2025-2026 College Football Thread

[Josh]

It looks like the Big East and Catholic 7 are close to finalizing new TV deals:

In April 2011, former Big East commissioner John Marinatto recommended the Big East accept ESPN's nine-year, $1.17 billion deal, but the league's presidents voted to turn it down. That deal would have earned full members $13.8 million a year and non-football members $2.43 million a year.

By comparison, NBC Sports Network's current offer would earn each Big East member about $2 million annually, depending if the league has 11 or 12 members. Navy is scheduled to join in 2015 as its 11th member.

The Big East's current six-year media rights deal is worth $3.12 million annually for each of the eight full members and $1.5 million annually for each of the remaining non-football members. The eight football members split $13 million; the 15 basketball members split $24 million.

In summary, the Big East football schools are earning $3.12M currently, turned down $13.8M, and are looking at around $2M per year, a decrease of $1M. For the Catholic 7, however:

Fox Sports' offer [for the Catholic 7] would be worth between $30 million and $40 million per year depending on how many teams are in the league, sources said.

Taking the low end of 10 schools for $30M annually, that would mean the Catholic 7 are currently taking in $1.5M, turned down $2.43M, and are looking at $3M. Kind of easy to see who made out on that course of events.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...a-rights-deals

[ChadFL]

Not content with just being the best team in the nation on the field Alabama is making a strong run at the Fulmer Cup. Four of their players have been arrested on a slew of robbery and fraud charges.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...facing-charges

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- A former five-star recruit for the Alabama Crimson Tide was arrested for the second time in two days and was among four freshmen who face charges of second-degree robbery or fraudulent use of a credit card stemming from Monday arrests.

Eddie Williams, who was also a safety in high school but did not play a down at his listed position as a receiver for Alabama in 2012, was first arrested Sunday on a charge of carrying a pistol without a license.

Defensive end D.J. Pettway (second-degree robbery), and linebackers Tyler Hayes (second-degree robbery) and Brent Calloway (fraudulent use of a credit card) were arrested Monday along with Williams, according to online records from the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office.

In addition to the Sunday gun charge, Williams faces second-degree robbery and fraudulent use of a credit card charges.

All four were released from the county jail Monday night on bonds of $65,000 for Williams, $60,000 for Pettway and Hayes, and $5,000 for Calloway.

An Alabama athletic department spokesman, reached Tuesday morning by TideNation's Alex Scarborough, said the school was withholding comment at this time.

Pettway was named to the All-SEC freshman team for his work at defensive end, recording 2.5 sacks and four tackles for loss.

Hayes, a former four-star linebacker in the 2012 class, had 14 tackles, including two in the Crimson Tide's BCS National Championship Game rout of Notre Dame, with most of his work coming on special teams.

Calloway, arrested for marijuana possession in 2011, played in 12 games as a redshirt freshman. He started off the year at linebacker before moving to H-back, where he carried the ball 10 times.

[ChadFL]

The Alabama arrest story is even crazier than I thought. Tuscaloosa police are saying these four players obtained the stolen credit cards by approaching fellow Bama students, knocking them out and stealing their belongings. Even more amusing is that they used the stolen credit cards at a vending machine for snacks. True criminal masterminds these fools are not.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

The Alabama arrest story is even crazier than I thought. Tuscaloosa police are saying these four players obtained the stolen credit cards by approaching fellow Bama students, knocking them out and stealing their belongings. Even more amusing is that they used the stolen credit cards at a vending machine for snacks. True criminal masterminds these fools are not.

What I don't get is where these kids come up with a 60k+ bond.. I also think its probably hard if you're a 5 star recruit and aren't good enough to even get on the field for Bama. That said Saban needs to get control quick (not that I don't think he doesn't have it).

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by supersix4

What I don't get is where these kids come up with a 60k+ bond.. I also think its probably hard if you're a 5 star recruit and aren't good enough to even get on the field for Bama. That said Saban needs to get control quick (not that I don't think he doesn't have it).

I don't get the bail thing either. As far as I'm aware you have to put up at least 10% of the bail even with collateral, so that's $6k for some of these players. How can they afford $6k but not a Snickers bar? Probably shome shadowy booster went in for the bailout.

[StereoMike]

Katherine Webb leaps from the stands of the BCS Championship Game into the pages of SI Swimsuit

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2013, Katherine Webb - YouTube

[emac213]

Its just a matter of time, before she leaves Aj. She is becoming bigger then him over night.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by StereoMike

Katherine Webb leaps from the stands of the BCS Championship Game into the pages of SI Swimsuit

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2013, Katherine Webb - YouTube

Mike come on bro... I asked you once to stop posting videos of my girlfriend. Jeez!

[Moviefan1203]

Originally Posted by emac213

Its just a matter of time, before she leaves Aj. She is becoming bigger then him over night.

