NCAA unfairly targeting mid-major schools- June 30, 2008 The USA Today has an exceptionally interesting follow-up story to the May release of the 2008 Academic Progress Rates (APR) results of the Division I schools. What makes this article particularly interesting is that it more fully vets the notion that the BCS conference receive favorable consideration from the NCAA. Citing analysis from the Knight Commission, the USA Today article states that BCS conference teams only half as likely to be punished as non-BCS teams for failing to meet the...http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Fanblogs/conferenceUsaCollegeFootball-Fanblogscom/~3/323527... Looking ahead: 2008-2009 Bowl Game Predictions- June 27, 2008 Here's yet another entry in the long line of 2008-2009 college football bowl game predictions - this time from ESPN. FedEx BCS National Championship Game (BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2) Georgia Bulldogs vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Tostitos Fiesta (BCS vs. BCS) Oklahoma Sooners vs. BYU Cougars Allstate Sugar (BCS vs. BCS) Auburn Tigers vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders FedEx Orange (BCS vs. BCS) West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Clemson Tigers Rose Bowl presented by Citi (BCS vs. BCS) USC Trojans vs....http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Fanblogs/conferenceUsaCollegeFootball-Fanblogscom/~3/321409... Breaking down the schedules - Cupcake City 08 Edition- June 27, 2008 One look at the "major" conference schedules shows... an awful lot of "minors". Who schedules the most cupcakes Here's a breakdown of the non-conference schedules for each of the BCS conference teams, with games against FCS schools (ie DI-AA cupcakes) highlighted. ACC - 14 cupcakes Big XII - 10 cupcakes Big 10 - 9 cupcakes SEC - 9 cupcakes Big East - 7 cupcakes Pac 10 - 2 cupcakes (For reference, here's how it looked in 2004, when the ACC & Big East were Kings of the Cupcakes.) HT:...http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Fanblogs/conferenceUsaCollegeFootball-Fanblogscom/~3/321371... Choose your weapon: Cigars of the coaching elite- June 24, 2008 The men from The Rivalry, Esq. have put together a great, tongue-in-cheek look at the cigar preferences of several of coaching's elite. John Galsworthy's famous observation, "By the cigars they smoke, and the composers they love, ye shall know the texture of men's souls," is not lost on this fan. What follows is a tongue-in-cheek review of four modern coaches at top ebb and their predicted smoke of choice. ... NICK SABAN Gurkha "His Majesty's Reserve" (HMR) (7.5'' x 52) This royal entry...http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Fanblogs/conferenceUsaCollegeFootball-Fanblogscom/~3/319130... Big East drops Texas Bowl, C-USA picks it up- June 19, 2008 The Big East will end its affiliation with the Texas Bowl today, to be effective for the 2008-2009 season. The annual game was to pair a Big East conference team with a Big XII representative; however, the Texas Bowl has signed an agreement with Conference USA to face off against a Big XII opponent. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because a formal announcement will be made today, said the bowl also has reached an agreement to add independent Navy. The Big 12 Conference.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Fanblogs/conferenceUsaCollegeFootball-Fanblogscom/~3/315456... Study finds harmless NCAA penalties are harmless- June 18, 2008 From the department of "no-duh" comes this great find by Senator Blutarsky: NCAA penalties do not hurt schools' win-loss records. The "major penalties" imposed on college football teams who violate NCAA rules including TV and bowl bans and scholarship reductions have no impact on the teams' won-lost records, a researcher told the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics on Tuesday. There was no statistical difference in on-field performance between the five years prior to the NCAA...http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Fanblogs/conferenceUsaCollegeFootball-Fanblogscom/~3/314782... Potential Non-BCS National Champion- June 18, 2008 I have often pointed out that, since the lowering of the BCS bar, any non-BCS team could get to a BCS bowl if they went undefeated. Hawaii proved that last year, with a Sunbelt like schedule, and earned a BCS stomping from a weak schedule during a WAC off year. If a non-BCS team defeats a top 25 BCS team they can get there with one close conference loss, if they are from the MWC, WAC, C-USA or MAC. This, like the catagories here at Fanblogs, excludes the Sunbelt. Two BCS teams typically in..http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Fanblogs/conferenceUsaCollegeFootball-Fanblogscom/~3/314715... Big East's commish to retire, conference split coming- June 5, 2008 I think it goes without saying that there won't be a dry eye in the room when Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese announces his retirement today, effective in June 2009, after the end of the 2008-2009 seasons. Granted, some will be tears of JOY... but I digress. Saying it was simply time to do something else, Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese will announce his retirement later today, ending a reign of 19 years in which Tranghese guided development of the Big East basketball conference...http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Fanblogs/conferenceUsaCollegeFootball-Fanblogscom/~3/305471... |