Potentially bad news for brother Joe (jcruse64) today. It has been announced that beginning in the '12-'13 season, Belmont will be leaving the Atlantic Sun conference and shall join the OVC instead. I could easily see them becoming the dominant team in that league . . . which would not bode well for Joe's MSU Racers.
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That could make it interesting. Also, Morehead State has been coming on strong the last few seasons. It looks like a good move for them, with a much less onerous road travel ordeal. Should be good for the OVC too.

Head Coach Billy Kennedy is reportedly going to Texas A&M on Monday, replacing former coach Mark Turgeon, who got the Maryland job. Good luck to BK; he was not my favorite Racer coach, but he had an excellent run with them, and was well liked and respected by the community and university.
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I agree that the travel ordeal should be significantly eased by Belmont's inclusion in the more centrally located OVC. Yet knowing them, I feel sure they wil still schedule a few top opponents at a distance from Nashville.

And yes, Coach Kennedy will be going to College Station TX to lead the Aggies. He had good success with the Racers, and should be able to make the transition to this next level. Only one caveat/quibble from me: He is only 47 years old, and has spent the past five at Murray State. But aside from being a former assistant at A&M, he has also spent bench time at Wyoming, Tulane, Creighton, California, New Orleans, Southeastern Louisiana, Miami, Northwestern State, and Centenary.

That's what, eleven jobs in maybe 25 years . . . or, subtracting his five at MSU, 10 in 20? Hmmmmmm. :-)

As for your sake, Joe, I hope you find a good replacement for him.
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Developing news out of Storrs, home of the reigning national champion UConn Huskies. Though it has not been announced officially, it does seem likely that UConn will lose two more scholarships next season because they failed to meet the NCAA's APR (Academic Performance Rating) over the last four years. The minimum rating is 925, whereas their 4-year total is 893, with the score for the '09-'10 season being a paltry 826.

If you know anything at all about Jim Calhoun, it will not surprise you that he denies any personal responsibility for this problem, stating at a recent Husky Day rally "If because someone left early or didn't finish, all those various things that get you . . . when you have 16 kids leave in a 10-year period, you are more likely to be more open to (a low APR) happening." Of course, the fact that he recruits "kids" who have no interest in obtaining an education plays no factor in the matter. :-)

Sadly for him, his university does not exactly see it that way. A clause in his contract requires him to donate $100,000 to a scholarship program (what irony there!) if his program doesn't meet the APR. And to add injurious insult to insulting injury, he will also forfeit his postseason bonus of $87,500.

But he DOES get to keep the national championship . . . at least, for now. :-)
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There's sort of an odd and interesting situation that's developed out of State College over the past week. Ed DeChellis surprised people last week when he resigned as head coach of Penn State to take the vacant job at Navy. In itself, this seems a bit strange to me. But that alone is not what's struck me. PSU decided to seek the advise of Eddie Fogler in their search for a new basketball coach. Then it was reported that Larry Brown has expressed interest in acceptiing the position, but the AD thinks he is not a good fit for several reason (age, lack of recent recruiting experience, fears he'd want too much money, his peripathetic history, etc.). However, PSU is apparently looking into both East Carolina's Jeff Lebo and Tulsa's Doug Wojcik.

OK, so here's the thing:

Eddie Fogler = A Tar Heel, played for Dean Smith.
Larry Brown = A Tar Heel, played for Frank McGuire and Dean Smith.
Jeff Lebo = A Tar Heel, played for Dean Smith.
Doug Wojcik = Not a Tar Heel. But was an assistant at Notre Dame and UNC for Matt Doherty, a Tar Heel who played for Dean Smith.

Wassup with dat? Am I seeing stuff that ain't there, or what? :-)
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I could be wrong but they are stuck with Paterno and they might be afraid to bring another legend on board until they can lose Papa Joe.
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Good point, but it also sort of shoots holes in the objection to Brown's age of 70, when compared to Paterno's 84 . . . and counting. :-)
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OK, I admit I don't know what to think of this one. It's a bit of a head-scratcher, and I believe a few of you will either laugh or cry "FOUL!", yet it thus needs to be reported.

The Univeristy of Detroit has announced that, in a ceremony to be held early this coming December, the home court of their Titans will be named after . . . Dick Vitale. Dicky V, long-time college hoops analyst, was the coach of the team for a brief time, between 1973-1977, achieved a 'meh" record of 78-30, was named AD in April '77, then left a year later to become the coach of the Pistons.

To me, I don't care if you like or hate him as an analyst, you still can't totally denigrate his "impact" on sports broadcasting. Yet his contribution specifically to UD hoops seems pretty menial to me. Hey, he's not exactly Hank Iba, Phog Allen, Adolph Rupp, John Wooden, Dean Smith, or Lou Carnesecca.
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...or John Chaney :-)...agreed !




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Two stories of note, one sad and one sadly shockingly unsurprising:

Sixteen-year-old Indiana high school star Austin Hatch, a recent recruit accepted by the University of Michigan, is in a drug-induced coma while he attempts to recover from brain swelling following an airplane crash on Friday. His father, Stephen Hatch, was the pilot, and both he and Austin's stepmother Kim were killed in the crash. The elder Hatch was also the pilot in a 2003 crash which Austin survived, but which killed his mother and two siblings. Although there are some encouraging signs that Austin's condition is improving, it is still too early to state that he will recover, or even survive.

Meanwhile, in Lexington KY, the University of Kentucky has announced it has given John Calipari a new 8-year contract worth $36.5 million, plus incentives. This announcement follows Calipari's proposal made last week that UK should champion a drive to persuade 63 other teams to flee the NCAA and form their own multi-division league, thus freeing them of the restrictive rules and regulations of that governing body, which would allow them (for instance) to award their athletes a stipend of $3,000 - $5,000 per annum in spending money . . . which Cal likely has on him at any given moment.
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