College Confidential

TCU to introduce Chris Del Conte as new athletic director

Rice athletic director Chris Del Conte will be introduced as TCU's new AD at 3 p.m. today, according to a source close to the situation.

Del Conte reportedly met with TCU officials about the school's vacant position in the Fort Worth-area Tuesday.

Del Conte has been the AD at Rice since June 2006. He was previously an associate athletic director at Arizona from 1999 where he oversaw all aspects of athletic fund development. Boschini told the Star-Telegram Sept. 30 that TCU's new AD would need to be "good at fundraising." One of the main objectives for the new AD will be to help raise funds for renovations to Amon G. Carter Stadium, Boschini said.

In 2002 at Arizona, Del Conte’s responsibilities were expanded to include overseeing the ticket office, marketing, corporate sales and trademarks and licensing, according to his biography on the Rice athletic department Web site. He spearheaded a capital campaign called Campaign Arizona for the Student-Athlete which raised more than $120 million. He was named a senior associate AD in 2003 where he oversaw media relations, business operations and external affairs.

Del Conte has a master's degree in education administration from Washington State where he served as assistant AD for external operations before going to Arizona. He earned his bachelor degree in sociology from California-Santa Barbara. Del Conte and his wife, Robin Ward, have two daughters, ages seven and five.

At Rice, Del Conte has directed a funding campaign that has raised $72 million for upgrades to the Owls’ athletic facilities and recreation and wellness facilities.

Report: Rice AD met with TCU officials

A Houston television station reported Tuesday that Rice athletic director Chris Del Conte met with TCU officials about the school's vacant AD position. Del Conte, NCAA sources told Fox 26, was in the Fort Worth-area Tuesday meeting with TCU officials.

TCU chancellor Victor Boschini declined to comment Tuesday afternoon. A spokesperson from TCU media relations said, “There was nothing new to report.”

Del Conte has been the AD at Rice since June 2006. He was previously an associate athletic director at Arizona from 1999 where he oversaw all aspects of athletic fund development. Boschini said on Sept. 30 that TCU’s new AD would need to be “good at fund-raising.” One of the main objectives for the new AD will be to help raise funds for renovations to Amon G. Carter Stadium, Boschini said.

In 2002 at Arizona, Del Conte’s responsibilities were expanded to include overseeing the ticket office, marketing, corporate sales and trademarks and licensing, according to his biography on the Rice athletics Web site. He spearheaded a capital campaign called Campaign Arizona for the Student-Athlete, which raised more than $120 million. He was named a senior associate AD in 2003 where he oversaw media relations, business operations and external affairs.

Del Conte has a master’s degree in education administration from Washington State, where he served as assistant AD for external operations before going to Arizona. He earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from California-Santa Barbara. Del Conte and his wife, Robin Ward, have two daughters -- ages seven and five.

At Rice, Del Conte has directed a funding campaign that has raised $72 million for upgrades to the Owls’ athletic facilities, and recreation and wellness facilities.
  -- Stefan Stevenson

 

 

Four Baylor players share an NFL connection

WACO _ Four players at Baylor have a special and unbreakable bond that can't be broken.

That's because the four players _ cornerback Clifton Odom, linebacker Chris Francis, defensive end Matt Singletary and linebacker Elliot Coffey _ all have fathers who used to play in the National Football League. Because of that obvious bond, Odom said the four players are very close.

"We all hold each other accountable to a sense because we have that instant connection,'' said Odom, an Arlington Martin graduate. "When we first got here we would share stories about when we were all young enough to kind of remember seeing, I guess, Superman, being that our dads were out there playing on the field.''

Odom's dad, Cliff, played for Texas-Arlington, then spent 13 years as a linebacker in the NFL (1980-'93) for the Browns, Colts and Dolphins.

Francis' father, James, played linebacker at Baylor before becoming a first-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1990, where he stayed until playing the 1999 season with the Washington Redskins.

Singletary's dad, Mike, was an all-American linebacker at Baylor in 1979 and '80, then a second-round pick with the Chicago Bears in 1981. Singletary, now the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, played for the Bears from 1981-'92 and won a Super Bowl with them in 1985.

