Right now, everyone is talkin about Steve McNair’s death, which appears to be a murder-suicide. Although most people talk about his NFL career, he was also an outstanding player in college.

Steve McNair, Image: Newscom

Here are the highlights from his time playing NCAA Football:

• McNair played for Alcorn State after being recruited from Mount Olive High School in Mississippi.
  
• He was the third pick overall in the 1995 NFL draft.
  
• In 1992, McNair ran the ball in for a game-winning touchdown against Grambling, even though he had a leg injury.
• In his senior season, McNait had around 6,000 yards passing and rushing, as well as 53 touchdowns.
  
• McNair won the Walter Payton Award as the highest-ranked I-AA player in 1994.
  
• He broke more than a dozen records his senior year.
  
• McNair finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1994.
  

He was a great player, and from all accounts I’ve heard, a great father. The circumstances may be a bit hazy right now, but no matter what, my thoughts are with his family. RIP.

Operation Sports recently released their list of the hardest places to play in major college football. Their top five:

1. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - Florida
2. Beaver Stadium - Penn State
3. Tiger Stadium - LSU
4. Ohio Stadium Stadium - Ohio State
5. Gaylord-Oklahoma Memorial - Oklahoma

You can see the rest of the list here . Of course, I’m happy to see Beaver Stadium on the list. If you’ve ever been there, you understand why it’s #2. The crowd is intense and it is LOUD. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to play there. I’m assuming others on the list are similar.

Image: Newscom

It’s no secret that the Mountain West Conference wants a playoff system. Other conferences may want one as well, but the MWC actually went to the effort to put together a proposal for it, which was rejected by the BCS today. Their plan was an 8-team playoff system that would allow all of the leagues an equal chance to send teams to the National Championship Game.

Image: Newscom

After it was rejected, David Frohnmayer, BCS presidential oversight committee chairman, said:

“There was no overall support for the proposal, although some conferences were interested in considering certain elements of it in the future — particularly those related to revenue, access and governance of the BCS arrangement.”

According to Frohnmayer, all of the conferences and Notre Dame wrote reports in support of keeping the current post-season system. However, a large part of that may be wanting to fulfill televison contracts. Frohnmayer says that the current post-season arrangement is the best that has ever existed.

Right…

During the 2009-2010 school year, the NCAA will suspend their collection of membership fees, according to reports. They want to take the pressure off of the school a bit, as many colleges are feeling the strain of the economy. In fact, schools across the country have decided to cancel some of their sports programs, put new facility building projects on the back burner, give discounts on tickets to boost sales, and more.

How much will the schools save? That depends on the division, but dues range from $900-$1,800. Every little bit counts in this economy.

Combined, the schools will save $1.3 million. The NCAA is making changes in their offices to deal with this lack of income, and these cost-efficient changes will reportedly make up for about $500,000 of that loss. They’re also reviewing Division I governance structure change proposals which, they report, could have a direct benefit for schools involved.

Florida State has finally received a response from the NCAA about their appeal of sanctions from an academic cheating scandal…but they’ve kept that response a secret. They now have 15 days to respond again to the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, and the school says that their response will be made public, at least in part.

Bobby Bowden, Image: Newscom

FSU admits that the cheating occurred and they aren’t challenging the the loss of scholarships in 10 sports and a four-year probation for the dirty deeds. However, they are challenging the part of the sanctions that would strip coach Bobby Bowden of 14 of the school’s wins.

Normally, that may not be a big deal, but Bowden is neck-and-neck with Penn State’s Joe Paterno for the title of “winningest coach in college football.” Both coaches are expected to retire within the next few years, so there’s not time to make up those 14 wins.

Paterno has gone on record as saying that he hopes the NCAA allowed Bowden to keep the wins. I’m glad to see that he wants a fair fight.

Leave a comment below - should Bowden be allowed to keep his wins or should the games be declared losses?

Even most colleges and conferences are feeling the financial strain in this poor economy. Not the Big 12 though. On Thursday, officials from the conference announced that they’d be distributing $130 millon to its members. That’s a record reimbursement - and outshines last year (the previous record) by 14.5%.

The Big 12 was never an unpopular conference, but they’ve also not the SEC…yet. With strong teams that have been solid year after year, such as Oklahoma and Texas, the conference is only growing in popularity.

Oklahoma vs. Texas in 2008, Image: Newscom

But remember - that’s just football. The Big 12 is still working on ways to cut costs across the board so that some of the more popular sports programs aren’t carrying some of the weaker programs. Some of the ways they could be trimming costs include eliminating non-traditonal playing seasons in less popular/successful sports (like volleybal), cutting travel to regional track and field championships, cutting foreign travel for all-star teams and individual teams, and elimination the printed media guides.

