College Confidential

Tickets remain for tonight's NCAA games at Cowboys Stadium #MarchMadness, #CowboysStadium

Some tickets still remain for tonight's South Regional semifinal games of the NCAA Tournament at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Tickets can be purchased on a walk-up basis at the stadium's north ticket office. Fans also can purchase online via ticketmaster.com or they can call 800-745-3000.

As of Tuesday, organizers said more than 32,000 seats had been sold for tonight's games. Cowboys Stadium will be configured to hold 42,614 for tonight's session. One single-session ticket will allow fans to watch both games tonight between Kansas-Michigan (6:37 p.m.) and Florida-Florida Gulf Coast (9:07 p.m.).

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas G McClellan will transfer at end of spring semester #Longhorns

Texas guard Sheldon McClellan will transfer to another school at the completion of the spring semester, school officials announced today. McClellan, who averaged 13.5 points per game, was benched on multiple occasions by coach Rick Barnes because of what Barnes perceived as a lack of defensive intensity. On two separate occasions, McClellan played only one minute in a conference game (at TCU, at Iowa State) by coach’s decision.

In a statement announcing his decision, McClellan said: “I want to thank everyone who supported me … I enjoyed my time at Texas. I just need a change of venue.”

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Report: Cowboys Stadium a "virtual lock" to host first college FB championship game in playoff era

Cowboys Stadium in Arlington has emerged as a “virtual lock” to host college football’s first championship game of the playoff era, to be held at the conclusion of the 2014 regular season, based on an ESPN.com report today.

The report, citing unnamed sources, said that groups representing Cowboys Stadium and Tampa Bay, Fla. were the only ones to submit bids to host the Jan. 12, 2015 contest before Wednesday’s deadline. A final decision on the site of the game will be made in April.

The ESPN report supports a Star-Telegram report from January in which Cotton Bowl executives expressed optimism about hosting the inaugural playoff game and one industry executive estimated the Arlington venue had a 95 percent chance to land the contest.

Tommy Bain, chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, has said D-FW officials are “cautiously optimistic” about landing the contest but nothing will be certain until commissioners from existing BCS leagues vote on the measure during an April 23-25 meeting in Pasadena, Calif.

The ESPN report cited an industry source saying, “It’s pretty clear to everyone that it’s headed to Cowboys Stadium.”

In January, Bain said: “Our goal is to host the first one. We’re totally optimistic about hosting national championships, and we’re cautiously optimistic about hosting the first one.”

 _ Jimmy Burch

Louisville remains NCAA tourney favorite; Fla Gulf Coast now has 75/1 odds to win title

Louisville, the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, remains the favorite to win the 2013 national championship among the men’s basketball teams that have reach the Sweet 16, based on odds released today by Bovada Sports Book (www.bovada.lv). But several other schools have seen their odds improve dramatically since February, when tournament odds were first released. The list includes Florida Gulf Coast (75/1) and LaSalle (66/1), a pair of double-digit seeds still alive in the title mix. Neither of those schools received odds to win the tournament in February. Below is a look at the title odds given to each Sweet 16 team, now and then: 

NCAA Tourney Odds and Ends
Odds to win the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship
Louisville #1            NOW:        3/1      THEN:   12/1
Florida #3                NOW:       19/4     THEN:  5/1
Indiana #1               NOW:       5/1        THEN: 11/2
Miami Florida #2     NOW:       15/2      THEN: 11/2
Ohio State #2          NOW:      15/2       THEN: 30/1
Michigan #4             NOW:     11/1       THEN: 15/2
Duke #2                   NOW:     12/1        THEN: 9/1
Kansas #1                NOW:     12/1       THEN: 14/1
Michigan State #3    NOW:     14/1        THEN: 10/1
Arizona #6               NOW:      18/1        THEN: 20/1
Syracuse #4            NOW:     20/1         THEN: 20/1
Oregon #12             NOW:      33/1        THEN: 75/1
Marquette #3           NOW:      40/1        THEN: 60/1
Wichita State #9      NOW:      40/1        THEN: 150/1
LaSalle #13             NOW:      66/1        THEN: N/A
Fla. Gulf Coast #15  NOW:     75/1         THEN: N/A

 _ Jimmy Burch

 

Tip times set for Friday's NCAA games in Cowboys Stadium as well as other Sweet 16 contests

Tip times have been set for Friday’s South Regional games at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. The first contest will be Kansas vs. Michigan, with a 6:37 p.m. start. The late game Friday will be Florida vs. Florida Gulf Coast, with an estimated starting time of 9:07 p.m. Both games will be televised by TBS.

