Conference USA yesterday promoted interim Commissioner Judy MacLeod to the full-time position, making her the "first woman to guide a conference" competing in the FBS, according to Brett Vito of the DENTON RECORD-CHRONICLE. MacLeod replaces Britton Banowsky, who "left after 13 seasons guiding the league to take over" as Exec Dir of the CFP Foundation. C-USA officials "expressed confidence MacLeod can continue moving the new-look league forward at a time it faces several challenges." C-USA must "negotiate a new television contract before next year." The league also "must help guide its member schools as they adjust to changes in college athletics associated with full-cost-of-attendance scholarships and other added benefits for athletes." MacLeod "has been a member of C-USA’s staff" since '05, and before that she "spent 15 years at Tulsa," including 10 as AD (DENTON RECORD-CHRONICLE, 10/27). In Louisiana, Sean Isabella notes the C-USA BOD yesterday morning "unanimously approved" MacLeod's appointment. She is "just the third commissioner in C-USA history." MacLeod: "I can't tell you how excited and how fortunate I feel to have this opportunity. It's really a humbling day for me" (Monroe NEWS-STAR, 10/27).
ON THE TO-DO LIST: In Ohio, Zach Greenwell notes among MacLeod's "first major undertakings as commissioner will be finalizing the negotiations for the league's next TV deal." MacLeod said the deal "will hopefully wrap up here in the next couple of months." Western Kentucky Univ. President Gary Ransdell said the BOD discussed "new innovations" and the impact Internet viewing will have on the process in the next few years. Ransdell added he expects C-USA to take a "shorter-term perspective than a longer-term perspective with full anticipation that the swings in the marketplace will continue." Ransdell: "We don't want to lock [ourselves] into any long-term dynamic that we might regret in a few years" (BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS, 10/27). In West Virginia, Doug Smock notes C-USA has "several media contracts expiring after this season, including a five-year deal with Fox Sports and a five-year deal with ESPN for the football championship game" (CHARLESTON GAZETTE-MAIL, 10/27).
I'M EVERY WOMAN: CBSSPORTS.com's Jon Solomon noted Banowsky "publicly and privately pushed for the hiring of his No. 2 in the C-USA office." Women "don't just need a mentor to break through college sports barriers; they need someone who fights for them to be promoted." Solomon: "In 2015, we finally have a woman commissioner in one of the 10 most prominent college sports conferences. This is progress." MacLeod becomes the first woman to "oversee a conference in which football dollars rule, even in a lower-tiered conference like C-USA." The "sad truth of this story is that it's newsworthy." MacLeod has her "own set of big issues to tackle." MacLeod said that she "wants C-USA schools to better know each other," and she "believes C-USA must be a multi-bid league in the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments" (CBSSPORTS.com, 10/26).
CENTER OF ATTENTION: In Virginia, Dave Johnson writes now that MacLeod has "broken the glass ceiling, she understands the attention." MacLeod: "I had people ask me when I was an AD, and I’m sure I’ll get it now: ‘Do you feel like you have to do a better job because you’re setting a standard?’ And I’ll tell you, nobody’s going to put more pressure on me than me. I know I need to do a great job, but I need to do a great job for our 14 schools and their universities, campuses, communities and student-athletes. If I can do a great job and more women are benefited by getting opportunities to interview for jobs and possibly get these type of jobs, I’m happy to do that" (Hampton Roads DAILY PRESS, 10/27).