She see's that NFL money.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Moviefan1203

She see's that NFL money.

And how is AJ going to provide that? He's not a legit NFL prospect. The most optimistic draft projections I've seen have him going 3rd or 4th round. Maybe she thought because he's a big shot in college means he'll be a big shot in the pros, which isn't likely. Chances are she'll get her own reality show and make more than McCarron anyway.

[sycro]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

And how is AJ going to provide that? He's not a legit NFL prospect. The most optimistic draft projections I've seen have him going 3rd or 4th round. Maybe she thought because he's a big shot in college means he'll be a big shot in the pros, which isn't likely. Chances are she'll get her own reality show and make more than McCarron anyway.

She's already set to be on one.... with Donkey Kong.

[emac213]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

And how is AJ going to provide that? He's not a legit NFL prospect. The most optimistic draft projections I've seen have him going 3rd or 4th round. Maybe she thought because he's a big shot in college means he'll be a big shot in the pros, which isn't likely. Chances are she'll get her own reality show and make more than McCarron anyway.

+1. AJ only hope is if they were high school sweet hearts. Other then that she is taking off for Hollywood.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by emac213

+1. AJ only hope is if they were high school sweet hearts. Other then that she is taking off for Hollywood.

I'm almost positive they weren't. Katherine Webb is actually an Auburn grad.

She really should give Musberger a cut of her earnings as he was the one to make her famous.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

And how is AJ going to provide that? He's not a legit NFL prospect. The most optimistic draft projections I've seen have him going 3rd or 4th round.

Thats what happens when you look at foreign draft boards The guy is amazing.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/p...trankings/2014

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings...2014&genpos=qb

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/cfb/130806/aj-mccarron

Don't pull up those nov. 2012 articles I've read them all

[Moviefan1203]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

And how is AJ going to provide that? He's not a legit NFL prospect. The most optimistic draft projections I've seen have him going 3rd or 4th round. Maybe she thought because he's a big shot in college means he'll be a big shot in the pros, which isn't likely. Chances are she'll get her own reality show and make more than McCarron anyway.

If he continues his yearly progression, he's going to be a high pick. He gets better and better each year. Top 10 is not out of the question with the way quarterbacks are overdrafted.

[ApolloOne]

The Big 10(+4)=14 will no longer schedule FCS opponents.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Madison – Speaking on his monthly radio show Tuesday night, Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez shared a nugget of information that should cheer football fans who long for better nonleague games.

According to Alvarez, Big Ten officials recently agreed to stop scheduling nonconference games against FCS programs.

“The nonconference schedule in our league is ridiculous,” Alvarez said on WIBA-AM. “It’s not very appealing…

“So we’ve made an agreement that our future games will all be Division I schools. It will not be FCS schools.”

It is not clear when the agreement will take effect but the likely starting point would be the 2014 season, when Maryland and Rutgers are set to join the Big Ten.

That sound you hear is a bunch of FCS programs scrambling to figure out how to make budget in 2014. In that year, the Big Ten is scheduled to play 11 FCS schools (maybe 12; Wisconsin hasn't set its 2014 slate). That's a lot of lost revenue.

And what about Indiana, who seems to have just started a yearly matchup with in-state rival (and FCS school) Indiana State? Is the conference going to tell them to shut down their budding rivalry?

I know it's not the Big Ten's job to keep FCS programs solvent, but from a small-school perspective, this decision is unfortunate.

[sycro]

Originally Posted by ApolloOne

The Big 10(+4)=14 will no longer schedule FCS opponents.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:


That sound you hear is a bunch of FCS programs scrambling to figure out how to make budget in 2014. In that year, the Big Ten is scheduled to play 11 FCS schools (maybe 12; Wisconsin hasn't set its 2014 slate). That's a lot of lost revenue.

And what about Indiana, who seems to have just started a yearly matchup with in-state rival (and FCS school) Indiana State? Is the conference going to tell them to shut down their budding rivalry?

I know it's not the Big Ten's job to keep FCS programs solvent, but from a small-school perspective, this decision is unfortunate.

Does he not realize that FCS programs are Division 1?

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by ApolloOne

The Big 10(+4)=14 will no longer schedule FCS opponents.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:


That sound you hear is a bunch of FCS programs scrambling to figure out how to make budget in 2014. In that year, the Big Ten is scheduled to play 11 FCS schools (maybe 12; Wisconsin hasn't set its 2014 slate). That's a lot of lost revenue.

And what about Indiana, who seems to have just started a yearly matchup with in-state rival (and FCS school) Indiana State? Is the conference going to tell them to shut down their budding rivalry?

I know it's not the Big Ten's job to keep FCS programs solvent, but from a small-school perspective, this decision is unfortunate.

