SBJ College: NACDA Gets Noisy
Just rocked a Rock Steady Boxing class. My instructor’s favorite line to me: "Get your gloves up!"
Here’s what is cooking on campus:
HUSTLE & BUSTLE FROM THE NACDA CONVENTION
Attending a dinner at the NACDA event were (l-r) Colgate's Nicki Moore, Texas A&M's Ross Bjork, Ball State's Beth Goetz, Pitt's Heather Lyke, Debbie Yow, LEAD1's Tom McMillen, UNLV's Desiree Reed-Francois, Boston College's Martin Jarmond, UNLV's Megan Caligiuri, UAB's Mark Ingram
- It’s rare to see breaking news when top college officials get together for their annual convention, but it’s not a normal time in college athletics. Here are my takeaways from the NACDA gathering in Orlando this week.
- Headline: NCAA official says stiff penalties coming.
- Beyond the headline: The NCAA is under intense pressure to impose strong penalties against cheating basketball programs. While NCAA officials don’t normally talk about ongoing cases, Exec VP/Regulatory Affairs Stan Wilcox broke protocol and delivered some tough language for schools under investigation. “You will see consequences,” Wilcox said during a panel discussion. Some in the room were stunned, because they thought Wilcox might have shown prejudice by promising strong punishment. I fully expect schools under investigation to use that in their defense.
- Beyond the headline: The NCAA is under intense pressure to impose strong penalties against cheating basketball programs. While NCAA officials don’t normally talk about ongoing cases, Exec VP/Regulatory Affairs Stan Wilcox broke protocol and delivered some tough language for schools under investigation. “You will see consequences,” Wilcox said during a panel discussion. Some in the room were stunned, because they thought Wilcox might have shown prejudice by promising strong punishment. I fully expect schools under investigation to use that in their defense.
- Headline: Transfers should have to sit, commissioner says.
- Beyond the headline: In an attempt to put horses back in the barn, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said he’d prefer a requirement that all student athletes sit out a year when they transfer. For some time, this discussion has been going the other way, as the NCAA and schools have been looking for ways to make it easier to transfer. So it was intriguing to hear Bowlsby go against the grain. His rationale is sound -- athletes who transfer tend to fall behind academically and take longer to graduate. But the idea of restricting movement flies in the face of today’s narrative.
- Beyond the headline: In an attempt to put horses back in the barn, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said he’d prefer a requirement that all student athletes sit out a year when they transfer. For some time, this discussion has been going the other way, as the NCAA and schools have been looking for ways to make it easier to transfer. So it was intriguing to hear Bowlsby go against the grain. His rationale is sound -- athletes who transfer tend to fall behind academically and take longer to graduate. But the idea of restricting movement flies in the face of today’s narrative.
- Headline: NACDA honors Yow.
- Beyond the headline: The most photographed woman in Orlando this week was Debbie Yow, the longtime AD who had stops at N.C. State, Maryland and Saint Louis. Not only was she honored with NACDA’s prestigious James J. Corbett Award, but just about every gathering at the convention included a tip of the cap to her work as a trailblazing female AD. I caught up with Yow this morning as she boarded her flight out of Orlando and she clearly was touched by all the attention. “It’s kind of surreal,” Yow said. “I guess, from a female perspective, I just didn’t understand the impact I had. It was a really special week.”
- Beyond the headline: The most photographed woman in Orlando this week was Debbie Yow, the longtime AD who had stops at N.C. State, Maryland and Saint Louis. Not only was she honored with NACDA’s prestigious James J. Corbett Award, but just about every gathering at the convention included a tip of the cap to her work as a trailblazing female AD. I caught up with Yow this morning as she boarded her flight out of Orlando and she clearly was touched by all the attention. “It’s kind of surreal,” Yow said. “I guess, from a female perspective, I just didn’t understand the impact I had. It was a really special week.”
SHELL GAME FOR ST. MARY'S AT THE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Shell (l) during his assistant coaching days at St. Mary's under Randy Bennett (r)
- Dan Shell is returning to his college basketball roots for a week or two this summer. Shell, who oversees the college division at Oak View Group and was an SBJ "Forty Under 40" honoree in 2015, will coach a team named Gael Force in The Basketball Tournament next month. The 64-team event awards a $2 million winner-take-all prize.
- Before moving over to the business side with jobs at IMG College and Fox Sports, Shell was an assistant coach on Randy Bennett’s staff at St. Mary’s from 2001-08. Gael Force is a collection of players who came out of the West Coast Conference school -- some of whom Shell coached.
SPEED READS
- The Huntington Herald-Dispatch's Chuck Landon had some harsh words for Conference USA leadership in his latest column, taking issue with revenue challenges and a quirky spot for conference basketball tournaments. He wrote, "Every major college conference has issues. And then there's Conference USA. This league is sinking so fast it's as if league officials charted a course for the Bermuda Triangle."
- Utah AD Mark Harlan shed some light on what the Pac-12 is looking for in an equity investment partner. Speaking on “The Bill Riley Show” on KLAA in Salt Lake City, he said: "It has to be someone who is strategic. It can’t just be a VC that’s coming in and providing money. It has to be someone who can help us navigate the landscape of television and broadcasting in general.” Harlan also conceded if a partner were to come on board with some $750 million in hand, they would naturally get a significant say in conference initiatives. He expects an outcome sometime this summer.
- Questions have arisen about Washington’s handling of a 2017 sexual assault case involving a UW athletic exec and a former volleyball player. Seattle Times writer Asia Fields tells the story based on documents from an open-records request. We haven’t heard the last of this.
- The truth is that track & field venues are not near the top of most schools' priority lists, so it was good to read a quote from South Carolina coach Curtis Frye about new venues in Columbia and the effect they have had: "We’ve been behind for years. [AD] Ray Tanner came on board and things changed. Within two years of this [indoor facility] opening, you can see how we can get back to contending for national titles. We went through that period where we were not competitive in this league or the nation, but with facilities, you’re either a Jones or you’re not.”
THROWBACK THURSDAY
- Three years ago this week, Jeremy Foley announced his retirement after 25 years as Florida AD. During his tenure in Gainesville, the Gators collected 27 national championships. Foley was -- and remains -- a Gator lifer, starting as an intern in the ticket office in 1976 and working his way up to the top job. The Orlando Sentinel’s Edgar Thompson wrote at the time that whoever followed Foley will "face the unenviable task of succeeding a legend." Foley now carries the title of AD Emeritus.
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