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D1 College Football News
August 14, 2006
Source: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc.
Red Raiders Dedicate Season to the Late Dave Brown
Texas Tech players are dedicating their 2006 season to Dave Brown, the Red
Raiders cornerbacks coach who died in January of a heart attack at the age
of 52. The school has also established two scholarships in his name. Brown,
a 2006 candidate for the College Football Hall of Fame from Michigan, twice
earned First Team All-America honors in ‘73 and unanimously in ‘74 while
leading the Wolverines to three BIG TEN Championships as a defensive back.
After Michigan, Brown began a 16-year professional career with the
Pittsburgh Steelers in 1975, participating in the Steelers' Super Bowl X win
against the Dallas Cowboys and spending 11 seasons with the Seattle
Seahawks. A 1984 All-Pro selection, Brown holds the all-time record in
Seattle with 50 interceptions and is enshrined in their Ring of Honor. He
finished his final four seasons in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers. A
five-year veteran on the Red Raider coaching staff, Brown coached the
cornerbacks since his arrival in 2001. Previously, he had spent seven years
as a cornerbacks coach with the Seahawks.
20 Legends Enshrined at the College Football Hall of Fame
The 2006 College Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival proved to be
another crowd pleaser this past weekend in South Bend, Ind. Thousands of
fans from across the country gathered August 11-12, witnessing festivities
that included an enshrinement parade, fan festival, youth football clinic,
outdoor rock concert, celebrity golf tournament, and a spectacular dinner &
show. In a heated battle, the East edged the West during the flag football
game. Penn State offensive tackle Keith Dorney (1975-78), who caught two
touchdown passes, claimed the day’s MVP honors. The evening show featured
ESPN’s Rece Davis, who captured the majesty of the moment with the unique
history behind each Hall of Famers march to enshrinement. At a reception
held the night before, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the Football Writers
Association of America honored Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis with the
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. Coach Weis paid tribute to the
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl while mentioning that he hopes to strengthen his ties
with the organization on January 8, 2007 in Glendale, Arizona.
Established in 1951 by the National Football Foundation, the current hall of
fame was built in 1995 in South Bend, Ind. This year’s Division I-A
enshrines included: Cornelius Bennett (Alabama); Tom Curtis (Michigan);
Anthony Davis (Southern California); Keith Dorney (Penn State); Jim Houston
(Ohio State); John Huarte (Notre Dame); Roosevelt Leaks (Texas); Mark May
(Pittsburgh); Joe Washington (Oklahoma) Paul Wiggin (Stanford); David
Williams (Illinois), Coach Pat Dye (East Carolina, Wyoming, Auburn); and
Coach Don Nehlen (Bowling Green, West Virginia). Players and coaches from
the divisional ranks include: Kevin Dent (Jackson State); John Friesz
(Idaho); Ronnie Mallett (Central Arkansas); Jerry Rice (Miss. Valley State);
Coach Dick Farley (Williams - Mass.); Coach John Gagliardi (Carroll College
(Mont.), St. John's (Minn.); and Coach Vernon "Skip" McCain (Maryland State
College).
Two-Minute Drill
The Associated Press Poll Top 25 will be released this Friday, August 18.
Texas Tech coach Mike Leach received a one-year contract extension, which
will keep him at the helm of the Red Raiders through the 2009 season.
Terrell Suggs and Shaun McDonald, both playing in the NFL with the Baltimore
Ravens and St. Louis Rams, respectively, returned to Arizona State this
summer to earn credits towards their bachelor degrees.
Texas coach Mack Brown accepted the National Football Foundation Touchdown
Club of Houston Chapter’s Touchdowner of the Year Award on August 3. Over
700 people attended the event including, College Football Hall of Famers
Bill Yeoman (Houston), Earl Campbell (Texas) and Darrell Royal (Texas).
Scott Spurrier, the son of South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier, has
transferred from Division I-AA Charleston Southern to South Carolina. He
will sit out this season as walk-on wide receiver.
Georgia Tech had 18 football standouts named to the Atlantic Coast
Conference Academic Honor for 2005-06. Troy University had five football
players named to the Sun Belt Commissioner's List and 16 players to Academic
Honor Roll. Lake Erie College in Painesville, Pa., announced that the
school will launch a Division III football program in 2008, naming Mark
McNellie as the coach. The 1981 Drake football team, which posted a
school-record 10-1 mark under Coach Chuck Shelton, will hold a 25-year
reunion Sept. 30 in conjunction with the Bulldogs' homecoming game against
Morehead State. Fort Worth Cats will hold a Southwest Conference show your
colors night on August 18.
