College football is practically here! Well, not quite yet. However, The World Wide Leader has released its Big Ten prime-time schedule for the 2011 college football season:
•Sept. 1:UNLV at Wisconsin, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
•Sept. 10:Notre Dame at Michigan, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
•Oct. 1:Nebraska at Wisconsin, 8 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN or ESPN2
•Oct. 1:Notre Dame at Purdue, 8 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN or ESPN2
•Oct. 8: Ohio State at Nebraska, 8 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN or ESPN2
•Oct. 22:Wisconsin at Michigan State, 8 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN
•Oct. 29:Wisconsin at Ohio State, 8 p.m. ET, ABC or ESPN or ESPN2
Significance of Games:
Every game involves at least one team in ESPN's College Football Live preseason top 25...all three of the Big Ten co-champions from 2010 (OSU, MSU, and Wisconsin) will be covered at least once...The Wisconsin-UNLV game is a Thursday season-opener...The Notre Dame-Michigan will be the first ever-night game in Michigan Stadium...Nebraska's first two Big Ten conference games, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8, will be carried in prime-time...The MSU-Wisconsin game last year was Wisconsin's only loss of the season...The Wisconsin-OSU game last year was Ohio State's only loss of the season
(Courtesy of ESPN Media Zone iPhone App).
The Big Ten typically gets six primetime games on the ESPN "Family of Networks," but an exception was made for the seventh game. This schedule also doesn't take into account the Big Ten Network's list of prime-time games yet to be released.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
UPDATED: Pat Fitzgerald Contract Extention
Updating a previous story, Northwestern extended the contact of Coach Pat Fritzgerald through the 2020 season. The former All-American linebacker at Northwestern finished his fifth season as head coach and has a record of 34-29. His previous contact ran until 2015, so basically, Fitzgerald is getting a new 10 year deal which starts in 2011. The 10 year contract, is the first of its kind in NU athletic history.
This demonstates NU's increasing committment to athletics. Fitzgerald himself, has remained committed to his alma mater in the face of potential offers (Michigan, Notre Dame, and Stanford all rumored to have interest during their recent coaching searches). Fitzgerald was first approached with the extension in January, but he held off until assurance that NU would improve its athletic facilities in order to remain competitive with recruiting.
According to Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, the contract is worth $1.8 million (NU isn't obligated to release its finanical data).
Previous Story:
The Northwestern blog, Sippin' On Purple, is among several outlets reporting the impending announcement of a contract extension for Pat Fitzgerald. His current contract runs out at the end of the 2015 season.
The NU football coach has led the Wildcats to a record of 34-29 in his five seasons at the helm. Yes, the record doesn't seem terribly impressive, but consider that Coach Fitz is the first coach in school history to lead a team to three consecutive bowl appearances. Also, Fitzgerald will enter the 2011 season only 15 wins shy of tying the NU all-time record for coaching victories. Oh, and he's only 36, still one of the youngest (and most charismatic) coaches in college football.
Considering these facts and the team's past futility, NU is clearly enjoying its best years. While Fitzgerald's extension has been in the works for several months, the details will finally be revealed today during a press conference. (Of course, since Northwestern is a private institution, it is not obligated to release the amount of the contract).
This demonstates NU's increasing committment to athletics. Fitzgerald himself, has remained committed to his alma mater in the face of potential offers (Michigan, Notre Dame, and Stanford all rumored to have interest during their recent coaching searches). Fitzgerald was first approached with the extension in January, but he held off until assurance that NU would improve its athletic facilities in order to remain competitive with recruiting.
According to Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, the contract is worth $1.8 million (NU isn't obligated to release its finanical data).
Previous Story:
The Northwestern blog, Sippin' On Purple, is among several outlets reporting the impending announcement of a contract extension for Pat Fitzgerald. His current contract runs out at the end of the 2015 season.
The NU football coach has led the Wildcats to a record of 34-29 in his five seasons at the helm. Yes, the record doesn't seem terribly impressive, but consider that Coach Fitz is the first coach in school history to lead a team to three consecutive bowl appearances. Also, Fitzgerald will enter the 2011 season only 15 wins shy of tying the NU all-time record for coaching victories. Oh, and he's only 36, still one of the youngest (and most charismatic) coaches in college football.
Considering these facts and the team's past futility, NU is clearly enjoying its best years. While Fitzgerald's extension has been in the works for several months, the details will finally be revealed today during a press conference. (Of course, since Northwestern is a private institution, it is not obligated to release the amount of the contract).
Monday, May 9, 2011
NBA Draft Entry Deadline
Yesterday was the deadline for college underclassmen to withdraw from the NBA Draft, so any player who didn't withdraw, forfeits the rest of their college eligibility.
Fortunately for Northwestern, junior John Shurna withdrew from the NBA Draft, as expected. Many players declare for the draft simply to get feedback from NBA personnel on how to improve their game and end up returning to school. The Wildcats lucked out; they are already losing one of the best players in school history in Michael Thompson, so to lose the player who could be the best player in NU history would have been a huge, huge loss.
