I’ve said it enough times, that I believe the Big East will split around 2010. The basketball schools and the football schools will finally enact the final split.

Others have been more obtuse in what they expect. Greg Doyel at Sportsline, in his May 16 entry on his blog obviously is thinking as I am.

However, the college sports landscape is in for at least one more seismic shift in the near future — probably to be triggered by the Big East after a few years as a 16-team basketball monolith.

When that shift happens, the tremors will immediately impact the biggest leagues in the Northeast. Basketball schools and football schools will start reaching for life preservers, and Temple might have to decide between the MAC and the A-10 — and the A-10 doesn’t offer Division I football.

That’s speculation, but in a few years something major will happen regarding the Big East. And when it happens, the trickle-down effect will leave Temple with a choice between the MAC, A-10 and perhaps whatever new league emerges from the Big East split.

Call it a hunch, but unless Temple really turns it around the next version of the Big East still won’t come calling.

Then Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News drops an interesting nugget.

The NCAA prohibits teams invited to the NCAA Tournament from competing in the NIT. The NIT is suing over that restriction, and one coach asked to testify suggests the NCAA has good reason to fight the suit. He believes NCAA leadership is concerned that if the NIT prevails, BCS schools eventually would be free to start their own postseason basketball tournament. They’d never generate the billions the NCAA tourney does, but they’d keep all the money, as they do in football …

Think about it. A NIT Tourney that competes against the NCAA. If they struck a deal with the BCS conferences, corporate sponsors would be falling over themselves to sign-on. It wouldn’t even have to take place during the NCAA. A week, 2 weeks later. It would gut the NCAA Tourney, much the way the NCAA gutted the NIT.

It would also make it more possible for the BCS conferences to eventually sever its restrictions to NCAA rules. Clearing the way for paying players and changing everything. Okay, now I’m really speculating.

Still…

Not much really. Taft is still being projected as a top-10 draftee. Likely around #7-9. Troutman is still on the outside looking in. No word if he will even get a free agent deal at this point.

The big question regards Carl Krauser. He’s definitely not a 1st rounder. The question becomes whether anyone might pick him in the second round. He still has until mid-June to withdraw from the draft. Andy Katz at ESPN.com seems to think Krauser is not coming back to Pitt.

Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon isn’t expecting to hear whether junior point guard Carl Krauser will return to school until June. Krauser turns 24 this month and is ready to graduate, making it harder to persuade him to return, even if he isn’t a likely first- or second-round pick.

Andy Katz also lists Krauser as one of those players who, by leaving early, really will impact their team.

The Panthers would still have their toughness quotient. Sure, they’re losing Chevy Troutman inside as well as underclassman Chris Taft, but Krauser is the heart of this team — the player who can make the big-time 3-pointer, the defensive stand and also get in the grill of a teammate. Krauser gives the Panthers the edge they have had for three years.

Without:
The rebuilding will begin in earnest. Losing Troutman, Mark McCarroll and Taft is a hit in the paint. But the Panthers can absorb that with more PT for Aaron Gray and John DeGroat. Rising sophomore Ronald Ramon would take over for Krauser. He has moxie but he’s not as experienced and not as explosive a scorer.

Chad Ford, ESPN.com’s NBA guy, has rough numbers for the NBA draft. He includes Krauser as part of 31 underclassmen who have declared for the draft who fit the category of “Second Round to Undrafted” status.

A few little things.

From the ESPN chat with Bruce Feldman on college football:

Brian–Erie PA: What are your feelings on Dave Wannstedt and Pitt? Is it going to work?

Bruce Feldman: (4:11 PM ET ) Brian, I think he’s a good fit. I think in a year they will be a top 15 team. Cavanuagh will really help Palko too.

Obviously, we are hoping a little sooner.

I have really failed to give some props to Pitt’s athletic department for doing a solid job in the non-con football schedule. They have scheduled good teams. Not just patsies. Seems some in West Virginia even approve:

Pitt and Virginia have an agreement for a 2006 game in Pittsburgh and a return date at Virginia in ‘07. On future schedules, that gives Pitt eight dates with Notre Dame, home-and-homes with Michigan State, Navy, Virginia, N.C. State and Clemson, and a 2-for-1 with UCF.

That’s the kind of strong scheduling philosophy the Big East needs as it tries to rebuild in the post-Miami era.

