College Football Capsules: Texas AD wants Brown to stay as long as he wants
AUSTIN (AP) — Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds says he's committed to keeping football coach Mack Brown for as long as Brown wants to stay.
Texas regents are scheduled Thursday to consider a four-year contract extension to keep the 60-year-old Brown at Texas at least until 2020.
The move is seen as a response to rumors that surfaced after last season that Brown would retire soon or would be forced out.
Dodds declined to discuss specifics of the extension before Thursday's vote. Brown is paid $5.2 million a year with a $100,000 annual raise..
Texas went 8-5 last season with a Holiday Bowl win. Brown is 141-39 in 14 seasons at Texas and won the 2005 national championship.
Big 12
Former Kansas QB seeking release from scholarship
Former University of Kansas quarterback Brock Berglund has hired a lawyer to help him get released from his scholarship so he can play for another school.
The freshman from Denver was dismissed from the squad last week when he didn't attend a mandatory team meeting with the Jayhawks' new coaching staff. He feared that by attending he would be locked in for another semester.
Berglund told The Associated Press in a phone interview that he sent a written request to school administrators in late December asking for permission to speak to other universities, but the request was denied.
The 19-year-old has a meeting scheduled for Friday in Lawrence, Kan., with the university's student-athlete appeals board, which will make a determination on whether the denial of Berglund's transfer request was fair.
He said he found out he had been dismissed from the team through media inquiries and Twitter, not from the school.
"It's confusing and frustrating," Berglund said.
Berglund accepted a scholarship offer from the Jayhawks in 2010 from then-coach Turner Gill. But when Charlie Weis took over the program, he brought more of a pro-style offense to the Jayhawks along with quarterback transfer Dayne Crist, whom he had coached at Notre Dame. Crist will be eligible to play next season because he's already graduated from Notre Dame.
The Jayhawks also added former Brigham Young QB Jake Heaps, who has to sit out a year under NCAA transfer rules.
Berglund said he was told by new quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus that Crist was the starter entering the 2012 season and that Berglund would compete for the backup spot.
"I just want to move on with my life and let the university move on with their life," Berglund said.
The school has declined to comment because the appeal hasn't been heard.
A threat with his arm and his feet, Berglund led Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo., to back-to-back state titles. He was recruited by the likes of UCLA, Boise State, Vanderbilt and Colorado before joining the Jayhawks.
But Berglund had a tumultuous tenure at Kansas. The highly touted quarterback didn't practice with the team last season due to legal issues. He pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge after allegedly punching a man during a party.
Berglund said he would consider transferring to a school in the Pac-12 or the Western Athletic Conference — if the Jayhawks release him from his scholarship.
He called his situation "beyond frustrating," especially because the Jayhawks have welcomed in transfers such as Crist, Heaps and former Oklahoma receiver Justin McCay, all of whom were released from their scholarships at their former universities.
Crist and Heaps were both among the top QBs in the country coming out of high school, while McCay was one of the nation's most explosive wideouts.
Jordan Webb, the Jayhawks' starting quarterback last season, remains in school but is no longer part of the program.
"What is Kansas' overriding interest in refusing to grant (Berglund's) release, other than to punish him for some grievance they believe he's committed?" said Berglund's lawyer, Vince Linden. "I don't know what the grievance is. They never gave him a reason for their denial. They just told him no. Is that decision fair?
"Yet it's his burden to explain before the board (on Friday) why this decision is unfair. That's hard to do when you don't even know the reason for the denial."
--Pat Graham
Mike Stoops gets three-year, $1.8M deal at Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Mike Stoops has received a three-year contract that will pay him $600,000 annually to be the defensive coordinator for Oklahoma, and he'll have a familiar face helping him.
The university's board of regents voted Tuesday to approve the terms of Stoops' employment, which includes a $245,000 base salary and $355,000 for personal services and fundraising. Later in the day, the Sooners announced that Tim Kish — Stoops' former defensive coordinator at Arizona, who succeeded him as interim coach — would be the new linebackers coach.
"We've been together before exchanging ideas and his coaching philosophy has many similarities to what we've been doing at Oklahoma. I feel very confident about Tim and I feel that his arrival, along with Mike, will be a seamless transition for both our coaching staff and players as we look to build on the success we've already accomplished at Oklahoma," head coach Bob Stoops said in a statement.