Other schools weren't so lucky, as noted on the Yahoo! college basketball blog. Texas' pair of star freshman Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson, will remain in the NBA Draft. The Longhorns could have headed into the 2011-2012 as a preseason Final Four favorite, but it seems like now they will struggle to replace the two star freshman. Now that Nebraska and Colorado have left the Big 12, teams will play 18 conference games instead of 16 (so every Big 12 teams plays a double round robin), which won't make things easier for the Longhorns. However, the Yahoo! list of schools doesn't account for schools like Kansas, who had several players (Markieff and Marcus Morris, Josh Selby) announce their intentions shortly after the end of the NCAA season. It looks like neither Texas or Kansas will enter 2011-12 as strong as they usually enter a season.
Also on the Yahoo! list was Butler's Shelvin Mack announcing that he will be staying in the draft and ending his career with the Bulldogs. For those quick to diminish Butler for next season, remember that their best player two seasons ago, Gordon Hayward, also left early for the NBA and then Butler made it back to their second national championship appearance. Even though, Butler also loses Matt Howard, I wouldn't bet against Butler coach Brad Stevens.
Overall, the 2011 NBA Draft is perceived as "soft" compared to past years where their was a consensus top selection. It looks like the previously popular trend to enter college after one freshman season is being put on hold somewhat. Several of the NCAA's top freshmen, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, Baylor's Perry Jones, and Brandon Knight of Kentucky decided not to enter the NBA draft. In the past few years, talented "one and done players" highlighted the lottery pick selections in the Draft. That is not to say that every star freshman is returning, as Duke point guard Kyrie Irving entered the draft could end up as potentially the #1 overall pick.
Fortunately for Northwestern, junior John Shurna withdrew from the NBA Draft, as expected. Many players declare for the draft simply to get feedback from NBA personnel on how to improve their game and end up returning to school. The Wildcats lucked out; they are already losing one of the best players in school history in Michael Thompson, so to lose the player who could be the best player in NU history would have been a huge, huge loss.
Other schools weren't so lucky, as noted on the Yahoo! college basketball blog. Texas' pair of star freshman Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson, will remain in the NBA Draft. The Longhorns could have headed into the 2011-2012 as a preseason Final Four favorite, but it seems like now they will struggle to replace the two star freshman. Now that Nebraska and Colorado have left the Big 12, teams will play 18 conference games instead of 16 (so every Big 12 teams plays a double round robin), which won't make things easier for the Longhorns. However, the Yahoo! list of schools doesn't account for schools like Kansas, who had several players (Markieff and Marcus Morris, Josh Selby) announce their intentions shortly after the end of the NCAA season. It looks like neither Texas or Kansas will enter 2011-12 as strong as they usually enter a season.
Also on the Yahoo! list was Butler's Shelvin Mack announcing that he will be staying in the draft and ending his career with the Bulldogs. For those quick to diminish Butler for next season, remember that their best player two seasons ago, Gordon Hayward, also left early for the NBA and then Butler made it back to their second national championship appearance. Even though, Butler also loses Matt Howard, I wouldn't bet against Butler coach Brad Stevens.
Overall, the 2011 NBA Draft is perceived as "soft" compared to past years where their was a consensus top selection. It looks like the previously popular trend to enter college after one freshman season is being put on hold somewhat. Several of the NCAA's top freshmen, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, Baylor's Perry Jones, and Brandon Knight of Kentucky decided not to enter the NBA draft. In the past few years, talented "one and done players" highlighted the lottery pick selections in the Draft. That is not to say that every star freshman is returning, as Duke point guard Kyrie Irving entered the draft could end up as potentially the #1 overall pick.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Bradley News & Notes (5/5)
I received an e-mail today from the Chicago Area Bradley Alumni Network notifying of some upcoming events. It looks like Geno Ford is making the rounds to meet alumni and generate some buzz about the basketball team. On June 26th, at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott, the BU Alumni Network is hosting a Complimentary Reception to meet Coach Ford. The event is from 3-5 pm and more information is available via the BU Alumni Office at 800-952-8258.
Today was a good day for Geno Ford's predecessor, Jim Les, who was hired as the head coach at UC-Davis. Les' son Tyler is a guard on the team, and UC-Davis is fairly close to Sacramento where Coach Les played for the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Even though his coaching tenure didn't end on the best note, Jim Les is an important figure in Bradley basketball history and I hope he has a successful tenure at UC-Davis.
Today was a good day for Geno Ford's predecessor, Jim Les, who was hired as the head coach at UC-Davis. Les' son Tyler is a guard on the team, and UC-Davis is fairly close to Sacramento where Coach Les played for the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Even though his coaching tenure didn't end on the best note, Jim Les is an important figure in Bradley basketball history and I hope he has a successful tenure at UC-Davis.
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