Texas Tech blaming Craig James for Leach saga

As the Mike Leach-Texas Tech saga continues to unfold, it is appearing more and more likely that the University is looking to put a large part of the blame for what transpired on ESPN personality Craig James. A recent statement from Texas Tech’s attorneys to the state Attorney General stated, “Craig James threatened on Dec. 20 to sue the University if it did not investigate the actions of then-head football coach Mike Leach.” And that may just be the tip of the iceberg of James’s involvement in this bizarre saga. – SportsbyBrooks

Assistant coaches’ salaries spiking in football

Trickle down economics are alive and well in college football. With many contracts being negotiated or finalized, nearly a dozen schools in the NCAA’s 120-school Football Bowl Subdivision have made deals under which they will be spending at least 38% more on their offensive or defensive coordinator in 2010 than they did in 2009. These increases come a year after four assistants — Tennessee’s Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron, Texas’ Will Muschamp and Washington’s Nick Holt — joined Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher in having deals worth at least $600,000 a year. (Kiffin and Orgeron have moved to Southern California, and Fisher has become Florida State’s head coach.) They also come amid continuing financial distress within higher education. – USA Today

Dennis Erickson says Arizona State football is reaching ‘turning point’ on offense

Arizona State will complete its offensive transformation to a faster system using more motion and no-huddle under its new offensive coordinator, coach Dennis Erickson said. “It’s going to be a huge turning point offensively in our program,” said Erickson, going into his fourth season with the burden of 9-15 record in the past two seasons. “It’ll be completely different than what people have seen, and you’ll see it in the spring from Day 1.” Spring practice is March 30-April 24. Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone will run a system similar to those at Texas Tech and Houston that builds on the spread principles that ASU moved toward last season. – Arizona Republic

Senator Orrin Hatch launches new attacks on BCS

Spring football practice is beginning at many universities. And after a bit of an off-season, Sen. Orrin Hatch resumed attacks Tuesday on the Bowl Championship Series, too. Hatch, R-Utah, and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., sent a letter to BCS executive director Bill Hancock attacking — and seeking more information about — BCS revenue sharing, TV contracts, computer rankings and even whether money that should go to colleges is instead being spent to lobby Congress. Besides that letter, Hatch also issued a press release saying, “It’s clear that the BCS is fundamentally unfair and harmful to schools, students, college football fans and consumers throughout the country.” He added, “I think the architects of the BCS should provide the public with more information to dispel the notion that the system is explicitly designed to favor certain teams while disfavoring others.” Perhaps hell hath no fury like a senator whose home-state college football teams have been dissed by the BCS — such as when the University of Utah was undefeated two seasons ago but was excluded from the BCS National Championship Game in favor of two teams that each had a loss. Hatch and Baucus requested information about several developments that they said raise “additional questions” about the fairness of the BCS. – Deseret News

New Michigan AD: Football success is critical

(Dave) Brandon had a lot on his calendar Monday, his first day as Michigan’s athletic director, but acknowledged nothing on his list of things to do was more important than his plan for Rich Rodriguez and college football’s winningest program. “It’s critical,” Brandon said. “If you look at the annual revenues that drive this department, football is three-quarters of who we are. It’s essential for that program be successful if our entire athletic department is going to be successful. “I will continue to spend a lot of time with Rich and all of the people associated with the football program to understand it really well and to hopefully make an impact in terms of how we precede going further.” Michigan’s once-proud team has been embarrassed on and off the field lately. The NCAA notified Rodriguez and school officials two weeks ago that the football program is facing five potentially major rules violations in part because its report said Rodriguez “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program” in regards to time spent on practice and football-related activities. Brandon backed his coach then and on Monday reiterated his support for Rodriguez. “He’s our coach for this season,” Brandon said. “There’s nothing within the framework of the NCAA allegations that led me to believe that it should change his status as our coach.” – Record- Eagle

Irish trying to host game at Soldier Field

The Fighting Irish have found a home away from home. Notre Dame may be coming to Chicago as soon as 2012. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick confirmed on Monday what has long been in the works: Soldier Field is the target venue for an off-site home game slot yet to be filled two seasons down the line. “We were solely focused on getting (2011) closed out, but having now achieved that we will turn in earnest to nailing down the off-site game for ‘12,” Swarbrick said. “Our starting point for that effort is to see if we can find the right opponent and date for a game in Chicago.” – Chicago Tribune

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Rich Rodriguez won’t be judged on just wins, losses at Michigan

Incoming Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said he’s seen improvements in the football program under Rich Rodriguez and won’t mandate a number of wins Rodriguez needs to keep his job. So how will Brandon evaluate Rodriguez’s performance after the season? “Much like your boss, there’s a lot of different things you look at,” he told AnnArbor.com last month. “Certainly you need to see progress and some of that’s measured by wins and losses, but it’s also measured a lot of other ways. And when I’m in a position where I can evaluate as closely as I need to and I want to, all those metrics and all those measures will be clear between the coach and me.” Michigan is 8-16 in two seasons under Rodriguez and coming off a year in which it tied for last place in the Big Ten. – AnnArbor.com

Pac-10 move would cost Colorado $9 million

Nine million dollars. It`s the initial price tag for the University of Colorado to move from the Big 12 Conference to the Pac-10 by 2012. The biggest question from the Colorado perspective, if the Pac-10 comes calling, is whether absorbing the initial cost of switching conferences is too much or if it`s a small price to pay in the long run to be in a conference in which many believe CU is a better fit. Under Big 12 rules, Colorado must give two years notice if it plans to withdraw from the league and would forfeit 50 percent of its conference distribution for both of those years. CU received $9.7 million from the Big 12 for the 2008-09 school year and is expecting about $9 million this year because the league had only one team in a Bowl Championship Series football game. Assuming those numbers remain consistent over the next two years, it would cost Colorado roughly $4.5 million per year or $9 million over two years to leave the Big 12. The fall of 2012 is the target date for any possible Pac-10 expansion because that is when its new television agreements will begin. It`s possible CU could give one year`s notice in the summer of 2011 and end up paying roughly the same amount by forfeiting 90 percent of one year of Big 12 revenue. The cost also could grow if the Pac-10 required an entry fee, but that is unlikely. – Daily Camera

Widow of Fresno State football coach gets word out about cell phone radiation

Mindy Brown is on a crusade to warn people about radiation from cell phones. It started after her husband, Fresno State football coach Dan Brown, developed brain cancer. Before slipping into a coma a year ago, he said “make sure everybody knows,” she said. “I promised I would.” Dan was 50 when he died March 13, 2009. Since his death, Brown has flown across the country to keep her word to Dan, the high school sweetheart she married, the father of their six children. On Tuesday in Maine, she testified for legislation that would require a health warning on cell phones, similar to the “black box” label on cigarette packs. If passed, it would be the first in the country. – Fresno Bee

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