In other Sweet 16 matchups, the Thursday schedule will include Miami-Marquette (6:15 p.m., CBS) followed by a CBS telecast of Syracuse-Indiana. TBS’ Thursday doubleheader will include Arizona-Ohio State (6:47 p.m. start), followed by LaSalle-Wichita State.

In the other Friday games in the Sweet 16, the Oregon-Louisville game will be the early telecast (6:15 p.m., CBS), followed by Duke vs. Michigan State in CBS’ late game.

_ Jimmy Burch

Erwin Center evacuated during Miami's scheduled practice, pushing back today's schedule in Austin #NCAAtournament

The Erwin Center was evacuated for more than a half-hour today because of what Austin Fire Department officials described as an alarm malfunction in the building. Miami was scheduled to be practicing in a closed session during the evacuation window but media members exited the building from a different door than the one the team would have used. There has been no official update on whether the Miami practice was disrupted but that appears that was the case.

Today’s schedule for interviews with players and coaches has been pushed back by a half-hour because of the evacuation.

_ Jimmy Burch

Sunday game times set for Austin regional

The game times are set for Sunday's regional games of the NCAA Tournament in Austin. The South Regional matchup between Miami and Minnesota will tip off at 5:10 p.m. The winner will advance to next week's South Regional finals at Cowboys Stadium. The late game will feature Miami vs. Illinios in an East Regional matchup. That contest will tip off at 7:40 p.m.

_ Jimmy Burch 

Texas WR Shipley tweaks hamstring, will be day-to-day for rest of spring FB drills #Longhorns

Texas receiver Jaxon Shipley strained a hamstring in Thursday’s practice and his availability for the remainder of spring drills will be determined on a day-to-day basis, school officials announced Friday. Texas will hold its spring football game March 30 in Austin.

_ Jimmy Burch

Fans face May 31 deadline to apply for tickets to 2014 Final Four in Arlington #NCAAtournament, #CowboysStadium

The application process has started for fans interested in purchasing tickets to the 2014 Final Four at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, with a May 31 deadline for submitting an order.

Fans are encouraged to apply for tickets online at www.NCAA.com/mbbtickets. All tickets for the 2014 Final Four in North Texas are sold in “books” for $190. Each book includes tickets to the national semifinals on Saturday, April 5, 2014 and to the national championship game on Monday, April 7, 2014.

Applicants’ credit cards will be charged upon submission of the application, including a $20 application fee that includes an NCAA Final Four game program along with shipping and handling fees. Fans will be allowed to apply to purchase up to four books of tickets. Only one application per individual/household will be accepted in the NCAA’s ticket selection process.

The NCAA will use a random selection process to determine ticket recipients. Individuals selected to purchase tickets will be notified by the end of September, 2013. Individuals not selected will receive a full refund, less the $20 application fee, by September, 2013.

For more information, visit www.ncaa.com/mbbtickets.

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas A&M's Vaughan, a Mansfield Legacy grad, sets top U.S. mark to win national honor #TAMU

Texas A&M discus thrower Shelbi Vaughan, a freshman from Mansfield Legacy, was selected Monday as the national athlete of the week by the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association for her efforts in last week’s Castillo Invitational in Tempe, Ariz.

Vaughan broke a 10-year-old school record on her first throw, then bettered the mark to finish as the top college competitor at the event with a toss of 185-feet (56.40 meters) in her first outdoor meet of the season. Vaughan, who also plays on A&M’s volleyball team, finished second in the meet and holds the mark for the longest longest discus throw by a U.S. competitor this season.

In addition, A&M javelin thrower Sam Humphreys also earned national athlete of the week recognition by setting a men’s meet record of 268 feet, 7 inches (81.86 meters) at the Castillo Invitational.

_ Jimmy Burch