Coffey's father, Ken, was a safety at Southwest Texas State, then played in the NFL for the Redskins from 1983-'86.

Odom said he and his teammates with the NFL connections always share stories concerning misconceptions people have about them.

"I know for myself, and I'm pretty sure I can speak for the other guys, in that we were kind of the odd-man out in high school to where a few kids just assumed that we live this extravagant life where they saw you as stuck-up,'' Odom said. "But that's not it at all.

"Those are the most humbled guys I've gotten to know. And just sharing stories that we could relate to _ more so than being thrown into this assumption _ it was really cool.''

-- Dwain Price

 

 

Taylor Potts will start on Saturday vs. Texas A&M

Texas Tech fans can sleep peacefully now that two Red Raider sources said on Tuesday that a fully healthy Taylor Potts will start Saturday's game against Texas A&M.

Potts replaces Steven Sheffield, who will be sidelined two-to-three weeks after injurying his right foot during last Saturday's 31-10 win over Nebraska. Sheffield had replaced Potts after the latter suffered a concussion in the second quarter of the Oct. 3 game against New Mexico.

While Sheffield was flourishing and gaining rock star status around campus following impressive outings against New Mexico, Kansas State and Nebraska, the Raiders were playing their best football of the season with the junior from Pflugerville Connally at the helm.

But after Sheffield's injury, Raider fans weren't sure if Potts had recovered from his concussion. They even feared that the Raiders would start third-string quarterback Seth Doege _ a redshirt freshman from Wolfforth Frenship High School _ against A&M.

However, of Potts' status for the A&M game, the source said: "He's fine.''

Asked about the controversy on whether Potts hasn't recovered from the concussion, the source said: "That's completely been blown out of proportion.''

Will the Raiders be in good hands with Potts? Sure they will.

Remember, Coach Mike Leach hand-picked Potts as his starter over Sheffield before the season, and Potts was the nation's top quarterback before suffering the concussion.

Since Leach rightfully took the blame for the 29-28 loss at Houston on Sept. 26 after he passed up an 18-yard chip-shot field goal that would have put Tech up by eight points with 10:56 left in the game, you can't pin that loss on Potts.

And in the previous game at No. 2-ranked Texas, Potts completely outplayed Heisman Trophy candidate Colt McCoy. In that game, Potts was 46 of 62 for 420 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while McCoy was just 24 of 34 for 205 yards with one TD and two interceptions.

How quickly the fans forget.

"He almost beat Texas at Texas,'' the source said. "They forget what Potts did against Texas.''

As far as comparing Potts to Sheffield, the source said: "They're both good quarterbacks. We've got a good little problem on our hands.''

_ Dwain Price

_ Dwain Price

Texas Tech has overcome distractions all season

For Texas Tech, Twittergate is over, and so is the mini-crisis that came in the aftermath of back-to-back losses at Texas and Houston.

A day after the 29-28 loss to UH on Sept. 26, offensive right guard Brandon Carter was suspended -- eventually for one game _ for slamming his helmet and making some unkind remarks about the Tech coaching staff. The plot thickened when linebacker Marlon Williams tweeted that coach Mike Leach was late for his own meeting with the players.

At the time, Tech was 2-2 and appeared on the cusp of unraveling. But since then, the Red Raiders have strung together back-to-back-to-back impressive wins against New Mexico (48-28), Kansas State (66-14) and Nebraska (31-10) while cracking the Top 25 national polls for the first time this season. 

So how did the Raiders, now 5-2 and ranked No. 21, overcome underlying issues that could have splintered their team and sent them tumbling down a dark path?

"We put that stuff aside when it comes to football time,'' offensive right tackle Marlon Winn said. "Football time is really important and that's something that we take serious as a team, and we take a lot of pride in football time.

"We eat, sleep and breathe football, and when it comes time to focus and clear your head of everything else and just go out there and play to the best of your ability and do what the coaches have been coaching you to do in practice, that's very important. And I think our team has done an awesome job of putting aside all the distractions, and we'll continue to do that.''

Leach admits there's been a distraction or two this year that needed to be addressed with a forceful hand. That includes the fact that he had to ban his players from using Twitter after the unfortunate fiasco by Williams.

