And We're Not Even Talking About the Thunder: Oklahoma has announced that they, too, will be launching their own network. Before we get all up in arms, however, it should be noted that the Sooner Network is more along the lines of the K-State network than the Longhorn Network in that they won't have their own channel. They'll just be providing about a thousand hours of inventory to FOX for air on FS Oklahoma (as well as a good chunk of it being available on FS Southwest and whatever the Arkansas and Louisiana versions are).

Naturally, national media are approaching this as "Oh, look, Oklahoma and Texas now have their own networks, who else in the Big 12 will?" while completely ignoring the fact that K-State already does as well. Par for the course.

They're Ducking Kansas State, Obviously: Nebraska and Oklahoma are talking about a home-and-home in 2020 and 2021. Reading between the lines, I'd say this falls into the category of "done deal unless the Big 12 and Big 10 move to 10-game conference schedules".

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If You Think It's the Big Texas, You're Missing the Boat: So, the Big 12 ADs have announced that they're perfectly happy at 10 teams for now, which means absolutely nothing. The more interesting part of the opening day of the Big 12 meetings, however, was what came out of the mouth of Texas AD DeLoss Dodds: an admission that incoming commissioner Bob Bowlsby won't be intimidated by Texas, as Texas has no leverage in the short term.

That wasn't all, and we'll get back to it in a moment; Dodds also, by way of admitting to a reporter's speculation, strongly implied that the entire purpose of everything that's going on is indeed to create four super-conferences to freeze everyone else out. Other sources indicate that it doesn't matter who the Big 12 invites as the deal will increase by $20M per team, and that ESPN is not going to raise any objections. This is a huge piece of news, as it puts "lesser" schools in play that were previously considered to be less-than-likely candidates. Yes, the Big 12 is still going to want to lean toward getting Great Big Names, but if the Big 12 wants to reach out to a Louisville or god forbid even a Tulane for academic/geographical/whimsical purposes, there doesn't seem to be a financial obstacle.

And it would now appear there's not really a Texas obstacle either. The Longhorns remain opposed, in their hearts, to expanding for reasons which have everything to do with their path to championships and nothing to do with money. But with the new TV deal in place, and no financial obstacles to expansion, Texas is holding a pair of twos as far as controlling the new commish (or, for that matter, the rest of the league). The remaining schools will be free to empower Bowlsby to be a real commissioner in the vein of Mike Slive; able act in the best interests of the conference as a whole without worrying about Texas up and leaving in a huff for at least 13 years. And by the end of those 13 years, if Bowlsby does his job, Texas won't be able to leave then either -- not because they're hamstrung by a grant of rights, but because only a complete idiot would want out of the conference.

Now, this doesn't mean that Texas isn't still the wielder of a great deal of influence in the conference. In fact, if Bowlsby does his job right, he'll manage to get everyone on board in the same way Slive has in the SEC and prevent anything nasty happening... like, for example, Texas becoming the new Nebraska and spending 13 years embittered and angry over not getting their way. Still, the idea that it's the Big Texas conference is dead, and Dodds has effectively admitted it by acknowledging that Texas isn't going to be able to push around the new guy.

And now, we bring you a jam-packed day worth of silliness:

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I'd Have Thought They'd Gotten the Memo: A couple of weeks ago, VCU bailed out of the CAA for the Atlantic 10 with immediate effect, no waiting necessary, after the CAA put a gun to their head and informed them that if they were leaving, they weren't getting a shot at any of the league's autobids in 2012-13. It was a stupid and pointless gesture which only served to devalue the CAA's television contract for the upcoming year, as VCU's response was the only sane response possible: "Okay, fine, we're leaving NOW."

And now the Horizon League, completely failing to comprehend what had just happened, put the exact same gun to the head of the Butler Bulldogs, with exactly the same result. Butler will now move directly to the Atlantic 10 effective pretty much immediately since there is no further conference competition awaiting Butler in the spring season. (Technically, it's July 1 as with all conference moves, of course.) It's even more astonishing that the Horizon would act out this way considering Butler was the face of the conference, and in both instances it's a case of the jilted conference essentially sacrificing potentially deep NCAA men's basketball tournament revenues as both teams have, you know, proven their ability to make deep tournament runs.

The move creates, for one season before Temple and Charlotte depart, a behemoth 16-team Atlantic 10 and one hell of an entertaining conference tournament at the shiny new Barclays Center in Brooklyn next March. Just so there's no confusion about what the A-10's going to be like next year, allow me to offer the following clarifications: Temple, Charlotte, Butler, VCU, St Louis, Dayton, Xavier, Richmond, Massachusetts, St Joseph's. Oh, and St Bonaventure, who surprisingly made the tournament field last year. Can you say stacked?

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It's More Complicated Than You Think: TCU senior tailback Ed Wesley won't be returning in 2012, a loss which on its face will be fairly damaging for the Horned Frogs. It's actually not as critical a loss as it seems at first glance, however; Wesley was only the second-leading rusher on the team last year, and the guy in third place behind Wesley picked up over 700 yards too. However, Wesley was the actual "impact" runner on the squad, and if nothing else his absence will both remove a piece of misdirection from the playbook which helped enable leading rusher Waymon James to be the leading rusher, and will also increase the workloads of both James and Matthew Tucker.

