#10: Ivy League football programs will wear decals with the initials of Dartmouth Football HC Buddy Teevens on their helmets this season to show their continued support of Teevens, his family and the Dartmouth community. (link)
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#9: NCAA Assoc. Director of Communications Meghan Durham Wright confirms to Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde that “there have been threats against committee members and their families” and “threats to show up at their places of work” following the decision to reject North Carolina WR Tez Walker’s eligibility waiver. Forde notes an Asst. AD at James Madison even had to have his contact info deleted from the JMU website and two other administrators at different schools locked their X (formerly Twitter) accounts. Forde goes on to argue that UNC “bears some responsibility in ginning up a mob mentality in a segment of its fan base” and writes: “North Carolina complaining about the NCAA being unfairly harsh is rich, given the fact that the basketball program famously got away unpunished with decades of academic fraud because it out-lawyered the NCAA.” Also: “[Tar Heels Football HC Mack] Brown has been Captain Guardrails for years in college football, decrying the terrible state of the game from NIL to the transfer portal. He’s quite possibly been the loudest Cassandra in a profession full of them.” More from Forde. (link)
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#8: James Madison AD Jeff Bourne will retire this spring after a quarter-century leading the Dukes, per the Richmond Times-Dispatch's David Teel. On his tenure, Bourne tells Teel: “After a 25-year reign, it’s time to let somebody else take the helm. This has been a tremendous run for me, for my family. ... I want to spend a lot more time with (them) doing all those things that this professional lifestyle doesn’t allow you to do. ... The one thing for me that really stands out about JMU is our culture, and our culture is built on our relationships. ... That’s why I stayed here. Could have gone a lot of other places and chased money and done things of that nature. But for me it was about staying in an environment where you really enjoyed the people you worked with, you had great coaches and wonderful student-athletes, and we had the opportunity here to always continue to build and grow and get better.” (link)
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#7: Clemson Deputy AD Kevin White and Notre Dame Deputy AD Yulander Wells Jr. sit down with AthleticDirectorU’s Tai M. Brown to dive into how they add value to their ADs, their institutions and their staff from the Deputy AD position. White and Wells discuss the dual roles of a Deputy AD – the daily “keep the trains running” perspective and the long-term strategic thinking aspect – noting that effective Deputy ADs have the ability to serve as a conduit for an AD’s vision. They also offer insight into how they evaluate talent, including hiring and firing staff, and talk about balancing resources for football with supporting other sports. On that topic of talent evaluation, White says it starts with building relationships. “You’ve got to go beyond the reference lists. I don’t think anybody’s going to put somebody on a reference list that’s going to give them a bad reference.” White also emphasizes that “you have to be dedicated to the process in order to make sure it's an open search. You cast a wide net…and you use your network appropriately where you can actually get the best intel on who you’re getting as a person.” Lots more from White and Wells. (link)
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#6: Oregon State showed off the fully renovated Reser Stadium last weekend with a win over UC Davis. JohnCanzano.com’s namesake has a ton of pictures of the new digs. Lots of sharp touches. (link)
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#5: First there was Sister Jean at Loyola and now there is Peggy Coppom, the 98-year-old superfan, at Colorado. Two weeks in a row now she has been spotted dancing with Buffs Football HC Deion Sanders after victories. Even CU AD Rick George showed off his moves after Saturday's win over Nebraska. (link)
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#4: Last Saturday, Clemson cut the ribbon on the newly improved Tiger Walk outside of Memorial Stadium, featuring a new entrance, a designated concrete pathway and the names of every team captain in program history. Scroll down for ribbon cutting photos and a drone footage tour. (link)
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#3: Fifteen Dartmouth men’s basketball players have filed a petition with the NLRB to unionize and join SEIU Local 560. (link, link)
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#2: High-profile sexual violence prevention educator Brenda Tracy has accused Michigan State Football HC Mel Tucker of misconduct. MSU launched an investigation into Tracy’s claims back in December with hearings set for early next month. Tucker, in a March letter to investigators in connection to what he says was consensual phone sex between the two as their relationship developed: “Ms. Tracy’s distortion of our mutually consensual and intimate relationship into allegations of sexual exploitation has really affected me. I am not proud of my judgment and I am having difficulty forgiving myself for getting into this situation, but I did not engage in misconduct by any definition.” USA Today’s Kenny Jacoby with all the details. (link); Michigan State has suspended Football HC Mel Tucker without pay as it continues its investigation into sexual harassment allegations against him. (link); ESPN’s Dan Murphy: “Important distinction on the Mel Tucker suspension after the press conference: MSU's leadership (including Alan Haller) knew there was a complaint made against Mel Tucker in late December. They did not know any details until last night, a school spokeswoman confirmed. Title IX and sexual misconduct experts say this is the proper, trauma-informed protocol for how to handle this kind of complaint. Tucker's bosses should not have known the details during an open case. … The university spokeswoman said the official reason for Tucker's suspension is ‘unprofessional behavior and not living up to the core values of the department and university.’ They didn't learn Tucker had admitted to any sexual encounters until this weekend.” (link)
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#1: Former Baylor Football HC Art Briles is the father-in-law of Oklahoma Offensive Coordinator Jeff Lebby and as such was at OU’s game against SMU last weekend and spent time with his family on the field after the game. Sooners AD Castiglione: I “was just as disappointed as many of our fans when I learned of the postgame situation. It shouldn’t have happened and it was my expectation it never would, based on boundaries we previously set. I’ve addressed it with the appropriate staff.” OU HC Venables said the situation is “being dealt with.” (link)
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