The more games like this Pitt schedules, the better its chances to recruit top talent and have a strong enough strength of schedule for BCS purposes. And by BCS purposes, I don’t just mean playing in a BCS bowl.

And finally, the whacks from normally friendly media sources keep coming at Penn State’s scheduling choice:

THERE DOESN’T seem to be much support for Penn State’s decision to add Temple to the football schedule starting in 2006 as the 12th team.

Ron Bracken offered his perspective in his Sunday column, and the fans are offering their view in our Web poll that is taking off, as you would expect.

And you would expect the fans to want Pitt, now wouldn’t you. And that’s how they’re voting in this entirely unscientific Web poll.

Give us your view.

And pardon us if we don’t necessarily look forward to a November game with Temple.

The poll is here. Not that it really matters. But check out the whiners complaining about how obnoxious Pitt fans were to them. Hilarious.

Via Dave Sez, another blogger, Braves & Birds, found a really good piece on the revenues and expenses for Division 1-A Athletic Departments. There is a list of all the schools from the 2003-04 season. The most important for us.

As B&B points out, a lot of schools are essentially taking huge hits because of the costs of the women’s programs without much revenue coming back. Definitely read the posts from both blogs.

Last year, it wasn’t a huge shock when Luke Getsy decided to transfer when he didn’t win the starting QB job from Tyler Palko. It also wasn’t a shock that Palko took all but a handful of the snaps last season. That’s the way things were under the previous coaching regime.

I am surprised that back-up QB Joe Flacco is seriously mulling a transfer.

Flacco, who will be a redshirt sophomore this fall, asked to be released from his scholarship a few days after spring practice ended.

Monday, Wannstedt spoke with Flacco twice on the phone to attempt to persuade him to stay.

“Nothing is definite yet,” offensive coordinaor Matt Cavanaugh said. “We’re still talking with Joe to try to get him to change his mind.”
…
Cavanaugh admitted he was caught off guard when Flacco asked for permission to transfer.

“Joe had a good spring,” Cavanaugh said. “He played well and made a lot of improvements.”

Last season, Flacco played in three games, but did not attempt a pass in two of them. Against South Florida, he completed 1-of-4 passes for 11 yards.

Cavanaugh said Flacco did not give a specific reason for wanting to leave.

“Sometimes, a young guy sees who’s playing in front of him and figures he’s not going to get any playing time, so he has second thoughts” Cavanaugh said.

The other story doesn’t have it seem quite as certain that Flacco would leave.

If Flacco goes, there is no back-up other than true freshmen Bill Stull and Shane Murray. Unless, of course, they try to put TE Darrell Strong back at QB. I like to think though, that this coaching staff wouldn’t pull the Mike Robinson-Paterno/Penn St. mistake.

Maybe Pitt is closer to getting Tennessee transfer Brent Schaeffer than we realized. This move is obviously not about playing time this year. It’s about what he expects in 2006 and 2007. Honestly, I have no idea if Flacco is any good or not. He obviously believes in himself, and thinks he can start somewhere in college football.

Flacco is arguably in a tough spot to earn starting time. If Palko returns after this season, Flacco will have only 2007 to be a starter — his senior year. By that point, he could be passed on the depth chart by Stull, Murray or some younger, hotter recruit. From a planning standpoint it is hard to argue his thought process right now.

Still isn’t good for Pitt, though.

Lots of little things. None worth an individual post.

The Notre Dame-Pitt game is looking like the headline act for the opening weekend of college football. Either that or everyone is really curious about how the new coaches are going to do.

Lindy’s football annual doesn’t hit the market until the end of May. Apparently they have leaked their pre-season top-25. Take it for what it’s worth. Louisville is at #11. Pitt is number #19. Penn St. is #25???

Some people really get pissed when there is a dissing of Division 1-AA football teams. The responses were in reaction to a Starkey column from Thursday.

The Big East is struggling to keep all of its bowl tie-ins. The Gator Bowl is apparently ready to dump.

I feel I have to. From this piece that is otherwise unquestioning acceptance of everything Paterno said as to why Penn St. is unable to play Pitt, you get some quotes from PSU players. You know, the ones whom Joe Pa is always so concerned:

For Thursday’s festivities at the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh, Paterno brought along with him a few of his players, including linebacker Paul Posluszny of Hopewell and center A.Q. Shipley of Moon.