Perhaps more interesting is how this all fits together as a narrative whole. Wesley, who broke 1,000 yards in 2010, seemed a bit off last year, and the "family issues" which are his stated reason for leaving the team may have contributed to that. Wesley very nearly left school to enter the draft before backing away from the ledge and deciding to stay for his senior year. His reasons for wanting to leave in the first place apparently revolved around his ailing mother; it would be irresponsible to assume too much, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility that her condition has worsened, in which case nobody should fault Wesley for flip-flopping here if his motive is to get paid so he can take care of mama. Wesley will now hope to enter the supplemental draft instead.

Almost No News Is Still No News: The only news on the realignment front during the holiday weekend is that Miami and Florida State have both officially denied that any contact has taken place with the Big 12, which we in the business refer to as "covering one's ass". Have there been any official discussions? No. Have there been quiet conversations over scotch between unofficial representatives? Duh. For his part, Chuck Neinas thinks the Big 12 should (ideally) stand pat for now, but I suspect he knows full well they may not be able to.

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Look, It's The Masters of Evil!: John Calipari is getting quite creative in his scheduling over at Kentucky. He's trying to round up high-profile neutral-site games, including negotiating towards a potential multi-year deal with Duke and getting North Carolina back on the schedule. But the real humdinger in all of this: a home-and-Dallas series with Baylor, which will allow us the thrill of watching Calipari and Scott Drew on the same court. (Could someone please clean Panjandrum's brains off the wall? Thanks.)

Today's Realignment Jabber: Notre Dame remains committed to the Big East, says Jack Swarbrick, and I completely believe him at least until tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Big East is committed to BYU. Or Air Force. Or, really, anyone they can get in order to field 14 teams in 2015. Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech both deny any interest in leaving the ACC, and oh yeah, the ACC's looking to put together a blockbuster bowl deal like the "Champions Bowl". Clemson, on the other hand, is quite clearly not committed to the ACC, at least not today. Their BoT will be getting together to decide whether they are or not. John Swofford? Not worried, because gosh everyone says they're committed and nobody'd ever lie about that. Summing it all up: Pat Forde.

Lastly, a point I had not considered yesterday when noting the Sun Belt's decision to decline further expansion at this time: New Orleans, who had been intending to drop to D-II and launch a football program before changing their mind about the D-II thing, may still be intending to start football. If so, the Sun Belt would need a space for them, and their decision to stay at 10 for now may be an indication of UNO's plans.

(Edit: I had forgotten that UNO had already left the Sun Belt, and are now an independent; their most likely destination at this point appears to be the Southland, making the above nonsense... nonsense.)

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The Only Actual News Thus Far This Week: Condolences to our new friends from West Virginia and the family of former coach Bill Stewart, who passed away Monday afternoon from a heart attack. Well-liked by almost everyone that knew him, the memorials have been pouring in.

Well, There's This Other News: The Missoulian has finally gotten under the bizarre situation at Montana which resulted in the dismissals of head coach Robin Pflugrad and athletic director Jim O'Day. It's not a pretty picture. However, the worst aspect appears to be that no matter what Pflugrad and O'Day may have done to try and cover up any sexual assault allegations, it seems that university vice president Jim Foley's ultimately going to be even worse off after suggesting that action be taken against <em>a victim</em> under the school's Student Code of Conduct. Hey, Jim, here's a hint: shut up. The school is in serious danger of being attacked by the federal government under Title IV (that's the Civil Rights Act) and Title IX, and this is just not going to end well for anyone.

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It's almost certain that no more than a handful of people who will read this ever saw Bob Boozer play for K-State. He last suited up as a Wildcat over 53 years ago, almost another era entirely. But the announcement Saturday that Boozer, 75, had passed in his hometown of Omaha as a result of a sudden aneurysm shook Wildcat Nation nonetheless.

It's not hard to explain how important Boozer was to Kansas State. Only once have the Wildcats finished the regular season ranked #1 in the media poll; that was 1959, when Boozer led K-State to a perfect conference record, and were only stopped in the NCAA Tournament by their other primary rival of the era, Cincinnati, and their legendary star Oscar Robertson. The previous year, Boozer and the Cats had marched to the Final Four after capturing the Big Seven title, keeping archrival Kansas and their star Wilt Chamberlain out of the post-season in the process. It was, by any measure, the most successful two-year period in K-State basketball history, and that in and of itself would be enough to mark Boozer as the greatest player in school history. Being the school's only two-time first-team consensus All-American just cements the argument.

As important as he was to us, however, Boozer was pretty important to the entire game of basketball.

