Monday Chalktalk NCAAF News & Notes for January 14
editor1 |Jan 14,2008
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Courtesy National Football Foundation -
www.footballfoundation.com
NFF Presents MacArthur Trophy to LSU
National Football Foundation President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell
presented the NFF's MacArthur Trophy to LSU head coach Les Miles
and his national championship team at a press conference last
Tuesday at the Marriott New Orleans and Convention Center.
Representing the pinnacle of team achievement in college sports,
the trophy was the gift of an anonymous donor in honor of NFF
tri-founder General Douglas A. MacArthur and features his famous
quote: "There is no substitute for victory." The 2007 LSU team
will have its name etched on the silver trophy, which will be on
display in Baton Rouge, La., until the end of the 2008 season.
LSU reached a milestone 20th bowl victory (20-18-1) by capturing
the Allstate BCS National Championship Game and became the 11th
all- time FBS member to hit that mark. The Tigers also become
the first school to win two BCS national championships in the
10-year history series. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco
declared last Wednesday "LSU Day."
LSU estimated its largest weekly sale of licensed football
merchandise in history from Jan. 6- 13. The Tigers' seniors
closed with a school-most 47 wins in four seasons.
NFF News
For the first time ever, two students were honored as National
Co-Captains for the NFF's highly acclaimed Play It Smart
program. Ian Solomon of New Rochelle (N.Y.) High School and
Jeremy Kurz of Cheyenne (Wyo.) East HS were selected in the
closest vote in Play It Smart history. Both winners received a
plaque commemorating the honor.
Two-Minute Drill
NCAA FBS scoring and average team total offense figures for 2007
reached all-time highs, averaging 28.4 points per game and 392
total offense yards. There were also eight more plays on average
(72 to 64 in 2006) because of the longer intervals, and total
offense production was up 45.1 yards per game from '06. In 2005,
the average number of plays was 71 along with 379.8 yards of
total offense.
Danny Hope will become Purdue's head coach in 2009, succeeding
Joe Tiller, who will retire following the '08 season... Air
Force head coach Troy Calhoun agreed in principle to a new
five-year deal... Marion Hobby was hired as defensive
coordinator at Duke... BYU promoted Jaime Hill to defensive
coordinator... Frank Cignetti was hired as California's
offensive coordinator... Danny Nutt, brother of new Ole Miss
head coach Houston Nutt, will join the Rebels as the assistant
athletic director for player development. College Football Hall
of Famer Tracy Rocker was hired as the defensive line coach for
the Rebels... Dave Huxtable is the new defensive coordinator at
UCF... Dave Clawson has been named offensive coordinator at
Tennessee... Calvin Magee was hired as associate head
coach/offensive coordinator at Michigan... Tim Walton is the new
defensive coordinator at Memphis... Arkansas hired Mark
Robinson as its director of football operations and Dean
Campbell as its director of high school operations... Nolan
Cromwell was named Texas A&M's offensive coordinator... Southern
Miss hired Darrell Wyatt as offensive coordinator and Todd
Bradford as defensive coordinator... Texas RB coach Ken Rucker
will become the Longhorns' new director of high school relations
and player development... Carl Clapp has been selected as
interim director of athletics at Hawaii.
Alabama will play Clemson at the Georgia Dome in the 2008 season
opener for both schools. It will be the first meeting of the
teams in 33 years. The game, which is intended to launch a
tradition of season openers at the Dome, will be aired on ESPN
or ABC and organized by the Chick-Fil-A Bowl staff... Clemson
and South Carolina State will play in football for the first
time in '08... Alabama (55 bowl appearances), Tennessee (47),
Texas (47), Southern California (46), and Nebraska (44) kept the
all-time top five positions in bowl appearances after 2007-08
tilts... The Mountain West Conference captured the Bowl
Challenge Classic with a .800 winning percentage for postseason
2007-08 and 4-1 bowl record... Famed novelist John Grisham
(Mississippi State undergrad, Ole Miss law) will be the featured
speaker at an athletics' fundraiser for Delta State (Miss.).
Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom has won the 2007
Grant Teaff Award... The Gridiron Club of Boston chose
Connecticut's Randy Edsall as FBS National Coach of the Year...
Former Oklahoma standout Lee Roy Selmon was presented with his
Outland Trophy during a banquet honoring the 2007 winner LSU's
Glenn Dorsey last Thursday. For many years, the Outland award
did not include a trophy. Thus, it's become tradition in recent
years for former winners to be brought back to receive a
trophy... Longtime conference commissioner and NCAA officer Dr.
James Frank received the NCAA's prestigious Gerald Ford Award
last Sunday at the 43rd annual NCAA Honors Celebration in
Nashville, Tenn. Also honored at the event with the
organization's Silver Anniversary Award were Todd Blackledge
(Penn State) and Cormac Carney (UCLA)..... Kentucky LB Terry
Clayton (who plays despite a missing portion of his arm) has won
the inaugural Rudy Award for courage and leadership... The AT&T
All-America Player of the Year (chosen by internet fan voting)
is consensus Freshman All-America Michael Crabtree of Texas
Tech... Delaware has won the FCS division of the Lambert Cup for
the 19th time as top team from its subdivision in the East...
The Football Writers Association of America and AON Insurance
released their seventh annual Freshman All-America team. For
more information, please visit www.sportswriters.net/fwaa... The
East-West Shrine Game has designated its 2008 Hall of Fame
Class, and the group includes Purdue's Dave Butz, College
Football Hall of Famer Minnesota's Carl Eller, SMU's Forrest
Gregg, Texas Tech's E.J. Holub, Penn State's Lenny Moore, and
Utah's Larry Wilson... Wake Forest's 34th Athletics Hall of Fame
class includes former football- basketball standout Rusty
LaRue.
Washington head coach Tyrone Willingham was elected president of
the American Football Coaches Association. The AFCA also named
its coaches of the year: FBS - Mark Mangino (Kansas); FCS -
Jerry Moore (Appalachian State); Division II - David Dean
(Valdosta State); Division III - Lance Leipold
(Wisconsin-Whitewater); and Mike Van Diest (Carroll College).
The finalists for the 22nd annual Davey O'Brien Foundation High
School scholarships are Shelly Foran of Highland Park HS,
Michael Randall of Dallas Jesuit, Meg Raymond of Episcopal
School, Jessica Schauwecker of Arlington Oakridge, and Jack
Squiers of Irving Cistercian Prep. The winner receives a $20,000
tuition grant for college and will be recognized at the 31st
annual Davey O'Brian Awards Banquet in Fort Worth, Texas, on
Feb. 18.
Jim Dooley, 77, head coach of the Chicago Bears from 1968-71, a
standout defensive back at Miami (Fla.) and first round draft
choice in the NFL in 1952 before passed away... Mitch Farney,
slotback for the University of Hawaii, passed away last Tuesday.
He was 20.
Key NFF Dates
May 1: Announcement of 2008 Hall of Fame Class
July 18-19: College Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival
South Bend, Ind.
July 23-27: NFF Play It Smart National Conference
Arlington, Texas
Dec. 9: NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf=Astoria
www.footballfoundation.com
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