Both Posluszny, one of the Nittany Lions’ three co-captains, and Shipley would welcome a chance to play Pitt someday, although neither are optimistic of that happening any time soon.

“I would love to see Penn State play Pitt again, just to renew the rivalry,” said Shipley, who redshirted last season as a freshman. “I’m hoping that before I graduate, I’ll get to play Pitt at least once.”

“We’d all like to see it happen. It would be great for both schools,” said Posluszny, who’ll be a junior next season. “But it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen … not at least while I’m at Penn State.”

And in the heart of Penn State country, Ron Bracken takes his shots at Penn St. for not playing Pitt.

You knew, you just had to know, that when the NCAA voted to allow its Division I-A football playing schools to add a 12th game to their seasons, Penn State would go looking for its long lost friend and doormat to fill that opening.

Instead of breathing life into the dormant rivalry with Pitt, or going after an attractive inter-sectional opponent, Penn State looked eastward where it found a willing partner in Temple.
…
And doesn’t that just make you want to whip out your checkbook and double your contribution to the Nittany Lion Club so you can get choice seats for those showdowns?

Assuming the 2006 Temple game is slated for Beaver Stadium on Nov. 11, which is currently an open date, that would give the Nittany Lions a home schedule of Akron, Louisiana Tech, Northwestern, Michigan, Illinois, Temple and Michigan State.

If this was the verbal part of the SAT test, the question would be which one of those schools does not belong with the others? Hint: Think helmets. Or better yet, think frequency of Rose Bowl appearances.

Can anyone, being in good health and sound state of mind, actually say that Penn State football is better served by playing Temple instead of Pitt?

OK, there is the risk of losing to Pitt to consider. But isn’t that what makes a game entertaining instead of one where the Nittany Lions pull the wings off another MAC fly?

It’s time to put away the tired old complaints about how Pitt used to demand that Penn State play every game in the series in Pittsburgh, about how Pitt’s fans treated visiting Penn State fans shabbily when they ventured to old Pitt Stadium.

Those bleatings are deader than good intentions. In the period from the 1930s through the 1950s, Pitt was the stronger program, had the bigger stadium and more national championships than Penn State. So it had the leverage to demand an unequal number of home games in the series.

And for every Penn State fan who complained about how he or she was treated at Pitt there is a Panther fan who was treated equally shabbily at Beaver Stadium. Remember the “S–tt on Pitt” T-shirts or the “Under the arm, Pitt” chants?

And while it’s those types of things that make a rivalry what it is — you have to have some good old fashioned animosity toward the other guy — there also has to be someone who can see the issue clearly and understand that raw emotions and petty jealousies should never be allowed to cause the demise of something as special as the Pitt-Penn State rivalry once was.
…
Myopic Penn State fans take the stance that Pitt is in trouble with the demise of the Big East and can see no reason why the Nittany Lions should help the Panthers by playing them.

Let’s turn that around. Why shouldn’t Penn State play Pitt and help itself by playing a better opponent than Temple, which almost lost its Division I-A status for failing to draw an average of 15,000 fans per game? Temple’s last winning season was in 1990. Pitt went to a bowl game last year.

You would think that Penn State would have learned its lesson during the 1970s when too many Temples, Rutgers, Ohio Universities and Kent States on its schedule cost it national respect and at least one, if not more, national championships.

That last part is kind of hard to buy right now, PSU just wants to get back to a winning record.

He’s here. He’s there. He’s everywhere.

As mentioned earlier, he’s been in Florida. Here’s another update (hat tip to Patric for e-mailing me the story).

Dave Wannstedt has been crisscrossing Florida in a little red car for days.

He’s cramming in visits to 24 high schools and shaking the hands of countless players, coaches, principals, superintendents, janitors and anyone else who knows of an athlete who may be interested in playing for him at the University of Pittsburgh.
…

On Thursday afternoon, Wannstedt took in a Hialeah-Miami Lakes Trojans spring practice. In the morning, he roamed the halls of the school.

“Oh, there were all kinds of rumors floating around,” Trojans coach Jerry Hughes said. “That our best players were going straight to the Dolphins and all that stuff.”

Wannstedt, who stepped down as Dolphins coach in November after a 1-8 start last season, is recharged.