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We Are the Champions Bowl: The Big 12 and SEC announced today that beginning in 2014, their champions will meet in a January bowl game on an annual basis. In years where one (or both) conferences send their champion to the four-team playoff -- read, pretty much every year, because come on -- the new bowl will get the runner-up. The actual details of the bowl, being referred to as the Champions Bowl as a working title, are still to be determined; it could be a new bowl (either at a constant site or moving annually), it could be the Sugar, it could be the Cotton. We don't know yet. What we do know is that this announcement is rife with meaning.

First and foremost, this bowl effectively aligns with the Rose Bowl and makes it clear that we have four big dog conferences acting in cahoots. This announcement is a head shot to the aspirations of the ACC to be a top-tier conference, as the best they can now manage in terms of a similar arrangement is going to be... well, the last 16 years of the Orange Bowl, let's be honest. It makes it somewhat obvious that relations between the Big 12 and SEC are pretty darned cordial even after last year's realignment drama; SEC commissioner Mike Slive made it very clear in his statement that even after having lifted two teams from the Big 12's pocket last year that in his opinion the two leagues are still the top two conferences in the land. Any suggestion of instability in the Big 12 pretty much just got thrown into the shredder, as the SEC wasn't going to align for this purpose with a conference which the SEC wasn't convinced was in perfect health. And, most importantly, this announcement will inherently throw expansion talk into overdrive, as you can bet that certain schools outside the Big Four conferences are going to be thinking long and hard about whether they want to be left in the ghetto. This, of course, directly impacts the ongoing Florida State saga, about which we have absolutely no new information today.

Big 12 interim commish Chuck Neinas, meanwhile, laid the smack down on the ACC and Big East when asked what their commissioners should be thinking right now: "Better get a good bowl." West Virginia: snickering quietly while chugging Tropicana.

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Clearly, We Need More Teams in FBS: At 1:30 CT, Old Dominion is having a press conference, where, according to Dave Fairbank of the Daily Press, ODU is going to accept that invitation to Conference USA after all, effective in the 2013-14 season. Fairbank's colleague at the DP, David Teel, reported on Twitter that ODU expects to still be eligible for the 2012 FCS playoffs, although the question of whether they'll be eligible to win the CAA's automatic bid is still open. ODU's football program has only existed for three years, but they received a bid to the playoffs last year and won a first-round game before losing to Georgia Southern in a wild shootout whose final score looked more like basketball, so they may very well be capable of making a little noise immediately in 2013.

Stuff rolls downhill, of course, and Brett McMurphy reports that sources indicate the CAA's response move may be to try and lure Davidson and College of Charleston into the fold to replace the departing ODU, VCU, and Georgia State. That won't do much for CAA football, as Davidson runs a non-scholarship program in the Pioneer League and Charleston doesn't have a football team. Then again, the CAA's only real loss in football is ODU, so no big deal I suppose.

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He Said, He Said, Oh Whatever: The follies continue, as Derrick Brooks, former Seminole and Tampa Bay Buccaneer (and more pertinently, former Florida State trustee) says the Big 12 contacted Florida State (as opposed to Florida State contacting the Big 12, or neither party contacting the other). Florida State AD Randy Spetman immediately tripped all over himself trying to get to a microphone to say, "I don't know where Derrick got that." This, of course, could mean "it's not true"; it could also mean "Damnit, we've got a leak and I don't know who it is."

Obviously, this raises all sorts of ugly spectres, as the Big 12 is now dangerously close to being in the same situation the SEC was in with regard to Texas A&M. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to figure out which ACC school will play the role of Baylor in this little drama.

That Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means: Yesterday, some twitterati got a little confused and thought this was a sign that Boise State was seriously about to pull the plug on the Great Big East West Experiment. The real meaning, however, is precisely the opposite. The Big West has agreed to "entertain interest" in Boise State as regards Olympic sports, which would solve the Broncos' little WAC problem (and keep San Diego State happy, since if Boise were to pull out of the Big East, the Big East could then discard San Diego State unilaterally per the terms of their contract).

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Sometimes Arbitrary and Capricious Works Out: The National Football Foundation has announced its College Football Hall of Fame class for 2012, and finally Bill Snyder is (indirectly) represented as former Wildcat linebacker Mark Simoneau is among the list of 17 former coaches and players to be inducted December 4 in South Bend. Joining Simoneau in the 2012 class are former coaches R.C. Slocum, Philip Fulmer, and Jimmy Johnson, and former players Art Monk, Charles Alexander, Dave Casper, Gabe Rivera, Greg Myers, Hal Bledsoe, John Wooten, Jonathan Ogden, Otis Armstrong, Scott Thomas, Steve Bartkowski, Tommy Kramer, and Ty Detmer. Simoneau will join Gary Spani (also a former Chief, amusingly) as K-State inductees.


There's a lot to be said against the CFBHoF's selection criteria, in which guys like Howard Schnellenberger and Joe Montana aren't eligible for various reasons. However, in defense of those criteria... winning 60% of your games as a coach used to mean your team, on average, was no worse than 6-4 every year. It looks a little different in our day and age, where the cut line would be something like 8-5 every year, but still: if a coach went 8-5 every year, would you call him a hall of famer? The 60% cutline is arbitrary, but is it really something you want to argue against in the larger scheme? You coach 20 years, that's basically going 150-100. For players, the big sticking point is whether or not you were named a first-team All-American by at least ONE of the sanctioned selection bodies, and again one has to ask: if you weren't even considered the best player at your position by any one of four different selectors in any one of your years playing college football, do you belong in a hall of fame?

