Big Ten Expansion Talk

At a downtown Chicago hotel, the focus of the college athletic world centered on a bunch of coaches, faculty reps and athletic directors. The reason for the attention is the recent talk of the Big Ten on expansion, the first since Penn State joined the league in the early 90s. National writers joined the school's beat reporters for a chance to get a quote from Commissioner Delaney or one of the famed head coaches of a nation's elite programs. Hovering in the swanky hotel lobby, reporters on laptops joined local tv station cameramen for any comment or response on where the Big Ten is heading.

Among those who caught the media's attention was Northwestern Football Coach, Pat Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald works the Windy City media scene hard. In a sports town which follows the Bulls, Bears, White Sox, Cubs and Stanley Cup Semi-fianlist Blackhawks, Fitzgerald works hard to get his Wildcats into the media headlines. When he isn't promoting his University through a Chicago media outlet, he works the current social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to connect to the computer savvy youth. He'll do whatever it takes, but a crowd that surrounded him on this May morning was more interested in his take of a potential super-conference rather than how the 'Cats will fare coming off their first New Year's Day bowl in almost fifteen years. Fitzgerald knows that as long as his face is in front of the camera, or his comments reach the newspapers and their web sites, what ever the topic, it is good for Northwestern Football.

Michigan football coach, Rich Rodriguez had more to talk about than Big Ten expansion. A day after news hit that self-imposed sanctions would be made on his football program due to NCAA regulated contact hours, Rodriguez had to face the media for the first time. Although the Wolverines haven't been to a bowl under the two years of Rodriguez, the attention to the Michigan program doesn't wane. Reporters hung on every word, and Rodriguez was among the most accomodating of all coaches to the media.

College Football Week 12

We are re-visited by the original yound lady that started our weekly look at cheerleaders in this weekly posting. Brianna of UCLA is courtesy of Sports Illustrated. As said on the SI.com site, she is a Green Bay Packer fan. Good enough for me to highlight her a second time. It is also apporpriate to highlight her as the rivalry of the two BCS LA schools face each other at the Coliseum on Saturday. As the USC Marching Band tweeted today, "It's TROY WEEK! "High up in the hills of Westwood, sprawled offensive to the eye, lies a Cal extension campus known as Westwood High..." No other sport has the rivalries like College Football....Notre Dame lost for the fifth time in their home finale to Connecticut. It is hard to find anyone defending the Irish head coach, Charlie Weis as most have him packing up his office once he returns from Palo Alto this weekend. There are many reasons / excuses thrown out as to how difficult it is to win in South Bend, but there are many advantages to coaching in this Northern Indiana college town. Facilities are unrivaled, support is strong by administration and alumni, and national recognition is second to none. Many names are being thrown out as to Charlie's successor including Urban Meyer at Florida, Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, and Brian Kelley at Cincinnati. The one supposed knock against Notre Dame are the tough academic equirements. If this is such a concern, Notre Dame needs to expand their search beyond the aforementioned names. Meyer and Stoops have established programs have nothing to gain by making the move. Kelley is at an institution that allows him to bring in students that a Notre Dame may decline. If this is the case is Kelley the right match? The one proven coach who has dealt with tough academic guidelines and has a great name in the local recruiting area of South Bend is Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern. This young coach has done an outstanding coaching job with lesser talent playing similar teams facing Notre Dame. While it would take much to lure Fitzgerald from his alma mater, it will be tough for him to do much more in the Big Ten Conference....Michigan. Wether or not the fans in Ann Arbor want a change, there will be no such change coming. A fan or not of Rich Rodriguez he does deserve at least one more year to get the program back into the top ten that the Wolverine fans are accustomed to. It will also be hard to lure a good coach to Michigan with their Athletic Director on the clock before retiring September 4, 2010. If a change at the top of the football program is to come, a new AD must be hired first. The Wolverines aren't prepared to do that. Michigan fans should be patient as well. Those who wanted Les Miles of LSU in 2007 will have one more year to evaluate him as the Tigers head coach. Miles, who won the National Championship in his third year with the school has had troubles acheiving such level since. While his teams have been very good in a tough SEC, they haven't reached the SEC title game.