He looks tanned and rested, remarkable considering his hectic schedule.

With the help of Pittsburgh receivers coach and former Florida Gator Aubrey Hill, Wannstedt listed the schools he visited Thursday morning: American, Carroll City, Pace, Miami Central, Booker T. Washington and Miami Northwestern.

“I love it,” Wannstedt said. “I enjoy the interaction with the players and coaches. There are things about this that are refreshing to me. The alumni, academics, all the things on campus. It really has been a nice change of pace.”

While he spoke, Wannstedt was monitoring the workout of Trojans quarterback Thaddeus Lewis.

“See that No. 1?” Wannstedt said. “We’re offering.”
…

“Yeah, LSU offered,” Lewis said later. “And Duke. And West Virginia. And now, Pittsburgh. This coach seems like he means business. He lets you know he really wants you. He came all the way down here for a reason.”

He came to see Lewis in person, to stand within arm’s length of him, for a reason.

“I’ll tell you what, I haven’t seen a coach of Dave Wannstedt’s stature around here this spring,” Hughes said. “I haven’t even seen, believe it or not, some of the Florida coaches, which is surprising considering what we have to offer.”

And next week he’ll be in the Eastern half of Pennsylvania.

Wannstedt and his staff have been busy spring recruiting most of this month. However, he also wants to reach out to fans, alumni and coaching colleagues in Eastern Pennsylvania. Wannstedt will be hosting three events next week for that purpose. They include:

Havertown Coaching Clinic (Tuesday, May 17): Held at Barnaby’s on 1901 Old West Chester Pike in Havertown, Pa. Coach Wannstedt and Pitt offensive line coach Paul Dunn will host a football clinic from 6 to 8 p.m., followed by a social. Cost is $15. To register, call (412) 648-8700 or e-mail clasala@athletics.pitt.edu.

“Meet Coach Wannstedt Night” (Wednesday, May 18): Held at the Marvin Comisky Center, located at One Logan Square, 18th and Cherry Sts. in center city Philadelphia. Coach Wannstedt will meet and greet members of the Pitt Alumni Association and Panther Club from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is free. To attend, contact the Pitt Alumni Association at (800) 258-7488 or e-mail alumnievents@ia.pitt.edu.

Hershey Coaching Clinic (Thursday, May 19): Held at Hershey Italian Lodge on 128 Hillcrest Road in Hershey, Pa. Coach Wannstedt and Pitt offensive line coach Paul Dunn will host a football clinic from 6 to 8 p.m., followed by a social. Cost is $10. To register, call (412) 648-8700 or e-mail clasala@athletics.pitt.edu.

Exciting. Isn’t it?

Pitt and Virginia will do a home-and-home for 2006 and 2007. The first game will be at Heinz Field. Not officially announced by Pitt. Hat-tip to Joe for the e-mail that it was announced on FoxSport Pittsburgh last night.

As previously mentioned, former Tennessee QB and alleged hot-head, Brent Schaeffer has Pitt on the list of schools he is considering transferring to.

Former Tennessee quarterback Brent Schaeffer sent his release to South Florida along with several other schools where Schaeffer is considering to transfer.

A Tennessee official said Thursday that Schaeffer’s release was sent “to about 10 schools.” His mother, Chandra Schaeffer, confirmed USF, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Texas A&M, Clemson and Miami (Ohio) had been sent a release.

She also said UCF received a release even though her son and UT coach Phil Fulmer agreed Schaeffer may not transfer to another Southeastern Conference school or a school the Vols play during his remaining eligibility. UCF visits UT in 2007, which would be his junior season.

I think it is clear he is looking to get to the NFL. It just depends on how soon he expects to start. If he wants to start in 2006, then Pitt is down on the list unless Palko is actually up for the Heisman. Depending on how his legal issues play out, he obviously is an attractive player.

If you care about this sort of thing, Pitt has made the new arch “Pitt” available as wallpaper and AOL Buddy icon alone or on the football helmet (buddy only). Worth noting that the Pete logo with the Panther head is still there, suggesting it will remain on the b-ball floor and Jamie looks to be right on this one. I also point this out, because in place of the panther tooth, it looks like Pitt will be going with a version of the ever original, rarely used paw-print logo. That’ll catch on.

