty Council has 103 eligible voters representing the university’s thousands of academic faculty.

Faculty Council members Steven Shulman and Mary Meyer said the resolution’s goal is to redirect some university support for athletics to reduce what students are paying in tuition and fees.

“You look back over the past decade, and the subsidy has essentially doubled,” Shulman, an economics professor, said. “So, even though athletics gets bigger and bigger and does generate more and more revenue, it is generating even more and more costs. So, it keeps relying more and more on support from the university. The program is becoming less and less self-sufficient over time.”

… Continue reading story here …

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USC canceling game against FCS UC-Davis (and Dan Hawkins)

From ESPN … USC athletic director Mike Bohn said his school has informed UC Davis officials of its plan to cancel a scheduled game between the programs on Sept. 4, 2021.

Speaking on the 24/7 Sports podcast, Bohn said USC will replace UC Davis with an FBS opponent. USC is one of three FBS programs, along with rivals UCLA and Notre Dame, that hasn’t played an FCS program since the Division I split in 1978.

The USC-UC Davis matchup, which was to be at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, was first announced last July.

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Tags: Karl Dorrell
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