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Before the Innuendo, Actual News: Although George Mason opted to remain in the CAA late last week, Virginia Commonwealth took a different tack. The Rams will be joining the Atlantic 10 in 2013, along with Butler. Obviously, this is a good move for VCU, as it opens up their chances of landing at-large bids considerably. Taken in a larger view, however, there's a good chance that the realignment wave will be a big win for all three of the CAA's four big-gun basketball schools. In addition to VCU's upgrade, Old Dominion may yet move to CUSA. That actually increases both school's chances of reaching the NCAA tournament, since they no longer have to win the conference title or play lights out all year. It also reduces the CAA to effectively a two-team league based on recent performance, thus also enhancing George Mason and Drexel's chances of reaching the tournament in a given year (although it will now be nigh impossible for them both to get on the dance card).

For the Atlantic 10, however, this realignment cycle has been nothing short of complete victory. Yes, losing Charlotte cost them a large media market. Yes, they lost what had been their flagship program when Temple departed (but they still have Philadelphia presence thanks to St. Joseph's and LaSalle). But what they got in return were two teams responsible for three final four appearances covering two of the last three years, and for a basketball-only league you simply cannot do much better than that. The losses, even considering Temple's spiritual importance to the conference, are easily offset by the gains.

And Now For the Innuendo: The Florida State/Big 12 story exploded like the Hindenburg Friday afternoon, and it's been a dizzying whirlwind of what-the-hell ever since. On Friday afternoon Andy Haggard, the chairman of Florida State's Board of Trustees, lit the match by complaining about the new ESPN deal the ACC agreed to and outright calling for the school to investigate the possibility of joining the Big 12. That was shortly followed by Dan Wetzel tweeting a comment from a Big 12 source which threw kindling on the fire by indicating the obvious: "I can't imagine how we wouldn't be interested in Florida State." FSU coach Jimbo Fisher accidentally knocked over a can of turpentine, basically supporting the move, or at least the idea of it.

And then the firefighters arrived on the scene.

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I Need One of Those Boards on Which TV Execs Plan the New Season: DeLoss Dodds has told Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News that he thinks the Florida State/Big 12 rumors haven't "any basis at all". Florida State AD Randy Spetman has told the Orlando Sentinel that Florida State hasn't been negotiating and is committed to the ACC. All of this means precisely nothing at all, as we're all perfectly aware, but it at least moves the needle back to the "not happening" side of center. (Remember, Chip Brown is just the Longhorn mouthpiece; just because he says it doesn't make it so. It just means it's what Texas wants, but Texas doesn't always get its way contrary to opinions in Columbia and Lincoln and College Station.)

Meanwhile, the governor of Connecticut is openly calling for UConn and Boston College to resume their rivalry, which, gosh, would be so much easier if they were both in the ACC, wouldn't it? Eric Crawford of the Louisville Courier-Journal analyzes Louisville's actions and intentions in a must-read. Per Brett McMurphy (also a must-read, as is anything I link here with his name), Boise State has in fact met with the Mountain West regarding the possibility of pulling the plug on their move to the Big East, and it also turns out that they still have not yet officially informed the Mountain West of their intent to leave the conference. I suspect that if the Mountain West were to come up with ten million greenbacks to cover Boise and San Diego's bail, it would be game over, as a Mountain West with those two teams would be close enough to the same level as a Big East without them when it comes to new TV contracts that the benefit of salvaging Boise's non-football sports would make up the difference... and if Boise state goes back to the MWC, San Diego State's going too, without any question whatsoever.


The final piece of realignment stuff for the day: George Mason is not leaving the CAA for the Atlantic 10. They talked about it, but decided against it without formally applying, and without receiving an invitation. VCU, however, is still on the table for the moment. Should VCU remain as well, the CAA survives this round of realignment only losing Georgia State... which does cost them a presence in the Atlanta market, but affects them not one iota competitively, and Atlanta doesn't care about Georgia State anyway.

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Boom! Sooner'd: There's a chance that the starting receivers in Oklahoma's season opener will have combined for exactly one career reception, as the Sooners have indefinitely suspended receivers Jaz Reynolds, Trey Franks, and the trying-to-transfer Kameel Jackson, as well as safety Quentin Hayes, for violation of team rules. Naturally, it's entirely possible these suspensions won't even last through the summer, but if the suspensions hold... well, let's just suggest that it's a good thing K-State is playing Oklahoma very early in the season. Working against the probability of the players returning early: both Reynolds and Franks were suspended last season, as well, meaning Bob Stoops may need to make his point a little more loudly this time.