Looks like there could be some major changes at Cinci. When I read Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News yesterday opining that Bob Huggins might get shoved out the door, I thought he might be a week early on the story. Now it seems he was only a day. Huggins didn’t get his contract extended, instead was offered a buyout.

University of Cincinnati president Nancy Zimpher did not offer basketball coach Bob Huggins a contract extension or rollover when the two met in her office Wednesday afternoon, leaving Huggins, for now, with the option of completing the final two years of his contract or accepting a buyout proposal, sources familiar with the negotiations confirmed Thursday.
…
With two years left on his contract, Huggins would receive $1.4 million if he accepts the termination proposal.

Wednesday’s meeting took place in Zimpher’s office on campus and included Zimpher, Huggins, Goin, Board of Trustees chairman Phil Cox and Board vice chairman Jeff Wyler. Huggins had the rollover provision of his contract removed last summer in response to his arrest and conviction on a charge of driving under the influence. Before that, his contract rolled over on July 1 of each year so that he always had four years left.

This is a risky power play by Cinci President Zimpher. Huggins is very, very loved by the alumni of Cinci. Trust me. My wife isn’t a rabid fan, but even she holds “Huggy-bear” in high regard. If she boots Huggins, the guy who takes over better win right away or they will both be gone. It seems Greg Doyel at Sportsline is having the same line of thoughts that I am about this.

At least one Cinci columnist thinks Zimpher should back away from the ledge. That as Cinci is entering the Big East, this is not the time to make such a huge move.

Meanwhile, UConn is embroiled in a pseudo-ethics scandal.

Bill Clinton had Monicagate. Now the UConn athletic department, in particular athletic director Jeff Hathaway, must contend with Monacogate. In a series of articles that began on April 4, the Hartford Courant reported Hathaway and his wife were receiving gratis the use of vehicles from Glastonbury-based Monaco Ford. While that is not unusual — the football coach, basketball coach and athletic director at almost every big-time school you can name are driving around in comped cars — the terms of Hathaway’s arrangement has led to an investigation by the state’s ethics commission.

According to the Courant, Hathaway, along with head coaches Randy Edsall (football), Jim Calhoun (men’s basketball) and Geno Auriemma (women’s basketball), as well as women’s associate head basketball coach Chris Dailey, had deals in place to receive complimentary cars in exchange for tickets. However, according to the Courant, last summer Hathaway asked all athletic department staffers who receive complimentary tickets sign a form stating that they would not sell their tickets to a third party. Hathaway, according to the Courant, “exempted himself and the coaches from the no-selling rule because he viewed selling tickets for cars as different from other forms of selling.”

In other words, Hathaway forbade employees of the school’s athletic department from scalping tickets for cash; meanwhile, he allegedly allowed himself and the three highest-paid employees of the department to continue exchanging seats for wheels.

Second, according to the Courant, under the terms of Hathaway’s agreement with Monaco, he would perform endorsement services in exchange for use of the vehicles. Hathaway has never done an ad or in any way endorsed the dealership. The NCAA allows athletic department officials to supplement their income from “bona fide” outside employment in which the officials are “performing services. ” However, an official cannot accept the car as an outright gift.

Thus, the only manner in which Hathaway might receive use of the cars without violating NCAA rules is to exchange the university’s tickets for them. However, according to the Courant, when Hathaway notified the state ethics commission about his endorsement deal with Monaco, he never apprised them of the fact that what he was actually giving them was not his image — whatever it may be worth — but rather tickets. The Courant reported Hathaway later apologized to the commission and returned the vehicles, but at that time did not disclose that he had given Monaco tickets from his personal stash.

It’s the hypocrisy that has to be most galling. I don’t think or believe there is any real sleaze going on. But to see an AD preach high and mighty cosmetic ethics to the underlings while reserving the same perks for himself and the powerful coaches is disgusting.

Joe Paterno was doing his swing through Pittsburgh yesterday, so it can’t be avoided to mention it. Part of me wants to. It seems a tired topic. It’s easy to bash him, and it’s not that it isn’t fun to do so to him and Penn St., goodness no. It just seems like the same old dance.

Here’s the obligatory column on Penn St. and Pitt should play each other. Mike Prisuta does the honors this year.

