Tag: Football

Nov 2, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule talks with an official against the UCLA Bruins during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Portal fears could end Nebraska spring football game

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule says he just might pull the plug on his team’s traditional spring game.

And while the fervent faithful in Lincoln, Neb., likely would be devastated if Rhule follows through, the third-year coach said it might be necessary to keep his program together.

“I don’t know that yet, but I’ll be honest with you. I highly doubt it,” Rhule told reporters Saturday about the likelihood of the Cornhuskers playing the game.

The reason? The transfer portal. He doesn’t want to expose his players to other coaches who might try to pluck them during the spring transfer window.

“The word ‘tampering’ doesn’t exist anymore,” Rhule said. “It’s just an absolute free open common market. I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world. I don’t want these guys all being able to watch our guys and say, ‘Wow, he looks like a pretty good player. Let’s go get him.’ “

Rhule said he is considering ways to give fans a preseason look at the team without sharing his players with the nation. The spring game last year drew 60,452 fans to Lincoln, and it also was televised on the Big Ten Network.

The spring transfer portal closes April 25. After that, as a ceremonial close to spring practices, Nebraska could invite the fans in.

“I do want to show off our players in some way,” he said. “So what exactly will it be? … I have not worried about anything other than recruiting right now.”

–Field Level Media

Oct 5, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley looks on during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

USC put on probation, fined for violating coaching rules

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The NCAA placed Southern California football on one-year probation Tuesday and fined the program $50,000 for violating rules covering coaching.

“Eight analysts for the football program engaged in on- and off-field coaching activities during spring 2022, fall 2022 and spring 2023, resulting in the football program exceeding the permissible number of countable coaches by six for two academic years,” the NCAA said in a news release.

Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley will not face discipline, even though the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions and USC agreed Riley violated head coach responsibility rules.

Riley was ruled not to be personally involved and showed “he promoted an atmosphere of compliance,” per the NCAA. Also, some of the infractions occurred before rules were altered to make the head coach responsible for infractions.

In addition to the probation and the fine, the NCAA levied restrictions on analysts regarding some practice and film review sessions in the upcoming seasons.

–Field Level Media

Sept. 21, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Bellefontaine quarterback Tavien St. Clair watches warm-ups before Ohio State's game against the Marshall University Thundering Herd at Ohio Stadium.

3 QBs sit atop 247Sports’ revamped list of 5-stars

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Three quarterbacks sit atop 247Sports’ revised list of top prospects in the Class of 2025, released Wednesday.

LSU commit Bryce Underwood retained his No. 1 spot, followed by Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair and Keelon Russell, who has chosen Alabama.

The list of 32 five-star players was developed based on performance during the early part of their senior seasons as well as data analysis and in-person scouting. The Top247 rankings will be adjusted again before signing day in December and become final after January’s all-star games.

247Sports never has had three quarterbacks atop the final list.

Underwood is from Belleville (Mich.) High School, St. Clair from Bellefontaine (Ohio) and Russell from Duncanville (Texas).

In all, there are four quarterbacks in the top 32 prospects, including No. 28 Husan Longstreet from Centennial High School in Corona, Calif., who is committed to Texas A&M.

Among the five-stars only four are uncommitted: defensive linemen Elijah Griffin (No. 4) and Justus Terry (No. 9), both from Georgia; offensive tackle Andrew Babalola (No. 11) of Overland Park, Kan.; and Michael Terry III (No. 24) of San Antonio, who is classified as athlete.

–Field Level Media

Jan 10, 2022; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; A sign at the entrance to the NCAA Hall of Champions and national office. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Division I Council cuts transfer portal windows to 30 total days

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The NCAA Division I Council voted Tuesday in favor of shortening the transfer portal windows for both football and basketball.

The timeframes in which athletes could enter the transfer portal had already been trimmed once from 60 to 45 days. Tuesday’s decision brought those windows down to a combined 30 days.

Eliminating the spring window for football had been under consideration, but the Division I Council opted to keep it for players eyeing a transfer after the results of spring practices.

Football players will have a 20-day window during the winter and a 10-day window in the spring. The dates for the 2024-25 offseason will be Dec. 9-28 and April 16-25. Athletes in the portal can commit to a new school at any time, not only when the portal is open for them to enter.

The men’s and women’s basketball transfer portal will open for 30 days starting the day after the end of the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Athletes will still be given the opportunity to transfer for 30 days when their original school’s head coach departs for any reason, starting the day the departure is announced.