Reconsidering: I expected the ACC's new TV deal to put a stop to the FSU/Clemson rumors, but I was wrong; they're ramping up. Worse, someone at Texas must really want Florida State in the Big 12, because Chip Brown is now on the case. I still don't think it will happen, but the arguments for it are more compelling than I'd thought yesterday, especially if Texas is pushing. Regardless, it looks like Louisville is now seriously scrambling for the Big East exit hatch -- to either the Big 12 or the ACC, they don't really care at this point. A smaller realignment rumor: Oakland is very interested in replacing Butler in the Horizon League, but Detroit shot down a previous attempt. IUPUI and Robert Morris (PA) are also potential candidates.

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Utter Waste of Time Department: So, last night noted smart person Malcolm Gladwell, noted curmudgeon Buzz Bissinger, noted loon Jason Whitlock, and not all that notable former player Tim Green got together to debate the future of college football. (This particular piece goes unlinked, as there's no currently available video feed or transcript, but you can find commentary and analysis regarding the debate all over the place now.) Gladwell and Bissinger, in favor of banning the sport, did raise cogent points. In a startling development, Bissinger outsmarted his partner.

Gladwell's argument is essentially one of player safety. Unfortunately, you can't raise that argument vis-a-vis college football without also raising it for the NFL and high schools. Furthermore, it seems to me that there are other sports which one might need to think about banning before getting around to football -- namely, any sport whose entire objective is knocking your opponent unconscious. Boxing and MMA, you're on notice. You also need to ban fighting in hockey, and institute serious penalties for hitting batters in the head with fastballs whether deliberate or not. Heck, I might even suggest going after horse racing before football, what with living creatures unable to give consent to their participation in a "sporting event" which far too often ends up being a suicide mission. It's the typical pattern of the moral panic; latch onto something which is currently in the news and sure to raise a stink while ignore more serious yet basically similar problems.

Bissinger, on the other hand, took the academic approach, complaining about the damage football (and, by lesser extension, all other collegiate sports) does to the academic environment. Buzz spoke about worthless degrees, athletic departments having larger budgets than English departments, and the culture which leads to football coaches being more powerful on campus than school presidents. Bissinger, however, pulled off a coup when he actually put forth a sensible and relevant solution to the problem; a solution in which I honestly can see only one flaw, but it's a flaw on which very few people other than I would be expected to focus.

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Somewhere, ADA Jack McCoy Is Throwing a Fit: Per a report from CBS's Chip Patterson, there has been a "legal change" in the testimony of former Penn State assistant Mike McQueary which places the date of the sexual assault he witnessed in 2001, not 2002. This is relevant primarily because it could shield indicted AD Tim Curley and VP Gary Shultz from conviction on their counts of failure to report a crime, as it would suddenly fall outside the statute of limitations. It could also affect the prosecution of Jerry Sandusky, as it calls McQueary's credibility into question even if the mistaken date is accepted as a mere error.

On the one hand, it's certainly important that McQueary's testimony be accurate and truthful. On the other, one really has to wonder about this, as one has to wonder about pretty much anything involved with this case and its handling.

Somewhere, ADA Jack McCoy Is Dancing a Jig: In a more positive development related to perverts, Charles Waugh, the gentleman whose sordid past was uncovered in a great piece of reporting by SBN's Luke Zimmerman at Land-Grant Holy Land, was taken into custody last night for violating probation. Hats off to Luke for directly leading to this guy being taken off the streets.

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He Can't Leave Until 2014, Though: As first reported by Brett McMurphy of CBS, John Marinatto is out, forced to resign his position as Big East commissioner by the league presidents. There are countless potential arguments to be made on either side of the issue; the obvious pratfalls marring Marinatto's term certainly paint him in a disturbingly Beebe-ish light, while Mark Ennis of SBN's Big East Coast Bias took to Twitter this morning to half-heartedly put forth the position that the job was a doomed proposition anyway and there was nothing more Marinatto could do.

Mark's points are all valid; the Big East was in trouble, and has been, since the day Virginia Tech and Miami walked out the door, and the divide between the basketball schools (primarily the old-line Catholic schools) and the football schools has been there ever since the conference began sponsoring football. Notre Dame's unique position has always been a source of internal instability, and once the real national title contenders in football ducked out the back entrance the writing's been on the wall. The Big East was poised, if not doomed, to slip to second-tier status in football the moment the ACC turned its eyes in their direction.

Still, one cannot disregard Marinatto's own farcical stumbles. On a national level, the first real portent was Marinatto's clueless response to the announced departures of Pitt and Syracuse, wherein it became clear that he was completely and utterly blindsided by their decision. Say what you will about Dan Beebe, but at least he knew all the Big 12 expatriates were looking for the emergency exit. Then TCU, a school which hadn't even joined the conference yet, said "Ah, thanks but no thanks". Marinatto can't be blamed for that, but his reaction at the time seemed to border on panic. He followed that with the PR disaster of the West Virginia announcement, stubbornly insisting that West By God Virginia was going to By God stay in the Big East until 2014 and that money wasn't going to change anything... until, in the end, money changed everything. One also can't forget the hilarity of Marinatto insisting that the remaining schools were committed to staying together and making things work on the very same morning that UConn's administration issued a public statement which essentially boiled down to "yeah, we're looking out for ourselves here". Louisville publicly wanted out. Rutgers was desperately trying to back-channel an exit in full view of the press.