On Thursday night, Joe Paterno, often accused of being out of touch in recent seasons, displayed a keen understanding of what a great many Pennsylvanians have always suspected is the main reason, the only reason one of college football’s storied rivalries has been put on hold.

“I’m the bad guy, and I’m the guy in the black hat in this one,” Paterno offered prior to a Nittany Lions’ gala at the Duquesne Club.

“But I’m not.”

Sensing a more detailed explanation was necessary, Paterno expounded.

The game can’t be played, he maintained, for a variety of reasons.
…
Pitt wants the series to resume on a home-and-home basis badly enough that Wannstedt made a priority of reaching out to Paterno upon taking over in Oakland.

“Dave talked to me, and I tried to tell Dave, I said ‘Dave’ — look, I tried to get Dave out of high school, and I think Dave’s gonna do a heck of a job for Pitt, and I think that’s great — but Penn State’s gotta take care of Penn State.

“We’re not an Eastern institution as far as football goes. We’re a national institution playing in the Big Ten, OK?”

Actually, it’s not.

Penn State remains first and foremost a Pennsylvania institution, but that seems to have been lost on Paterno, just as 27 Big Ten games have been lost by Paterno since Nov. 6, 1999.

Eventually, JoePa grew tired of even his rhetoric yesterday.

Once that happened, he established that his memory is as sharp as ever.

“Pitt years ago, when I tried to put the Eastern Conference together, Pitt decided to go in the Big East for basketball,” Paterno said. “Fine, they had to make that decision. Now, though, everything’s kind of become convoluted.

“We’d all like to re-evaluate how we got where we are and the whole bit, but you know when Pitt went in the Big East, that cut my legs out from me, what I was trying to do, because I felt we needed an all-sports conference.”

For Paterno, it always comes back to that. Paterno has his version of what happened, even if it doesn’t jibe with reality. Funny how only Pitt, cut him off at the knees back then. Never a word about the Big East, Syracuse, BC or the others. Only Pitt did his dream in.

Instead, there is the news the same day of how the PSU-Temple rivalry is again to be played — at a 2-for-1 deal.

The biggest news, though, is his disappointment with his own coaching. Reflecting uselessly that he may have to go if the team falters again.

This time, if Penn State labors through another disappointing season, Joe Paterno won’t blame his players (because now, he finally likes his team’s talent) and he won’t blame his assistants (because after all, he recently pleaded to keep his staff intact). One more losing season — which would be Penn State’s fifth in six years — will only prompt Paterno to blame himself.
…
Speaking first to a small table of media members, Paterno suggested that he would consider retirement if this season — one he believes is filled with promise — instead leads to disappointment.

“If we don’t win some games, I’ve got to get my rear end out of here,” Paterno said. “Simple as that.”

When he actually gets out is still up in the air. As for not blaming anyone else? Right. I notice he left out the referees.

What more is there to say really? A tired topic and a tired old man. Let him hang on as long as he can. That is what Penn St. deserves.

That seems to be how people familiar with Coach Dave Wannstedt perceive him to be now. This column from the Naples News sees a man very much at ease with himself.

The way Dave Wannstedt was received in Collier County on Tuesday, you’d think he was running for mayor.

Lucky for Barnett, the current Naples mayor, Wannstedt was only shaking hands, posing for pictures and signing autographs as part of the recruiting blitz for the University of Pittsburgh.

The new Panthers coach looked at home meeting and greeting potential recruits on the prep stage. Decked out in a Navy Panthers’ Fiesta Bowl polo and matching microfiber, wrinkle-free beige slacks, Wannstedt even dressed the part of collegiate headhunter.

He looked young again. He looked fresh — much fresher than he did last November when he stepped down as the Dolphins head coach after starting the season 1-8.

For Wannstedt, the Dolphins’ demise, Ricky Williams’ inauspicious retirement and his departure from the NFL was now a distant memory. Just like any successful politician, he overcame a potentially damaging moment and landed on his feet. And now he’s back out on the campaign trail.

“The reception has been overwhelming,” Wannstedt said. “I have received nothing but the utmost respect from the coaches, players and administrators at all of the schools that I visited. It’s a great feeling.”

But maybe Barnett should worry.

Wannstedt’s quite familiar with Collier County.