"The banned Twitter thing, that's not near as fancy and dynamic as it seems,'' Leach said. "That's really just the same rule that it's always been, which is "Nothing comes out of the locker room.' ''

But despite overcoming Twittergate, Carter's suspension and a two-game losing streak, the Raiders now have something else on their plate more meaningful to deal with.

The loss of quarterback Steven Sheffield for two-to-three weeks, according to three Tech sources, has put another snag in the Raiders' progress. Sheffield injured his right foot last Saturday against Nebraska and may not return until the Nov. 14 game at Oklahoma State.

A former walk-on who didn't earn a scholarship until this year, Sheffield had been hailed by Leach as a spark and energizer to his team. Now the Raiders must get that spark and energy from Potts, who lost the starting job to Sheffield after suffering a concussion against New Mexico on Oct. 3.

Potts practiced last week and dressed for the game against Nebraska, but didn't play. However, if he can regain the form that helped him pass for seven touchdowns during a 55-10 thumping of Rice on Sept. 12, the Raiders shouldn't have a problem at all.

That is, until Sheffield is ready to play again.

If Potts is impressive while leading Tech to victories over Texas A&M and No. 25-ranked Kansas while Sheffield is sidelined, who's going to be the Raiders' starting quarterback when Sheffield returns?

Can you say quarterback controversy? Or game-time decision?

But in Tech's case, it's the type of quarterback controversy many teams would love to have, because both Sheffield and Potts have proven they have exceptional skills and can win at this level.

_ Dwain Price

Tech QB Steven Sheffield out 2-3 weeks

With Texas Tech enjoying its best moments of the season, the Red Raiders learned Monday that quarterback Steven Sheffield will miss two-to-three weeks with an injury to his right foot, according to two sources.

Thrust into the lineup after starting quarterback Taylor Potts suffered a concussion during an Oct. 3 game against New Mexico, Sheffield sustained his injury during Saturday's 31-10 win over Nebraska. Since Tech coach Mike Leach has a policy against discussing injured players, it is not exactly known when Sheffield suffered the injury.

However, the 6-4, 190-pound junior limped off the field favoring his right foot less than six minutes into the second half. That came two plays after he was slammed to the turf for a 16-yard loss after being chased by several Cornhuskers.

Sheffield did return to the game, but he was fairly ineffective from that point on. From the moment of the 16-yard loss until the game ended, Sheffield led Tech to just 31 total yards on 22 plays..

Overall, the Cornhuskers sacked Sheffield five times and had him running for his life on many other occasions.

Obviously, Leach made no mention of Sheffield's injury during Monday morning's Big 12 Conference teleconference. And he didn't mention it either when he met the Lubbock media later Monday afternoon.

Potts, a source said, practiced last week and could have played against Nebraska if he was needed. Now, he'll get the start Saturday at 6 p.m. when the No. 21-ranked Raiders (5-2) face Texas A&M (3-3).

Ironically, when Leach was asked earlier Monday how difficult would it be to get Sheffield out of the starting lineup, he said: "I thnk it's tough. I think he's been the spark and an energy to our team.

"He's a good player. But he's still got a lot of work and a lot of things to improve on, too.''

One of those things includes getting his right foot healthy.

_ Dwain Price

With bowl hopes in limbo, Baylor Bears are pressing

While being engulfed with all that talk about becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 1994, the Baylor Bears appear to be pressing.

With quarterback Robert Grififn unable to save them because he recently had season-ending right knee surgery, the Bears have dropped their last two games to Oklahoma and Iowa State. The 24-10 loss to Iowa State this past Saturday was particularly devastating, because the Bears secretly were counting on that game being one of the contests that could help propel them to their first bowl game since 1994.

Now what?

"I think we might be forcing the issue a little bit instead of just relaxing and playing and then taking care of our responsibilities,'' Baylor coach Art Briles said during Monday's Big 12 teleconference. "It may even carry over to the (coaching) staff, so I don't know.''

What the Bears do know is that they won three of their first six games, and now they must win three of their last six games in order to become bowl eligible. Those last six games include back-to-back home games against Oklahoma State and Nebraska, a road game at Missouri, a home contest against Texas, another road game at Texas A&M, and a Nov. 28 game in the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington against Texas Tech.