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Not the Same as the Old Boss: It's official; the Big 12 has a new man set to take over the helm as Stanford AD Bob Bowlsby will be replacing interim commissioner Chuck Neinas. Bowlsby, who will officially take over the job on June 15, had no earth-shaking comments at his introductory presser this morning, but came across well and brings with him a wealth of experience in college athletics. He was a key part of Larry Scott's machinations to turn the Pac-12 into a money-generating machine, and was pretty deeply involved in all realignment issues affecting the Pac-12 (including those which didn't happen).

Of course, the most important thing he didn't say today was anything about his own preferences for future expansion possibilities, merely stating that the discussion was definitely on the table and in the forefront of things he needs to address once on the job. Stay tuned.

The Ohio River is Now Just a River: John Calipari really just didn't want to play Indiana, most suspect. So the emergence of a slapfight over the terms of extending their non-conference series, one revolving around where to actually play the games, was a pretty decent cover for goading Indiana into just ending the 43-year-old series altogether. Yes, Calipari faithful will point to the fact that it was actually Indiana that pulled the plug, but that just leads to good arguments. On the other hand, another rivalry that could have died due to conference realignment will survive: Belmont, leaving the Atlantic Sun for the Ohio Valley, will continue to play bitter rivals Lipscomb twice a year, home-and-home. And if you're sitting there saying, "Belmont? Lipscomb? Who?" then shame on you. These two schools, separated by a mere two miles on the same street, have been going at it for decades, even during the two years after Belmont moved from NAIA to Division I before Lipscomb followed suit.

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I May Get to Milk this .PNG All Week: All of the previously-announced moves are semi-official at this point. Two moves are official, although one has nothing to do with the collapse of the WAC: Butler has announced that it will be joining the Atlantic 10 in 2013, while Texas State is now officially headed for the Sun Belt. But the carousel hasn't stopped spinning yet.

Idaho now appears poised to be the last football team standing in the WAC, as according to the usually-reliable Jon Wilner, the Sun Belt apparently IS interested in adding New Mexico State despite its remote location in comparison to the remainder of the conference... mostly because the addition of Texas State makes it Not Quite That Remote anymore. I don't see how the Vandals survive as an FBS program, which is especially unfair seeing as how at least two schools appear to be making the jump up in the midst of this chaos. Maybe the Pac-12 can re-invite Montana and Idaho! But the harsh reality is that according to word on the street, Idaho's administration is now seriously discussing the possibility of rejoining the Big Sky.

As for Butler's move -- which doesn't affect football, as they'll remain in the non-scholly FCS Pioneer League -- it damages the Horizon League to a fairly significant level, but I think it's important to remember that this does not necessarily relegate the Horizon to perpetual one-bid doom. There are still quality programs in that conference -- Cleveland State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Valparaiso, Detroit -- so their existence as one of the better mid-majors doesn't appear to be in mortal danger. After all, Butler finished fifth in the Horizon last year. The Horizon has not had any team other than Butler seeded higher than 11th, but they have provided a few at-large teams -- yes, even teams other than Butler -- over the past 15 years.

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Do I Hear Taps on Bagpipes?: Over the weekend, the dam cracked; yesterday, it broke. With three members already gone and a fourth negotiating, the WAC suffered the fatal blow -- at least in terms of being a football conference -- when the Sun Belt turned around and stole Texas State and Texas-Arlington. Assuming the Louisiana Tech move does indeed go through, this leaves the WAC with Idaho and New Mexico State on the football side, plus all-sport members Seattle, Denver, and... Boise State, who I completely forgot about yesterday. They can probably find a landing spot in the Big West, but Denver's still screwed.

And while there are some folks making noise about the WAC somehow pulling it together: forget it. To remain an FBS conference, the WAC would need to come up with FIVE new members, and every single one of them would need to come from the FCS ranks. That is not going to happen. To remain a Division I conference, period, they're going to have to find at least two members (four if Idaho and NMSU find new homes). If it's only two new members, that's something they can accomplish by inviting Utah Valley and Texas-Pan American. However, those are the only Division I schools west of the Mississippi who aren't already in a better situation than the one they'd be moving into... because right now, the only thing the WAC has to offer any potential member is an autobid in basketball.

If the WAC does indeed dissolve, it would mean more revenue for the non-AQ conferences in the final years of the current BCS contract (if not more revenue for everyone).

Meanwhile: Conference USA isn't done wreaking havoc. Brett McMurphy reports this afternoon that they aren't stopping with FIU, North Texas, UTSA, and Louisiana Tech. They're also planning to offer invites to UNC-Charlotte and... Old Dominion. Yep, that's right. This adds fuel to two separate bits of speculation: one, Appalachian State to the Sun Belt becomes much more realistic; two, VCU and George Mason bolting the CAA for the Atlantic 10 becomes even more logical. (That noise you hear is the sound of NBC Sports executives shrieking at the top of their lungs, demanding that their legal department get them out of the national TV deal they signed with the CAA.)