He’s a part-time resident and actually just stepped it up by buying a house in Port Royal. And by the looks of his white-collar, Panthers-visor wearing posse that met up with him at Naples High practice, Wannstedt has plenty of influential friends in high places.
…

Two area teams winning state titles in the last five years has changed the opinion of Wannstedt and all of college football — evident by a Florida Gators assistant coach also present Tuesday in Naples.

Wannstedt started his day at Immokalee, a place he’d never been before. He came away with five players from John Weber’s roster that he likes. He was then off to Lely, Barron Collier and then finally to see Bill Kramer and the Golden Eagles.

Today, he’s heading across the coast to Broward County, visiting six different schools. He’ll follow that up by visiting six more in Dade on Wednesday.

After accepting the job at his alma mater, Wannstedt made a recruiting edict. He ordered all of his coaches to scour a 500-mile radius of Pitt and venture no farther with one exception: Florida.

“There are so many great athletes here that you have to make a presence and with my familiarity with the Hurricanes and the Dolphins, I need to take advantage of the situation,” Wannstedt said.

Nice to know how hard he is working the road.

Let’s give some love to our soon to be BE brethren at Marquette. I like to think if Pitt tried to pull the whole “Pittsburgh” crap, that happened in ’97 it would have met with similar destruction. The boys at Marquette Hoops have owned this story on the blogs. Read it all. Especially catching the MSJ in some stupidly bizarre flip-flopping over the name issue. Just read it all and go back an additional week to see how much they have been at the vanguard. Not sure how many years you guys will be in the same conference, but it’s good to have you in a blog alliance right now.

That said, John Walters at SI.com had too much fun with this not to excerpt.

Earlier this week Marquette University decided to renege on its decision to change the school’s mascot name to “Gold.” The verdict came after public and private rebuke (an alumnus friend of mine noted “I bought a nickel-bag of that on spring break once”). Although, as a sportswriter, I must admit that I was disappointed: I was looking forward to dubbing Marquette the “Au.”
…
Marquette proudly proclaims itself to be a “Jesuit” university. The actual name of the Jesuit order is “Society of Jesus.” “Jesuit” is in fact a slang term, one that originated as a slur. According to the Etymology Dictionary (and my high school teachers at Brophy College Prep, which is also Jesuit), “Their enemies (in both Catholic and Protestant lands) accused them of belief that ends justify means, hence the sense “a dissembling person” (1640), and Jesuitical, “deceitful” (1613).

In fact, looking up “Jesuit” in my dictionary, I find the definition, “one given to subtle casuistry.” And, because, just like you, I had no idea what casuistry means, I looked that up, too: “subtle but specious reasoning intended to rationalize or mislead.”

So it is alright for Marquette to embrace the term “Jesuit,” which was once unquestionably derisive, but it is offensive for the school to align its sports teams with the term “Warrior,” which means “one who is engaged in or experienced in battle?” Isn’t that a fairly accurate analogy for an athletic competitor?
…
If the Marquette officials abhor the name Warriors, they certainly will not approve of the mascot created by a group of cheeky students at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. In a clever protest of “V-Day” (a celebration held on their campus and many others across the country to honor Eve Ensler‘s play, The Vagina Monologues, and one that takes place with complete cooperation of university administrators), the College Republicans at Roger Williams University inaugurated “P-Day” and described themselves as “P—- Warriors”. They even created a mascot, Testaclese.

The administration, alas, not only failed to get the joke but also confiscated Testaclese’s costume. Apparently, to them a V is valiant but a P is pernicious. That’s what I call a phallacy.

Never miss an opportunity to make the Richard Head jokes.

No, I’m not talking about contributions to the ticket and tailgate fund. (Though such contributions are gratefully accepted. I thought you/we were done begging. Never too proud to beg. Snippet of an schizo-internal conversation.)

I am talking, of course, about the 12th game NCAA Legislation.

When it comes to cashing in on the business of college football, there’s no place like home.

So when Division I-A university presidents conceded that financial considerations were one of the biggest reasons for passing the 12th-game legislation last month, the response from athletic directors whose job is to schedule games was predictable.

As they scurry to find that extra opponent for the 2006 season — the first year 12 games are allowed — schedule makers for Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia said that added game will be used to buy a “guarantee game” so they can have seven home games every season. They said playing host to seven home games is essential to running a solvent athletic department.

