BYU in the Pac 10?

As the NCAA’s powerhouse conferences appear to be on the cusp of a major realignment, it’s important to use history as a guide to all the rumor mongering that goes along with these heady times. For example, in the early 1990’s Brigham Young was close to joining the Pac 10. If you’re scratching your head to figure out how that could have possibly been a good fit, remember that BYU won a national championship in 1984 and quarterback Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy in 1990. – Deseret News

Governor ready to broker WVU-Marshall deal

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin sees the West Virginia-Marshall football series as a matter of critical importance. That’s why he is prepared to drop his duties (as outlined in the state constitution) to become a mediator of sorts if talks to extend the annual matchup breakdown. The issue between the schools is a matter of whether or not the Mountaineers deserve to get the continued benefit of a weighted deal. The current seven-year contract includes five home games for WVU and just two for Marshall. The Thundering Herd are seeking a home-and-home arrangement going forward. This would not be Manchin’s first foray into the world of college football — as he played a role in the Rich Rodriguez saga. – Gazette-Mail

FCS playoffs expanded to 20 teams

While pundits, players and coaches have been espousing opinions for months as to whether or not the NCAA men’s basketball tournament should be expanded, the NCAA went ahead and expanded another Division I tourney right under our noses. That’s right, yesterday the NCAA announced that everyone’s favorite college football championship (and we’re talking real, tournament-style title here), the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs would be expanded to a 20-team bracket. In other important news to fans of Villanova, New Hampshire, Montana and other FCS powerhouses (no offense intended to the many other great programs not listed here), the title game will be played in Frisco, Texas for the next three years, ending a 13-year run in Chattanooga. – Dallas Morning News

LSU hires Steve Ensminger

Steve Ensminger, a former starting quarterback for LSU, has been named the school’s tight ends coach, head coach Les Miles announced on Thursday. Ensminger, a 1982 graduate of LSU, played quarterback for the Tigers under head coach Charlie McClendon from 1976-79. Ensminger played in three bowl games at LSU and has followed that by coaching in 10 bowl games as an assistant. “We’re excited about having Steve join our staff,” Miles said. “He comes to LSU with a great deal of coaching experience in the SEC and he knows Louisiana very well. He’s demonstrated expertise in coaching on the offensive side of the ball and he gives us a coach who will be very valuable in recruiting. “He’s also an LSU guy, which just reinforces that this is the right hire for us.” Ensminger comes to LSU after serving as an assistant coach at Auburn from 2003-08. Ensminger spent the 2009 season as the passing game coordinator at Smiths Station High School in Auburn, Ala. – Bayou Bengal Insider

New Washington State AD Bill Moos appeals to Cougs’ loyalty

Bill Moos said Wednesday he’d begin his new job with some restraint. But not without grand ambition. Moos, 59, was introduced as Washington State’s next athletic director at a campus news conference. He will take over no later than May 1. While the resuscitation of the Cougars’ renovation project for Martin Stadium appears the key priority, Moos said he’d begin by taking a wider view of possible facilities needs. Even before that, he wants to address a mindset, and in massaging that, he envisions capital improvements. “One thing I’m going to focus on is the culture,” he said. “I will never look at the program as underdogs. We’re not underdogs; we’re not going to use the term ‘Couging it.’ We’re going to set forth a path that leads to championships. “Cougars everywhere love their alma mater. They’re going to hear from me that that’s important. The common theme from me will be, ‘If you like the sermon, show it when the collection plate is passed around.’ ” – Seattle Times

Lane Kiffin confused by Vols’ AD’s comments

Former Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin is confused by Vols athletic director Mike Hamilton’s parting comments about him not being a “cultural fit” during his 14-month stay on campus. “I don’t think at the end of day that has anything to do with whether you score points or whether you win games. Where you’re from? I don’t know. That’s just my opinion. Is Nick Saban from Alabama? Is Urban Meyer from Florida? Those are two of the best coaches in the country. So I don’t think that really means anything.” – Knoxville News-Sentinel

After NCAA ruling, pressure is on Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez to win now

This was not a good day for Michigan and Rich Rodriguez, that’s for sure. There were dour expressions and serious tones, although tinged with the slightest wisp of relief that nothing crushing or unexpected was delivered. Michigan broke rules, according to the NCAA, and however it’s spun in either direction, that’s a stain. The NCAA didn’t accuse Rodriguez’s program of breaking the biggest rules, and Michigan officials said they don’t believe it was done maliciously. And no, Rodriguez won’t lose his job over this, not now. But for Michigan football, previously untainted by the NCAA, any allegation is embarrassing. For Rodriguez, it doesn’t help his cause, but it doesn’t really change much either. The truth is, Rodriguez is under the same amount of heat today as he was before the report. He’s 8-16 in two seasons and there’s a new, aggressive, impressive athletic director, David Brandon, taking over. Rodriguez had to show progress this season whether the NCAA found nothing, or all sorts of nasty stuff. – Detroit News

Tim Tebow’s struggle to impress NFL could hurt Gators in recruiting

Obviously not part of the preparation is Florida head coach Urban Meyer. In four years under Meyer, Tebow said he’d “never been asked to shorten or quicken my release and not have a loop in it.” You will hear some argue that Meyer is to blame for not doing a better job preparing Tebow for the NFL. But the truth is that Meyer’s only responsibility was to win games for his employer, the University of Florida. And he certainly did that. There is a lesson here, however, for young quarterbacks who envision themselves having the chance to play in the NFL one day: look around for a coach who runs an NFL-style offense, and coaches quarterbacks to play with NFL-style mechanics. – Birmingham News

Texas could land in Pac-10

For the University of Texas, it has a larger pool of conferences to choose from. Many reports state that Texas’s draw to the Big Ten is not seen as favorably by the university as a possible jump to the Pac 10 would be. Yes, the current television deal would be greater in the Big Ten, but many view the Pac 10 as the next conference to go the route of owning its own network outright. The Pac 10 can provide the media centers of the west coast, along with a similar climate and potential rivalries (Texas vs USC every year anyone?). – St. Louis Globe-Democrat

Jim Leavitt, USF can’t reach deal on settlement

Attorneys for USF and former Bulls football coach Jim Leavitt met for nearly six hours in mediation Saturday, though no resolution has been reached between the university and its coach of 14 years, his attorney said Monday. Leavitt was fired by USF on Jan. 8, after the university concluded that “serious violations” of its conduct code had occurred when an investigation ruled that Leavitt grabbed walk-on Joel Miller by the throat and slapped him twice in the face during halftime of USF’s Nov. 21 game against Louisville, then lied to investigators and interfered with USF’s investigation into the incident. USF has moved on, with new coach Skip Holtz now on the job more than a month, but Leavitt’s attorneys argue that the three-week investigation, which included interviews with 29 people, was not thorough enough. “USF represented to the entire nation that their investigation was ‘fair and thorough,’ ” attorney Wil Florin said Monday. “Suppressing the full eyewitness account of an on-duty law enforcement officer favorable to Coach Leavitt is not fair. Not interviewing and then ignoring the eyewitness account of another eyewitness only a few feet away (Mike Durakovic) is not thorough.” – St. Petersburg Times

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