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Finally, Shots Are Fired: Texas-San Antonio, which has yet to play a single game of anything as a member of the WAC, is reportedly on its way to Conference USA, with Louisiana Tech following shortly (as well as North Texas and Florida International from the Sun Belt) as soon some Is are crossed and Ts are dotted, or rows are put in a duck, or some such. Meanwhile, for reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with football or basketball, Utah State and San Jose State are set to join the Mountain West.

Obviously, this would pretty much doom the WAC; should these moves happen, the conference would be left with non-football members Seattle, Denver, and Texas-Arlington, plus Idaho, New Mexico State, and Texas State. The Mountain West may not be done yet; they're holding off on further plans pending the completion of the Big East's new TV deal, which -- if it's underwhelming -- might induce Boise State and San Diego State to ditch their Big East plans. But even if BSU and SDSU continue as planned and the MWC expands by two more schools, that's going to leave one of the football schools in the lurch -- and honestly, it's hard to tell which one would get left out in the cold. More analysis on this after the jump.

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Coming in early today because there are things which have to be done (H8U lawn). Obviously, the biggest storyline today is the NFL Draft, coverage of which you are certainly inundated by at this point. 85 minutes in the car this morning provided 55 minutes of Dan Patrick and then Jim Rome talking about the draft, 5 minutes of Jim Rome talking about hugging, 5 minutes of Jim Rome veering off into a bizarre tangent about Family Feud, and 20 minutes of commercials.

So we're not going to talk about that, mostly because the thought of revisiting the Chiefs selecting a player from #Mumphus 14 spots before anyone at all was taken from the Big Ten is too painful to contemplate.

How to Move Up by Moving Down: So, Tim Jankovich has parlayed his disaster at Illinois State into an assistant job at Southern Methodist. Except it's not just an assistant job; Jank's been officially designated as SMU's next head coach (clearly with the intent of taking over when Larry Brown gets the sudden urge to coach the Charlotte Bobcats). It's actually a good move for Tim; he'll get to learn some more and refine his approach under Brown, and after Larry gets bored he'll suddenly find himself coaching in the Big East rather than the Valley.

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There was no National yesterday because, well, Tuesday was BORING. But today, we have excitement galore and thrills for the entire family. That's right, tonight each of the 32 Districts in NFLIA will select their participants in this year's edition of the Hunger Games. What? You mean they're not choosing 32 guys to fight to the death? Well, never mind then.

But since it is Draft Day, Spencer Hall caught up with former #1 pick Tim Couch to talk about what tonight's like for players. Inexplicably, despite mentioning that Couch is from Harlan County, Spencer failed to ask Tim if he knows Raylan Givens, or perhaps if he'd even been shot by him sometime between declaring for the draft and debuting in Cleveland (thus explaining certain things). This is a regrettable oversight in an otherwise interesting interview.

The BCS Is Dead, Long Live the BCS: Bill Hancock has made it all but official; tthe BCS as we know it is dead, croaked, kaput. The only plans remaining on the table for discussion are all four-team playoff plans. It's a start. Automatic qualifications: gone. That stupid "Rose Bowl as a third possible semifinal" idea: bzzzt. Questions remaining are whether it will be the top four teams period or the top four conference champions, and the format of the playoff (i.e., where the games will be played). The current BCS bowls will remain involved in the process under all known visions of the plan.

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We had three breaking stories just as The National posted yesterday. Two were legit; one maybe not so much.

Missed the Cut, Again: Seth Greenberg is out at Virginia Tech, fired at a ridiculously late date in the coaching calendar for what really appears to be "inability to retain a coaching staff" more than anything. Virginia Tech AD Jim Weaver says the coaching search commences today, but I have a very hard time believing that any competent AD would fire a coach at the end of April without already having a really good idea who he wants, and a fair certainty he's going to get him.

A Knife in the Back: That's what Weber State got yesterday when their new head coach, who had accepted the job at his alma mater less than 20 weeks ago, packed his bags to head to Arkansas for a 10-month temporary contract. John L. Smith, also late of Michigan State, Louisville, Utah State, and Idaho, will be taking over in Fayetteville for the season. Smith had mentored Bobby Petrino at Idaho, Utah State, and Louisville, finally turning the reins over to him when he left for Sparty; Petrino returned the favor by hiring him as an assistant at Arkansas a couple of years ago.

From the Arkansas perspective, this was a case of bringing in someone who has familiarity with the team AND has head coaching experience at the BCS level, while buying time to be able to steal Gus Malzahn without creating an in-state uproar which would dwarf the anger in Utah today. (Jason Kirk provided a nice piece on why this was the logical hire.) The players seem to be happy with the move as well. For Smith, it's a slender opportunity to maybe accomplish something this season and hang on to the job; barring that, it's probably the end of his coaching career, since abandoning a school less than five months after signing a contract is always going to be a massive black mark on his resume. For Weber State, a program which has been stuck at the top of the second tier in the Big Sky seemingly forever, this is an unmitigated disaster on every level and threatens to destroy their 2012 season.