Says Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe,

“Cost-containment is important because we want to drive as much revenue as possible back to the schools. We need to be cognizant of returning revenue to our schools so they can support their programs. The conference itself is going to be stable, but we are trying to help schools make up for any losses.”

Lane Kiffin is doing a great job at Tennessee, at least, in regards to national press. Not everything he’s said has been kosher, though, and he’s actually been forced to apologize to other schools because of things he’s said. The school’s athletic director, Mike Hamilton, seems to believe that the new coach is misunderstood, however.

“I have found him to be different from the media persona that was painted of him, stemming from those original February comments,” Hamilton said. “He’s not as cavalier as the media painted him to be.”

The comments in February that are in question were about Florida’s recruiting practices. Kiffin said that coach Urban Meyer had broken NCAA rules when recruiting star player Nu’Keese Richardson, who eventually went on to sign at Tennessee. Kiffin maintains that he was joking with the comments, and while I do think that it’s probable he was, the SEC still reprimanded him for the quotes.

Lane Kiffin, Image: Newscom

This isn’t the only incident Kiffin’s been “misunderstood.” He may be bringing a bit of fame to the school, but this also bears the question: Is he going to cross the line? Kiffin’s no stranger to the limelight, but at the same time, SEC and general NCAA press is much different than NFL press, and at USC, he never really had to talk to the press.

So do you agree with Hamilton? Is Kiffin misunderstood, or is he really a jerk that’s milking the press? Does he have teh speaking skills for an SEC team or is it just a matter of tme before he crosses the line?

I had an interesting debate with a friend the other day. We were talking about football, of course, but it really applies to most college athletes: Should the players be paid.

On one side of the argument, players should be playing for the love of the sport, not for money. That’s part of what makes college football better than NFL. College players should also be students, not workers. If you pay them, it also opens a whole can of worms. Should you pay students who participate in other activities, like theatre productions? Should there be a set payment, regulated by the NCAA or should colleges be able to use the price tag as a bargaining chip? Should all colleges (even small schools that aren’t nationally known) be required to pay?

The other side of the argument is that players at major colleges make a LOT of money for their schools. We’re talking about millions and millions of dollar. That’s why coaches spend so much money on recruiting…and why schools are quick to fire coaches that aren’t winning games. Players devote so much time to football during the season that it can be hard for them to keep up with classes, and regardless of what people say, players do get special treatment to some extent. They do the work of an NFL player, shouldn’t they get paid? Ok, maybe they don’t work as much as an NFL player, but SOME payment makes sense, doesn’t it?

So where do I stand on this subject. Well, I think that the scholarships these players get ARE the payment. I do think that some colleges need to cut back on the pressure they put on these students, but I don’t think that payment would be a good choice. College football may be a business, but students ARE getting something out of this. Adding even more money to the mix would just suck what I love out of the game.

Where do you stand on this issue?

Image: sxc.hu

When Lane Kiffin was brought in to coach the Tennessee Volunteers after the resignation firing of beloved Phillip Fulmer after a dismal 2008 season. While many hope that Kiffin will bring the spark back to the Vols, others aren’t happy with the new coaching choice. To date, 11 players are leaving Tennessee to play at other schools.

Image: Newscom

That number isn’t HUGE, considering that there’s usually a mass exodus when a school brings in a new coach. What really hurts, though, is that Kiffin is losing some huge assets to the Tennessee team. He’s also gone on record as saying that he doesn’t want to coach anyone who doesn’t want to be a Volunteer, which to me sounds like a little disgruntled dig at the players choosing to leave. Those who’s announced their impending departures are:

1. B.J. Coleman, quarterback
2. Ahmad Paige, wide receiver
3. E.J. Abrams-Ward, wide receiver
4. Tyler Maples, wide receiver
5. Demetrice Morley, safety
6. Lennon Creer, tailback
7. Donald Langley, lineman
8. Darius Myers, lineman
9. Ramone Johnson, lineman
10. Preston Bailey, lineman
11. Darris Sawtelle, lineman

Under NCAA rules, Tennessee can have up to 85 scholarship players on the team each season, so this does open up some wiggle room for Kiffin to recruit more freshmen or talk to players who intend to leave other schools.

An interesting note: a number of these players decided to leave only after spring practice with Kiffin. So, they’re giving him a chance at least - but to some, looks like he’s not really living up to standards…

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