College Confidential

Texas Tech adds late blue-chipper to 2011 football signing class

Texas Tech’s 2011 football signing class received a significant boost today with the addition of defensive tackle Delvon Simmons, a five-star recruit from McKeesport, Pa. School officials said Simmons (6-foot-5, 265 pounds) is believed to be the highest-rated football recruit in school history.

Simmons signed in February with North Carolina but was released from his letter-of-intent, upon Simmons’ request, after Tar Heels’ defensive line coach Brian Baker left the school shortly after signing day to take a job with the Dallas Cowboys. Simmons was ranked as the No. 3 defensive tackle in the country by Scout.com, which gave him a five-star rating. He recorded two sacks and a fumble recovery at the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

After being released by North Carolina, Simmons considered Tech, Southern California and Pittsburgh before signing Thursday with the Red Raiders.

“Delvon has the ability to be a difference maker in our program,” coach Tommy Tuberville said in a statement distributed by school officals. “He is an explosive and disruptive player and an outstanding athlete. We are thrilled to have him.”

_ Jimmy Burch

Big 12 agrees to lucrative, 13-year cable TV deal with Fox

Big 12 officials have agreed to a 13-year deal with Fox Sports Media Group to televise at least 40 football games per season, as well as a variety of Olympic sports, in a cable rights agreement that goes into effect with the 2012 football season.

Although financial details were not announced today, the deal reportedly could be worth up to $90 million annually and more than triples the league’s revenues from its existing cable agreement, which expires after the 2011-2012 school year. The league has a separate contract with ABC/ESPN for football (18 games per season) and men’s basketball games that runs through the 2015-2016 school year.

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said the Fox cable deal gives the league “one of the best television arrangements in college sports,” from a financial standpoint, and should make it possible for other conference schools to meet a pledge made last summer to Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma _ when the Big 12 appeared on the verge of collapse _ that guaranteed those schools at least $20 million in league revenues in future seasons.

“It looks like this will make that issue moot in 2012 and beyond,” Beebe said. “We’re counting on that going forward.”

The new agreement means every Big 12 home football game, effective in 2012, will be televised on ABC/ESPN, a Fox cable network or an institutional platform such as the Longhorn Network, Texas’ school-run network in concert with ESPN that will debut this fall.

_ Jimmy Burch

Cowboys Classic between LSU-Oregon gets prime-time TV window for Sept. 3

ABC television officials have selected the Sept. 3 game in Cowboys Stadium between Oregon and LSU as a national telecast. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m., executives announced today. The contest, dubbed the Cowboys Classic, is the third game in a five-year agreement to bring a high-profile contest to Arlington on opening weekend of the college football season. TCU defeated Oregon State, 30-21, in last year’s version of the contest.

In addition, network officials announced that ESPN will televise the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, between Boise State and Georgia, from the Georgia Dome at 7 p.m. on Sept. 3.

_ Jimmy Burch

ESPN moves key Big 12 contest to Dec. 3, with A&M-Texas back on Thanksgiving

The absence of a Big 12 championship game on the 2011 football schedule will not cause a void on the league’s television schedule for the first Saturday in December.

ESPN and Big 12 officials took care of that today, shifting two conference games to Dec. 3 _ the same Saturday that other leagues will have championship games on rival networks _ as part of a televised double-header.

The Dec. 3 contests will be Oklahoma at Oklahoma State and Texas at Baylor. One will be played at 2:30 p.m., the other at 7 p.m., with kickoff times to be announced later.

In addition, ESPN officials announced that the Texas-Texas A&M game will be played on Thanksgiving night for a fourth consecutive year. The contest will kick off at 7 p.m. on Nov. 24 in College Station.

_ Jimmy Burch

Fox Sports' series on Big 12 spring football starts Saturday

Officials at Fox Sports Southwest will launch their series of 30-mintue, spring football specials focusing on Big 12 schools in Texas and Oklahoma with Saturday’s 11 a.m. telecast about Texas Tech.

Each special will be aired on multiple occasions in April and May, with the following debut dates for other schools: Baylor (April 16, 10 p.m.), Texas (April 17, 10 p.m.), Oklahoma State (April 30, 10 a.m.), Oklahoma (April 30, 11 a.m.) and Texas A&M (April 30, 10 p.m.).

The complete list of schools and times, with schedules subject to change:

Baylor: Saturday, April 16, 10:00 p.m.; Monday, April 18, noon; Tuesday, April 19, 4:00 p.m.; Friday, April 22, 4:00 p.m.; Saturday, April 23, 5:00 p.m.1; Tuesday, May 3, 6:00 p.m.2; Monday, May 9, 10:30 p.m.1; Wednesday, May 11, 11:00 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 28, 10:00 a.m.

Oklahoma: Saturday, April 30, 11:00 a.m.; Sunday, May 1, 10:30 p.m.1; Tuesday, May 3, 8:00 p.m.2; Thursday, May 12, 10:00 p.m.; Saturday, May 14, 10:00 a.m.; Tuesday, May 24, 11:00 p.m.; Saturday, May 28, 5:30 p.m.