For those who were hoping the 12th game might serve as a way to create some blockbuster interconference matchups (say, for example, Pitt vs. Southern California or Penn State vs. Oklahoma), don’t hold your breath. In order for that to happen, teams would have to play seven home games every other season, and that trade-off isn’t enough for the bottom-line university administrators.

“That seventh home game, we need to take advantage of that financially,” said Mike Parsons, the deputy athletic director at West Virginia who is in charge of scheduling. “Does that guarantee we’ll have seven home games every season? No, not 100 percent of the time, but it better be close to it.”

Pitt athletic director Jeff Long and Penn State athletic director Tim Curley share the same view. None of the three schools are ready to announce which team will serve as the 12th game in 2006 — that should come over the summer or early next fall — but expect a steady diet of Mid-American Conference schools and the like to parade through Heinz Field, Beaver Stadium and Mountaineer Field.

You know, if the House and Senate can take a moment from uselessly and sanctimoniously proclaiming the evils of steroids and threatening to render void more and more civil liberties and contract terms maybe they can go all self righteous and hold hearings about the hypocricsy of no college football playoffs while another game is added to the schedule to gouge the fans and the student-athletes.

For Pitt fans, we can expect that will be the increase in our average season ticket prices. The cost of an additional game. Can we expect a quality game? Hah! Expect at least one 1-AA per year for the long-term.

Don’t expect better nonconference matchups with the schedule expanding to 12 games in 2006. When the NCAA passed the proposal, it also passed a resolution that will allow teams to count games against I-AA schools in the race to secure a winning record and reach a bowl game. So instead of seeing more Auburn-Southern California games, we’ll see more Auburn-Western Kentucky games. What coach is going to risk a loss to another I-A team when coaches are being fired for 7-4 seasons? Moreover, many mid-major teams now want a home game in return for taking a beating from a BCS school. . . .

Yup. More Youngstown St., Villanovas and the like for at least one game every year. That’s all it will mean. Can you say hello to an annual “City Game” versus Duquesne in football? I knew you could.

Joe Starkey generates his outrage for the issue.

…Part of the rationale, an NCAA spokesperson told me Wednesday, is to foster “rivalries” and help I-AA schools in recruiting.

Sorry, but I have to believe it’s all about filling athletic department coffers on both sides.

It’s a money grab.

So, instead of using that 12th game to try to stoke old rivalries (Pitt-Penn State) or give the home fans a game to get excited about, schools all around the country will be executing a widespread rip-off.

I mean, people are going to pay cold, hard cash to see Pitt play Youngstown State, even if it’s just part of their season-ticket package.

Six of the eight Big East teams are getting a head start on the insanity. Pitt, WVU, Rutgers, Cincinnati, South Florida and UConn are hosting a Division I-AA team as part of their 11-game schedules this season.

Wasn’t the weak-sister Big East supposed to be beefing up its non-conference schedules?

Granted, there are plenty of I-AA teams that are better than the worst I-A teams. Playing Wofford isn’t much different than playing Buffalo or some other I-A weakling, but the least college football can do — the least it could have done — is limit the opportunity for grotesque mismatches.

Big East schools will tell you they are forced to play I-AA teams because of scheduling difficulties. They might need to find five non-conference games in 2006, for example, while other conferences won’t have nearly as many dates to fill. And there are only so many teams to go around.

Too bad. If it takes scheduling a conference team twice, do it. West Virginia and Pitt talked about a second game a few years ago. Split the gate. Do something. Just don’t play a I-AA opponent.

To be fair, schools like Pitt and West Virginia are just playing the hands they’re dealt. And the I-AA schools aren’t complaining, mind you. They get a nice payout of their own when they play sacrificial lamb at the big-time opponents’ field.

And that’s just it. It isn’t just the lack of enough Akron, Buffalo, and Louisiana Tech teams in 1-A. It’s about keeping the price down.

These were schools that could finance their entire athletic departments on a few well-paid patsy games per year. These schools get $600 K to show up and play Washington Generals to the Harlem Globetrotters in Oklahoma or Miami. Now, schools can go out and get Maine, Hofstra, Alabama St., Penn, Lehigh, Lafayette, Montana St., SE Louisiana, UMass, Coastal Carolina and such. Simple econ. The pool grows and price drops.

So, you can spare me the crocodile tears about how Pitt and Penn State want to work something out.

It’s good to be back.