The timeline modifications should help athletic programs better navigate the offseason after the advent of the free one-time transfer coupled with name, image and likeness rights made for unprecedented amounts of player movement.

More than 2,800 FBS scholarship players entered the transfer portal during 2023-24. The number of men’s basketball players to hit the portal in 2024 was around 2,000, some estimates found.

–Field Level Media

Oct 7, 2023; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs cheerleaders cheer during the third quarter of the game against the Western Michigan Broncos at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-Imagn Images

Anonymous donor gives Mississippi State football $8M

Posted on | by Field Level Media

A donor family that wishes to remain anonymous pledged $8 million to Mississippi State football to launch the State Excellence Fund, which will pay for things such as recruitment and athlete compensation, the university announced Thursday.

It is the second-largest commitment ever to the Bulldogs’ athletic program, the school said.

“This thoughtful and generous investment in our program is critical to what we are building here in Starkville in this new era of college athletics,” athletic director Zac Selmon said in a statement. “To be an elite-level program, it takes elite-level resources. A gift of this magnitude shows the unwavering drive to establish Mississippi State Football as a premier college football destination for many years to come. I could not be more grateful for the commitment to championing our programs and players.”

The growth of name, image and likeness programs has made it imperative that schools develop the infrastructure to funnel money for player recruitment and retention, especially in highly competitive leagues such as the Southeastern Conference.

“This investment in our program shows that State fans are ‘all-in’ when it comes to helping provide the resources it takes to compete in the toughest conference in the country,” football coach Jeff Lebby said. “Having their support and belief in what we’re building is crucial for us as we continue to move forward.”

The university statement included a comment from the donors.

“We want to ensure we are doing our part to bolster Mississippi State Football. To build a sustained winning culture and program in today’s climate it’s going to take us all coming together to ensure our program has what it needs to recruit, train and keep top talent,” the family said. “With the launch of the State Excellence Fund, it provides the opportunity for fans and supporters to make a direct investment, regardless of the amount, in our future. We firmly believe in what we can accomplish together. We are proud to be Mississippi State Bulldogs.”

–Field Level Media

Jun 4, 2024; Eugene, OR, USA; A NCAA logo flag at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: NCAA looks at cutting spring portal window for football

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The NCAA Football Oversight Committee proposed the elimination of the spring transfer portal window to the Division I council this week, Yahoo Sports and The Athletic reported Friday.

At present, Division I football players can enter the transfer portal in two different windows during the year: a 30-day period after the conference championship games are played, as well as April 16-30, which fall in line with spring practices. The April window is what’s on the chopping block.

Players do not need to commit to their new school during those windows. Those dates are merely when the athletes are able to enter the portal.

The Power 4 conferences and the American Football Coaches Association support the move to get rid of the April window, Yahoo reported.

The idea comes amid the settlement of the House v. NCAA court case that would impose 105-player scholarship limits in football and eliminate walk-ons starting in 2025-26.

The DI Council could vote on the recommendation to eliminate the spring portal window during meetings this fall.

–Field Level Media

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton features a museum, and is also surrounded by the Hall of Fame Village development and entertainment campus, which features restaurants, a brewery, football stadium, sports dome, practice fields and a water park that is under construction.

Hall of Fame Game returns to ABC

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The 2024 Hall of Fame Game will be broadcast on Aug. 1 by ABC and ESPN.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame said Thursday this will be the first time ESPN has aired the game. It’s sister network, ABC, had rights to the Hall of Fame Game from 1971-2005.

This year’s preseason game in Canton, Ohio, will feature the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans.

ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” crew of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters will call the game.

Aikman, the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys from 1989-2000, was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2006.

–Field Level Media

Jan 17, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ross Bjork speaks during an introductory press conference for Ohio State University s new athletic director at the Covelli Center.

New Ohio State AD Ross Bjork predicts football titles

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Ohio State introduced new athletic director Ross Bjork on Wednesday, and one of the first things he did was give football coach Ryan Day a vote of confidence.

The university hired Bjork, 51, on Tuesday. He has been at the helm of the athletic department at Texas A&M since July 2019 and previously was the athletic director at Ole Miss and Western Kentucky.

Contract terms were not revealed.

Bjork will take over on July 1, replacing retiring athletic director Gene Smith. Until then, he undoubtedly will have his eyes on the football Buckeyes and Day, who was in the audience.

“I’m a football guy. I’m going to help and I’m going to make sure that, again, we compete at the highest level because the pedigree is here,” said Bjork, who went on to predict College Football Playoff titles in the future.