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It was a very slow weekend, despite another raft of spring games. We'll get right to it in this necessarily brief edition of The National.

BREAKING: There's a 4pm presser at Virginia Tech, which may or may not involve an announcement that Seth Greenberg is being replaced.

BREAKING: San Diego State reportedly in talks with the MWC to "reserve" a space in Mount USA, apparently out of concern that the Big East thing isn't going to work out. Which should only be a serious concern if the Big East were poised to lose more members...

BREAKING: The Razorback Foundation has reportedly approved a new contract for the next Arkansas football coach. We just don't know who it is yet. More below.

These Are Crimes Which Must Be Stamped Out: These are heinous acts which continue to plague our great nation; acts which simply cannot be condoned under any circumstances and which must be punished in the most severe manner imaginable. I refer, of course, to the crimes of "unfinished conduct" and "journey on foot", which according to this pile of gibberish are among the charges faced by four Marshall football players after a weekend of, apparently, deciding to take a walk and failing to reach their destination. Thankfully, Marshall coach Doc Holliday is "wakeful of a conditions and still entertainment facts".

Near as I can deduce, the actual charges include three counts of disorderly conduct, three counts of interfering with a police officer, one count of assaulting a police officer, and one count of attempted flight.

(I don't know whether that site is deliberately run back and forth through a translator or what, but the entire site is mangled like that. Funny stuff.)

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You Should Always Practice Trick Plays You May Never Need: This video from the junior college down the road has one of the most hilarious bits ever. At about 1:30, The Charles exhorts his troops to... celebrate better. Yes, that's right; the Chickenhawks are so unfamiliar with success on the football field that they don't know how to properly exult. (via Rustin Dodd at the Star's Campus Corner)

Well, Make Up Your Minds: About a month ago, both VCU and George Mason denied that they were even talking to the Atlantic 10. Now Lenn Robbins of the New York Post is tweeting that they're joining the Atlantic 10 on May 1. Butler is still in play as well. Stay tuned.

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"Somebody's going to emergency, somebody's going to jail...": Lots of police blotter today, plus a trip to the ER. Alabama wideout DeAndrew White is resting up after a concussion received in the midst of an off-campus fight which may or may not have involved gunfire. Other than the head knock, it appears he'll be okay. A former Mississippi State backup QB was arrested on intent to distribute charges. That he just happens to named "Dylan", and is the nephew of some guy with whom he shares the last name "Favre", just adds to the comedy. Georgia Tech LB Daniel Drummond will be missing the season opener against Virginia Tech, owing to Paul Johnson apparently giving at least one of those things he never gives one of, suspending Drummond for an earlier arrest for BUI. No word on whether it was actually a boat, or a personal watercraft.

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Paying the Iron Price: When Nick "Theon" Saban returned home from his fostering in New Orleans, he brought with him a shiny bauble. Looking upon that bauble, his father -- the only being in the universe capable of striking fear in Nick's heart -- was offended because Nick had actually been given the trophy. So... he sent a lackey to destroy it. An Iron Bowler from Alabama does not accept that which is given them; Bill "Hancock" Stark is not going to "give" them a championship, they'll claim it themselves. They're pretty good at that, too.

Farewell, Queen Vol: Pat Summitt has stepped down from head coaching duties at Tennessee, taking the title of "head coach emeritus". Holly Warlick will succeed the grand dame as head coach, while Summitt will remain part of the program doing things like assisting in on-campus recruiting, serving as a mentor for future players, and probably shielding her beloved program from the AD's office in her role as liaison. Summitt departs with over a thousand wins and almost as many national championships as Alabama claims.

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The last few days haven't been awash with excitement, and I had more than a few things come up which got in the way of me compiling a rundown on Friday (or even a delayed one on Saturday). These things, they happen.

Leading off: A whole bunch of high-profile schools went out and played some football on Saturday. It's a ritual about which I am curiously apathetic, but then I'm also apathetic about recruiting news; I want real football, not football-like substance to tide me over.

Of course, not everything went as planned. Nebraska had to cancel their scrimmage due to Tornadomageddon, while Indiana and Purdue both had to retreat to indoor facilities. On the other hand, there are shiny new statues of Cam Newton and Bo Jackson outside of Jordan-Hare Stadium, and I know which of the two I'd be more interested in seeing.

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If I'm not careful, this may turn into a daily.

Leading off: Apparently, we know what TB's donations to his post-graduate institution are being used for, namely ripping us off. Houston's got a new logo, and it, ah, kinda looks a little familiar, sort of. Actually, it looks like the demented love child of a Powercat and a Nittany Lion, and let's please just let that joke end right there. The new branding goes along with an upcoming new stadium and a new conference affiliation on the horizon.

But I suppose it would be disingenuous to pretend this is the news from yesterday that anyone wants to talk about, pilfered imagery aside... so let's get the gorilla out of the room.

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