Not exactly smooth sailing, to say the least. But the Bears still believe they can shock the world without Griffin and pull this (bowl) thing off.

"What we've got to do is believe in what we're doing, trust our assignments and then play football, and everything else will take care of itself,'' Briles said. "What we're trying to do is slow down the process a little bit and just play one play at a time and try to win that play.''

-- Dwain Price

Big 12 championship game ticket sales begin Nov. 5

Ticket sales for the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington will begin Nov. 5 at 10 a.m., conference officials announced today.

Prices range from $50 to $120 per seat, based on location, for the Dec. 5 matchup between the South Division and North Division champions.

Additional price levels are $60, $70 or $80. Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets in Dallas-Fort Worth, at the Cowboys Stadium ticket office or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Phone orders are available by calling (800) 745-3000.

Each participating school will receive an allotment of up to 12,000 tickets for the game. The remaining seats outside of the team allotments will be available on Nov. 5.

_ Jimmy Burch

Tech's Bird happy to see Crabtree finally playing

A lot of folks in Lubbock will be huddled around their TV sets at 12-noon Sunday when the San Francisco 49ers face the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

That's because the long-waited arrival of 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree will finally take place. A contract holdout after being the No. 10 pick out of Texas Tech in last spring's NFL Draft, Crabtree will play his first game for the Niners after recently coming to terms with San Francisco on a contract.

Crabtree's former teammate, Tech linebacker Bront Bird, can't wait to see the two-time All-American in action.

"I've said this all along and I'll say it now, that's the best athlete I've ever seen in my life play the game of football,'' Bird said Monday. "In this (Big 12) conference we play a lot of guys that are really talented, and by far, that guy, his level of play is above anyone I've ever seen.

"He's two steps ahead of people before the ball even gets there, and he's making moves before he even gets the ball. The guy's a freak, there's no doubt about it. I don't expect him to do anything less down in the NFL the way he did here. We're all excited to watch him.''

Bird fully understands why Crabtree was the last first-round pick to sign a contract. After all, he was a two-time Biletnikoff Award winner _ an honor that goes to the nation's top wide receiver _ and he simply wanted to be paid accordingly.

"I think like any of us, if you can make more money than you are now, wouldn't you like that,'' Bird asked. "In the end I guess it paid off for him, so everything worked out.

"I'm just glad that he's finally going to get to play.''

By the way, during the 2008 fall practices, Bird and Crabtree got involved in a scuffle when Bird took exception to some extracurricular activities on the field by Crabtree.

"The reason it all happend is he caught a ball over somebody on our defense and threw the ball at (the defender),'' Bird said. "It's one of those deals where you take pride with the guys that you play besides -- our defensive guys _ and during practice it gets heated.

"I kind of saw that as disrespect and stood up for the guy, and it is what it is.''

Bird said he'd do the same thing to a Tech opponent.

"It's the same way with anybody we play,'' Bird said. "You've got pride for the guys you play with -- offense and defense, special teams and everything.

"It's not that I had disliked the guy or anything like that. I'm definitely not scared of anybody.''

_ Dwain Price

  

Tech's Brandon Sharpe wins share of Big 12 award

After collecting four sacks during Saturday's 31-10 win over Nebraska, Texas Tech defensive end Brandon Sharpe said he was simply trying to divert some attention his way.

Mission accomplished.

On Monday, Sharpe was named the Big 12 Conference co-Defensive Player of the Week, along with Texas safety Earl Thomas.

In addition to the four sacks, Sharpe added seven tackles and really gave the Cornhuskers fits all day long. He also has seven of his eight sacks this season in the past two games.

"It's kind of like somebody has to have lights going on, and I think that's what went on,'' coach Mike Leach said about Sharpe during the Monday morning Big 12 Conference teleconference. "I think he's always had that talent and always that ability, and then he just kind of put it together.''

On the offensive side, two players also shared the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week awards, including Oklahoma State wide receiver Hubert Anyiam and Colorado running back Rodney Steward. Kansas State's Brandon Banks was named the conference Special Teams Player of the Week.

_ Dwain Price