ABC Sports will become “ESPN on ABC” with ESPN becoming the overarching
brand for all sports programming carried on the ABC Television Network
beginning Sept. 2, according to an announcement made by George Bodenheimer,
president, ESPN, Inc. and ABC Sports and Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks.
Disney owns both ESPN and ABC. Dick Vermeil will be a game analyst for the
NFL Network during its college football coverage, including the network’s
telecasts of the Insight Bowl on December 29 and the Senior Bowl on January
27. Middle Tennessee Director Chris Massaro and Cumulus Broadcasting
announced that WFN 106.7 FM - The Fan will be Nashville’s flagship radio
affiliate for the Blue Raider Network this season. Conference USA’s final
composite schedule reveals three Tuesday games, a Wednesday game, four
Friday games and even two Sunday games on the 2006 lineup. Georgia Southern
will play at the Naval Academy on September 12, 2009, the first meeting
between the two schools. Marshall and Ohio State will open the 2010 football
season in Columbus, Ohio on September 12, 2010.
The Sun Bowl extended its contract with Helen
of Troy, the game’s primary sponsor, for four
more years, renaming the game the Brut Sun Bowl.
Brut cologne was made famous by legendary Crimson
Tide quarterback Joe Namath during his days with
the New York Jets in the late ‘60s and ‘70s. XOS
Technologies announced that the Mid-American Conference
has been selected to implement the XOS Replay
solution for in-game instant replay used by conference
football officials. Bright House Networks has
acquired naming rights for $15 millions over the
next 15 years to the University of Central Florida’s
new football stadium slated to open next year.
The University of Utah has already set a school record for season ticket
sales. The 22,050 season tickets sold as of Aug. 9 broke the old school mark
of 21,540 set last year. The Duke football program will hold its annual
"Meet The Blue Devils" day on Sunday, August 20. SMU will hold its
second-annual Football Kickoff Luncheon Aug. 16 with former SMU player and
coach Forrest Gregg as the keynote speaker and head coach Phil Bennett and
new Director of Athletics Steve Orsini in attendance.
Peyton Manning has pledged $1 million to the Tennessee athletics department,
which will be used to update the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center and toward
the master plan renovations at Neyland Stadium. Central Michigan University
continues with its fundraiser program, “Light Up The Night,” which seeks
donations of $650,000 to pay for a lighting project at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
University of Colorado’s fundraising project, the Buff Club Cabinet, now has
47 members, who each have committed annual gifts of $25,000 for a three-year
period.
San Diego State has reported record donations of $1.6 million since the
hiring of its new head coach Chuck Long, a 1999 College Football Hall of
Fame inductee from Iowa, in December. The Aztec’s ticket sales are also up 8
percent from this time last year. Canfield High School received a $100,000
donation from Merrill Lynch stockbroker Tony Lariccia to name its stadium
after Bob Dove, who passed away on April 19 at the age of 85. Dove, a
prominent Canfield resident, earned induction into the College Football Hall
of Fame in 2000 for his exploits as a Notre Dame player from 1940-42.
Bowling Green announced that Brian Delehoy has been named promotion and
sales manager for the Falcons. Butler University has named Barry Collier as
its new athletics director. Delaware State University Athletics Director
Chuck Bell hired Mike Wilson to oversee the program’s sports marketing and
public relations office. Northwestern University Director of Athletics Mark
Murphy announced the addition of John Mack as associate athletics director
for external affairs. Temple University announced the hiring of Peter D’
Alonzo as student services/learning specialist; and Nick Plack and Jaison
Freeman as academic coordinators. University of Colorado Athletic Directors
Mike Bohn announced the naming of Miguel Rueda to the position of head
athletic trainer. University of Louisiana named John Dugas as event
management coordinator; he will also assist with the development of the
athletic department’s website.
Atlantic Coast Conference has named Kristie Le as assistant director of
media relations and Mike Finn has been promoted to associate commissioner
for football operations.
Donyale Canada has accepted the position of director of sports services at
Conference USA in Irving, Texas. University of Akron named Mauro Monz,
formerly offensive coordinator at Duquesne University, its director of
football operations.
Schedule Spotlight: Bowl Championship Series Games
Bowl - Date - Television Partner
Rose - Jan. 1 - ESPN on ABC
Tostitos Fiesta - Jan. 1 - Fox
FedEx Orange - Jan. 2 - Fox
Allstate Sugar - Jan. 3 - Fox
BCS National Championship - Jan. 8 - Fox
With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football
Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization,
runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing
scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. The NFF
presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy presented by HealthSouth
and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF programs
include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It
Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield
College (Mass.), the NFL-NFF Coaching Academy, and scholarships of over $1
million for college and high school scholar-athletes.
For more information, please visit www.footballfoundation.org
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