Oklahoma State: Saturday, April 30, 10:00 a.m.; Monday, May 2, 10:00 p.m.; Thursday, May 5, 7:00 p.m.; Tuesday, May 10, 11:30 a.m.; Saturday, May 14, 10:00 p.m.1; Sunday, May 15, 1:00 p.m.2; Saturday, May 28, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, May 29, 12:30 p.m.

Texas A&M: Saturday, May 30, 10:00 p.m.; Tuesday, May 3, 7:30 p.m.2; Saturday, May 7, 10:00 a.m.; Sunday, May 8, 10:00 p.m.; Monday, May 9, 3:30 p.m.; Wednesday, May 11, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 21, 9:00 p.m.; Saturday, May 28, 6:30 p.m.

Texas: Sunday, April 17, 10:00 p.m.; Monday, April 18, 5:30 p.m.; Tuesday, April 19, 1:00 p.m.; Wednesday, April 20, 3:30 p.m.1; Saturday, April 23, 10:00 a.m.; Monday, April 25, 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 7, 11:30 a.m.; Monday, May 9, 5:30 p.m.; Monday, May 16, 5:30 p.m.2; Saturday, May 21, 11:00 a.m.1; Saturday, May 28, 6:00 p.m.

Texas Tech: Saturday, April 9, 11:00 a.m.; Sunday, April 10, 5:00 p.m.3 & 10:00 p.m.; Monday, April 11, 11:00 a.m.; Tuesday, April 12, 4:00 p.m.; Wednesday, April 13, 10:00 p.m.; Monday, April 18, 3:30 p.m.; Saturday, April 23, 10:30 p.m.2; Wednesday, April 27, 3:30 p.m.; Tuesday, May 3, 7:00 p.m.2; Sunday, May 15, 12:30 p.m.2; Saturday, May 21, 10:00 a.m.; Saturday, May 28, 7:00 p.m.

1 Not available on FOX Sports Houston
2 Not available in markets carrying Houston Astros baseball
3 Only available on FOX Sports Oklahoma

 _ Jimmy Burch

 

TCU 2011 schedule details released

The Mountain West Conference released game times and television broadcast information for the 2011 season Thursday. A start time for TCU's opener at Baylor Sept. 3 is still to be determined, as is which television network will broadcast the game. The start time for the Week 2 showdown at Air Force is still unsettled, but the MWC says it will be at either 2:30 or 6:30 and shown on the Versus Network. The rest of the Horned Frogs' schedule details are known, which include at least four night games. The Frogs will host SMU at 7 p.m. Sept. 30, which is a Friday. The game was originally scheduled for Oct. 1. The Frogs beat SMU in University Park on a Friday in 2010. The following week TCU plays at San Diego State at 9:30 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
The Frogs potentially caught a break with two day games in consecutive weeks at Wyoming and Boise State Nov. 5 and 12. Those games start at 1 and 2:30 p.m., respectively. TCU concludes the season with a 1:30 p.m. meeting with UNLV Dec. 3 at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

2011 TCU football schedule

Date	Opponent	Time (CST)	TV
Sept. 3	at Baylor	TBD	TBD
Sept. 10	at Air Force	2:30 or 6:30	VS.
Sept. 17	Louisiana-Monroe	1 p.m.	The Mtn.
Sept. 24	Portland State	6 p.m.	None
Sept. 30	SMU	7 p.m.	CBS Sports Network
Oct. 8	at San Diego State	9:30 p.m.	CBS Sports Network
Oct. 15	Bye
Oct. 22	New Mexico	1 p.m.	The Mtn.
Oct. 28	BYU (at Cowboys Stadium)	7 p.m.	ESPN
Nov. 5	at Wyoming	1 p.m.	The Mtn.
Nov. 12	at Boise State	2:30 p.m.	VS.
Nov. 19	Colorado State	2:30 p.m.	CBS Sports Network
Nov. 26	Bye
Dec. 3	UNLV	1:30 p.m.	VS.

 

Texas FB coach Mack Brown cracks unwanted Top 10 list

Texas coach Mack Brown watched his team drop out of college football’s Top 25 rankings last season because of mounting losses during a 5-7 campaign. But Brown has his team back in the Top 10 of at least one poll today – albeit an unwanted lofty perch.

Brown ranks No. 7 in today’s listing of college football coaches under the most heat on the website CoachesHotSeat.com. Brown is the highest-ranked Big 12 coach on the website’s list and checked in one spot behind Ohio State’s Jim Tressel, who is suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season (and possibly more) for failing to disclose information in a timely manner relating to NCAA violations at the school.

The top five coaches on the list, like Brown, experienced disappointing on-field performances by their teams in the 2010 season: Washington State’s Paul Wulff, New Mexico’s Mike Lockley, Ole Miss’ Houston Nutt, UCLA’s Rick Neuheisel and Georgia’s Mark Richt.