“This guy right here, Coach Day, he’s going to get it done,” Bjork said. “And it’s going to be a lot of fun when we win those championships.”

Day has a 56-8 record at Ohio State, which includes three games he filled in for a suspended Urban Meyer in 2018. He succeeded Meyer the following season.

His resume, however, includes three straight losses to rival Michigan and a 2-4 mark in bowl games.

A Kansas native who played football at Emporia State, Bjork fit the qualifications new Ohio State president Ted Carter recently said the school was looking for — extensive big school experience.

A blemish on Bjork’s record is the contract he gave to football coach Jimbo Fisher that left the school holding the bag for $77 million when Fisher was fired last fall. Carter said that situation was reviewed with Bjork during the hiring process and that he “owned it.”

Hiroyuki Fujita, chair of Ohio State’s board of trustees, echoed the need to bring in someone like Bjork.

“The college athletics landscape is changing each day, and Ohio State was firmly committed to finding an athletics director who would lead us with confidence and innovative thinking into the future,” Fujita said. “Ross Bjork possesses all the qualities we had envisioned — and more — and I am thrilled to welcome him to our Buckeye family.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 2, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Detail view of helmet stickers on the helmet of Virginia Cavaliers running back Mike Hollins (7) during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

‘Forever in our hearts’: UVA marks anniversary of shooting

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The University of Virginia marked the one-year anniversary Monday of the shooting deaths of three football players.

Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry were killed on the Charlottesville, Va., campus on Nov. 13, 2022.

“It may be the one-year anniversary for some people, but it’s just like yesterday for a lot of us,” athletic director Carla Williams said, per ESPN.

The three players were returning to school from a field trip to Washington, D.C., when they were shot and killed on a bus. Running back Mike Hollins was wounded in the attack but returned to lead the Cavaliers with seven rushing touchdowns so far this season.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a former walk-on at Virginia, is facing three counts of second-degree murder. Marlee Morgan, a UVA student, was also wounded in the shooting.

The school opened the north gate at Scott Stadium on Monday to allow the public to visit the memorial plaques for Chandler, Davis and Perry between noon and 5 p.m. ET. The UVA chapel will also chime bells in their honor. Other events are planned across the campus.

“There’s so many different visuals around here that spark thoughts about Lavel, Devin and D’Sean,” football coach Tony Elliott said, per ESPN. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t have feelings about them. On this day, I want it to be a true remembrance of the legacies of those young men.”

Virginia, which canceled the rest of the 2022 season following the tragedy, has two games remaining this season. The Cavaliers (2-8, 1-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) host Duke on Saturday and Virginia Tech on Nov. 25.

–Field Level Media

Oct 28, 2023; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins tight end Moliki Matavao (88) celebrates after scoring on a 26-yard touchdown reception against the Colorado Buffaloes in the second half at Rose Bowl. UCLA defeated Colorado 28-16. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA, Washington to travel cross-country twice in 2024 Big Ten schedule

Posted on | by Field Level Media

UCLA and Washington football will rack up frequent flyer miles in their first season in the Big Ten.

The Big Ten on Thursday released its football schedule for 2024, its first year as an 18-team league thanks to the additions of UCLA, Southern California, Oregon and Washington from the Pac-12.

Maryland’s home game against Michigan State on Sept. 7 will mark the first Big Ten game of the season, while Southern California will make its league debut on the road at Michigan on Sept. 21.

The Bruins — who fly to Hawaii and LSU in their nonconference schedule — will host Indiana on Sept. 14 for their first Big Ten game. But they’ll head to the East Coast twice in three weeks during October to face Penn State (Oct. 5) and Rutgers (Oct. 19).

Washington’s travel schedule is only slightly less taxing. The Huskies’ first Big Ten game comes Sept. 21 against Northwestern, but they will visit Rutgers on Sept. 28 and return east to face Penn State on Nov. 9.

The league ensured with its “Flex Protect XVIII” schedule model that 12 annual rivalries were protected. Also, teams based in the Eastern and Central time zones get to either play a home game or take a bye week after traveling to one of the four new West Coast teams for a game.

The Oregon-Washington game was added to rivalry weekend, taking place on Nov. 30. The same won’t be true for USC-UCLA because USC is hosting Notre Dame for its regular-season finale on Nov. 30. The California rivals will play Nov. 23 instead, and UCLA moved a nonconference game against Fresno State to Nov. 30 to accommodate.

–Field Level Media