Yeah, I know my local school, Northern Iowa, really depends on the money they get from FBS schools to support their football program. Every year they play at least one FBS team and last year they made almost $1 million by playing Wisconsin (lost by 5) and Iowa (lost by 11). If other major conferences follow suit (specifically the Big 12 because UNI plays Iowa State about every other year) then UNI might have to look into moving up to FBS and seeing if they can get into the MAC, dropping sports or even worse becoming a non-scholarship football program.

[Moviefan1203]

Source - http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoot...d-hits-to-head

A college football player who delivers a hit to the head of a defenseless opponent could be kicked out of the game next season under an NCAA proposal that took a step forward Wednesday.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee said it had unanimously approved strengthening of the penalty for intentional above-the-shoulder hits. The 15-yard penalty will now have an ejection tacked on, assuming the Playing Rules Oversight Panel approves the plan next month.

Player safety was the theme of the committee's three-day meeting in Indianapolis, with the ejection for targeting the most noticeable change fans will notice in 2013 across all NCAA divisions. The committee also tweaked the rule on below-the-waist blocks.

Perhaps one of the stranger rule changes, and one Boise State fans surely will notice, would require teams to have either their jerseys or pants contrast in color to the playing field. The Mountain West had barred the Broncos from wearing all-blue uniforms on their blue turf during conference games last season.

As for the high hits, chairman and Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said the committee wanted to address clear instances where a defender is leading with the crown of his head to hit a defenseless player above the shoulders.

"It's a real problem in the sport," he said, "and we need to eliminate it."

Last season, Calhoun said, there were 99 targeting penalties called in the Football Bowl Subdivision that, under the proposed rule, would have called for an ejection. He said the player on the receiving end of the hit in many cases sustained a concussion or other type of injury that caused him to miss significant playing time.

"It's not a gigantic number," Calhoun said of the 99. "Ultimately, our goal is zero. Is that realistic? I don't know if zero is. But I know any time you involve an ejection, we're going to see that number go down drastically immediately."

If the penalty occurs in the first half, the player would be ejected for the remainder of the game. If the penalty occurs in the second half or overtime, the player is ejected for the remainder of the game and the first half of the next game.

The rule would allow for the ejection portion of the penalty to be reviewed through video replay. The replay official must have conclusive evidence that the penalized player didn't intentionally target a defenseless player in order to overturn the call on the field. Calhoun said the 15-yard portion of the penalty would not be reviewable.

The committee also attempted to simplify the blocking-below-the-waist rule, which was found to be unevenly enforced and difficult to teach to officials, Calhoun said. Now low blocks delivered from in front of the defender anywhere on the field are legal and low blocks from the side or back are not.

Previously, whether a player could block below the waist depended on his position at the snap, whether he was stationery or which direction he was moving after the snap.

The contrasting colors rule would appear to target Boise State.

The Broncos like to wear all-blue uniforms while playing on their blue home turf. The rule would prevent players from being "camouflaged," Calhoun said. Opposing coaches have complained that the Broncos' all-blue uniforms make it difficult to prepare for games at Boise because it's hard to differentiate Broncos players against the blue backdrop.

The rule, of course, also would apply to teams that wear all green uniforms on green turf or, in Eastern Washington's case, all red on its red turf.

"Our whole point is we want to be completely respectful of those institutions that have different-colored fields, especially ones that aren't green, but still make sure there are some contrasting colors worn by that squad," Calhoun said.

The NCAA rule might clash with the agreement that Boise State reached with the Mountain West to stay in the league. The school said the conference agreed not to impose uniform restrictions on Boise State.

Other proposed rules from the NCAA include:

• Adding a 10-second runoff with less than a minute remaining in either half when the sole reason for the clock to stop is an injury. Calhoun said the intent is to prevent players from faking injuries to stop the clock.

• Establishing 3 seconds as the minimum amount of time required to be on the game clock in order to spike the ball to stop the clock.

• Allowing the use of electronic communication by the on-field officiating crew. Such devises were used successfully in an experiment in the Southeastern Conference. The equipment would not be required.

• Allowing the Big 12 to experiment with using an eighth official on the field in conference games. This official would be placed in the backfield opposite the referee and, according to Calhoun, would add another set of eyes to detect holding on the offensive line.

If they eject somebody, they better be damn sure it's a clear and malicious head shot. You can't be ejecting players for what they 'think' was a cheap shot.

[Josh]

I'm all in favor them just removing helmets altogether. Head-to-head tackles don't happen when there is no plastic/foam barrier.

I had to chuckle a bit with regards to the color rule. BSU made it a requirement of their return to MWC that they could play blue-on-blue, likely with MWC knowing (or presenting) that the NCAA would take up the rule regardless of what they agreed to. MWC 1 BSU 0.