D1 College Football News

April 17, 2006

Source: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc.

Monday’s Chalktalk

News and notes from around college football for April 17, 2006

College Football Hall of Famers on Baseball Ballot

Bobby Layne and Jackie Jensen, two members of the College Football Hall of Fame, lead a list of 46 former coaches and players on the ballot for the inaugural College Baseball Foundation Hall of Fame class. Layne, a 1968 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, starred as a quarterback at Texas from 1944-1947, establishing 11 school records and leading the Longhorns to a 10-1 mark and a Sugar Bowl victory his senior season. Jensen, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984, starred as a fullback, defensive back and punter while at the University of California from 1946-1948. He also pitched for the Golden Bears baseball team. Layne and Jensen squared off against one another as pitchers in the first NCAA college baseball tournament in 1947, with Jensen coming out victorious. Other football players on the baseball ballot include Lou Gehrig, a multi-sport star while at Columbia, and Christy Mathewson, who played at Bucknell.

Tillman Foundation Hosts Successful “Pat’s Run”

The second annual “Pat’s Run” in Tempe, established last year in memory of former Arizona State linebacker Pat Tillman, raised $350,000 for the Pat Tillman Foundation at ASU. The race, a 4.2-mile run that finishes on the 42-yard line in Sun Devil Stadium, where Tillman terrorized offenses for the Sun Devils and later the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL, honors the spirit of the defensive back who died in April 2004 during combat in Afghanistan. All proceeds from the race go to the Pat Tillman Foundation, which benefits the Leadership Through Action program at Arizona State University. A similar race will take place in San Jose, Calif., on April 30.

Ronnie Lott Joins the Play It Smart team

Former USC great Ronnie Lott, who dominated on the Trojan defense from 1977-1980 and earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002, has agreed to serve as chairman of the National Advisory Board for the National Football Foundation’s Play It Smart program. Lott will provide oversight to a committee of leaders in the fields of education, business and community affairs as the Foundation looks to expand the program’s reach. Following a 14-year career in the NFL that also earned him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Lott helped launch both HRJ Capital, a private equity investment firm, and Olympius Capital, a minority-controlled firm.

Two-Minute Drill

The Ivy Council, a group of student government leaders representing the eight Ivy League schools, passed a resolution pressing the Council of Ivy Group Presidents to overturn the postseason ban currently imposed on the conference’s football teams... Kentucky linebacker Terry Clayton, who lost his hearing at age five, received the university’s 2006 Carol S. Adelstein Outstanding Student Award. The award recognizes a student with a disability who best serves as an inspiration to the university... Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden received the Duffy Daughtery Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to amateur football and lifetime achievement at the Mid-Michigan Touchdown Club banquet last Thursday in Bath, Michigan... Louisiana Tech legendary quarterback Terry Bradshaw donated his 1996 College Football Hall of Fame ring, his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring, four Super Bowl rings and numerous other memorabilia and awards from his playing days to his alma mater. Bradshaw will also appear on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno today... Mack Brown and the Texas football family joined local community groups to take part in the third annual Light of Hope celebration for the prevention of child abuse in Austin... 2005 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Keith Dorney served as the featured speaker for the National Football Foundation’s Central Pennsylvania Chapter Banquet on April 9. The banquet recognized 38 football players as the top scholar-athletes at their respective schools... The Minnesota House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill to help finance a new, outdoor stadium for the University of Minnesota football team. The bill still needs approval from the State Senate and the governor... Former Georgia All-America David Pollack will serve as guest speaker at the NFF’s University of Georgia chapter banquet today... Current Florida State defensive coordinator and former Alabama wide receiver/defensive back Mickey Andrews will be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on May 21. Others to be inducted include former Auburn standouts Lionel James and Buddy McClinton... Florida A&M University and Bethune-Cookman College extended their agreement to play their annual Florida Classic football game in Orlando for three more years… Ohio State punter Tyson Gentry, who is trying out as a wide receiver this spring, had surgery Saturday after he sustained a neck injury during practice Friday night... Michigan State head football coach John L. Smith joined the morning show at WITL Radio in Lansing on April 12 as a guest DJ, playing his favorite country music hits... The Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego will kick-off the 2006 bowl season on December 19, taking the leadoff spot as the season’s first bowl game from the New Orleans Bowl, which will be held on December 22... The University of Virginia will award $1,000 to the local elementary school that has the highest participation at the school’s annual Spring Football Festival on April 22... Archie Manning, a 1989 College Football Hall of Fame inductee from Ole Miss, will speak about “Faith, Family and Football” during a talk at the Christ United Methodist Church this Thursday in Memphis... Former Ohio State football coach John Cooper received the Robert R. Neyland Award for outstanding leadership in intercollegiate athletics during the NFF’s East Tennessee Chapter Banquet. The Knoxville Quarterback Club annually presents the award… Stony Brook announced it will compete as a I-AA Independent beginning in 2007... Memphis extended the contract of head football coach Tommy West through the 2010 season... Bowling Green named David Ebersbach the school’s new director of football operations... Clayton White joined the staff at Western Michigan as a defensive backs coach.