Looks like Syracuse has found its new football coach:

Texas co-defensive coordinator Greg Robinson will be named head coach at Syracuse, according to two sources close to the Longhorns’ program.

Robinson, 53, was offered the job Monday and accepted after interviewing with new Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross in Los Angeles on Friday, the sources said.
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Robinson said when he arrived at Texas his ultimate goal was to become a college head coach and that he didn’t want to return to the NFL. Robinson spent 14 seasons in the NFL, including stints as defensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos, where he won Super Bowl rings in 1997 and 1998.

“I’m making a career change,” Robinson said when he was introduced at Texas last year.

Gross, the former associate athletic director at Southern California, received a strong recommendation to hire Robinson from USC coach Pete Carroll, the sources said.
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Robinson has a reputation as a super recruiter dating to his days as an assistant coach under Terry Donahue at UCLA (1982-89). Robinson helped oversee a Texas defense this season that reduced its points allowed from 21.5 in 2003 to 17.9 (18th nationally) in 2004. UT also allowed only 107.4 yards rushing per game (16th nationally) this season compared to 152.5 yards last season.

Bo Pelini whiffed again. I am definitely thinking that he must just suck in the interview.

The NCAA just made “sweeping” changes in an academic reform package that will reduce scholarships if teams don’t meet certain graduation standards.

On the last day of the NCAA convention, the Division I Board of Directors approved the Academic Progress Rate (APR), the standard teams in every sport must reach beginning in the 2005-06 school year to avoid scholarship reductions.

Schools will receive warning reports in the next few weeks that let them know which of their teams fall below the APR set by the Division I Committee on Academic Performance. The rate is based roughly on a 50-percent graduation rate over a five-year period.

Unlike the dubious stats that often indicate nobody is graduating from certain programs, this seems to be the key point:

The APR will be based on the number of student-athletes on each team who achieve eligibility and return to campus full-time each term.

A plain reading would suggest that means athletes that turn pro early wouldn’t count against the school. Nor would transfers. Something that had in the previous formulations. That makes sense, and I don’t see how any of the power conferences and schools would have gone along with the plan without such protections.

There is also a cap on the number of scholarships a team can lose at 10%.