Clearly, the poll is not scientific. But it makes for interesting reading.

How does Brown rank in relation to other Big 12 coaches? The second-hottest seat in the Big 12, according to the website, belongs to Kansas coach Turner Gill, a Fort Worth Arlington Heights graduate (No. 19) who posted a 3-9 mark in his initial season with the Jayhawks in 2010.

No one else from the Big 12 cracks the “hot seat” section, which applies to the Top 25 in the website’s rankings. Rankings for the five football coaches from last year’s South Division who led their teams to bowl games include Baylor’s Art Briles (No. 64), Texas A&M’s Mike Sherman (No. 72), Texas Tech’s Tommy Tuberville (No. 100), Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy (No. 114) and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops (No. 115).

Among the 120 major-college football coaches listed, the coolest seat in the country belongs to TCU’s Gary Patterson, whose team went 13-0 and won the Rose Bowl last season. Patterson checked in at No. 120, one spot below Auburn’s Gene Chizik, whose team won the BCS national championship game in January.

For the full list, visit www.CoachesHotSeat.com.

_ Jimmy Burch

UT assistant Terry next Fresno State coach

University of Texas assistant Rodney Terry is to be announced as the next head basketball coach at Fresno State later Thursday, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Terry just completed his ninth season on Rick Barnes' staff and during that time has become one of the Longhorns' top recruiters. Terry would replace Steve Cleveland, who resigned March 17 after six seasons.

Terry previously served as an assistant at Baylor and North Carolina-Wilmington, as well as the head coach at Angleton and Somerville High Schools.--Mike Jones.

 

Slocum to receive 2011 Neyland Trophy

Former Texas A&M football coach R.C. Slocum, the winningest coach in school history, has been named selected as the recipient of the 2011 Neyland Trophy. The award is presented annually by the Knoxville (Tenn.) Quarterback Club to honor someone who has contributed greatly to college athletics.

Slocum will receive the honor April 16 and will be recognized in pregame ceremonies before Tennessee’s annual Orange and White Game. Slocum led the Aggies to a record of 123-47-2 in 14 seasons as the school's head football coach, including a 1998 Big 12 championship.

Below is a list of recipients for the annual award that began in 1967:

1967 - Nathan W. Dougherty, Tennessee

1967 - Herman Hickman, Yale

1968 - Wallace Wade, Alabama

1969 - Bobby Dodd, Georgia Tech

1970 - John Barnhill, Arkansas

1971 - Jess Neely, Rice

1972 - John Vaught, Mississippi

1973 - Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma

1974 - Fritz Crisler, Michigan

1975 - Lynn “Pappy” Waldorf, California

1976 - John McKay, Southern California

1977 - Darrell Royal, Texas

1978 - Ralph “Shug” Jordan, Auburn

1979 - Frank Broyles, Arkansas

1980 - Bob Devaney, Nebraska

1981 - Ara Parseghian, Notre Dame

1982 - Bill Murray, Duke

1983 - Paul “Bear” Bryant, Alabama

1984 - Woody Hayes, Ohio State

1985 - Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State

1986 - Bob Woodruff, Tennessee

1987 - Charles McClendon, LSU

1988 - LaVell Edwards, Brigham Young

1989 - Vince Dooley, Georgia

1990 - Bo Schembechler, Michigan

1991 - Murray Warmath, Minnesota

1992 - Bobby Bowden, Florida State

1993 - Grant Teaff, Baylor

1994 - Jerry Claiborne, Kentucky

1995 - Dan Devine, Notre Dame

1996 - Hayden Fry, Iowa

1997 - Terry Donahue, UCLA

1998 - Lou Holtz, Notre Dame

1999 - Eddie Robinson, Grambling

2000 - Tom Osborne, Nebraska

2001 - Doug Dickey, Tennessee

2002 - Gene Stallings, Alabama

2003 - Johnny Majors, Pittsburgh

2004 - John Gaglidardi, St. John’s (Minn.)

2005 - Barry Switzer, Oklahoma

2006 - John Cooper, Ohio State

2007 - John Robinson, UNLV

2008 - Lloyd Carr, Michigan

2009 - Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee

2010 – Ken Sparks, Carson-Newman

2011 - -R.C. Slocum, Texas A&M

 

_ Jimmy Burch 

Public welcome planned for A&M women's hoops team

Win or lose in tonight's national championship game in Indianapolis, Texas A&M officials are planning a heroes' welcome on Wednesday for members of the Aggies' women's basketball team.

The team's charter plane is expected to land in College Station at 1:50 p.m. on Wednesday and school officials have planned a public reception for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Reed Arena, the Aggies' on-campus arena. This is Texas A&M's first trip to the women's Final Four.

The Aggies meet Notre Dame in tonight's national championship game.

_ Jimmy Burch