"Tim is also a great fit as a tireless recruiter who has a strong reputation in the nation's southwest and west and will be a valuable asset for our program in that regard."
Mike Stoops was fired as Arizona's coach during last season and was hired earlier this month to be Oklahoma's co-defensive coordinator. Since then, co-coordinator Brent Venables left to run Clemson's defense.
Kish fills that vacancy. He was Mike Stoops' defensive coordinator the past two seasons, and the Wildcats' linebackers coach since 2004.
"I'm very excited, first and foremost, for myself and my family to be at such a prestigious institution and football program," Kish said in a statement. "The fact that I've known Bob Stoops for over 30 years and have coached with Mike Stoops the last eight years at Arizona made it very enticing for all of us to work together.
"I'm really looking forward to contributing to the football program and helping it continue the high standards expected at Oklahoma."
Kish's hiring still must be approved by the board of regents.
As part of Mike Stoops' new deal, the regents voted to approve a nepotism waiver because he will be working with his brother. Mike Stoops stands to get another $50,000 if he stays with the Sooners through spring practice through May 2013 and again if he stays through May 2014.
Conference Alignment
Navy to board Big East football in 2015
NEW YORK (AP) — Navy is headed to the Big East, giving up more than 130 years of football independence to join a conference that is in the middle of a massive overhaul.
The Big East announced Tuesday that the U.S. Naval Academy has accepted an invitation to join the league for football only, starting in 2015. The conference has now added six new members in the last seven weeks after losing three members and having another school renege on a future commitment in the fall.
"Stability in the Big East was a very important aspect in our discussions with the commissioner," Vice Admiral Michael Miller, superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, said during a teleconference. "What we see is a very bright future for the conference."
Navy has been playing football since 1879 without conference affiliation, but academy officials said they believe independence will be too difficult to maintain as other powerful leagues grow. Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk said scheduling games late in the season, landing desirable television deals and securing bowl bids will become a problem for Navy.
"Opportunities to exist as independents into the future are clearly in jeopardy," he said.
Gladchuk said Navy and the Big East have been talking about the Midshipmen joining the league for a decade, but those talks got serious about a year ago — before the Big East was beset by defections.
"It's a marriage our membership has longed for for many, many years," Big East Commissioner John Marinatto said.
Navy football has been thriving over the last decade. The Midshipmen played in eight straight bowl games before slipping to 5-7 this season and have won a record 10 straight games against rival Army. But Navy's schedule will get tougher playing in the Big East, while keeping its rivalry games against Army, Air Force and Notre Dame.
"We have a definite challenge ahead of us," coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "I feel like there's drift happening between the haves and havenots (in major college football), and I want to be with the haves."
Gladchuk said the Big East will allow Navy to maintain its annual rivalries with Army, Air Force and Notre Dame, and that the Army-Navy game will still be the season finale for both teams, regardless of when a future Big East championship game is played.
"The Army-Navy game remains on that second Saturday in December," he said.
Gladchuk also said that Navy's television deals with CBS and CBS Sports Network had to be accommodated by the Big East.
"Partnership with CBS was one of the reasons this agreement took a little time to finalize," he said.
CBS owns the TV rights to the Army-Navy game and Navy's home games against Notre Dame through 2018. Navy has a separate deal with CBS Sports Network for the TV rights to its other home games that runs through 2017.
"We have a great relationship with the academies, and our deals will be grandfathered for the length of our contracts" said Mike Aresco, executive vice president for programming at CBS Sports.
The Big East's current TV deals run through the 2013 football season. The league is hoping to land a new deal similar to the long-term, billion dollars contracts signed last year by the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pac-12. The Big East needs to know its lineup beyond 2013 before it can negotiate with a television network.
In December, the Big East added Boise State and San Diego State as football-only members and SMU, Houston and Central Florida in all sports. Those schools will join in 2013.
"That Navy would give up 100 years of football independence speaks to the long-term viability of the Big East," Marinatto said.
The Big East is trying to build a 12-team football conference with an eastern and western division and a league championship game. The conference is losing Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference and West Virginia to the Big 12, but it's unclear when.
West Virginia filed a lawsuit against the Big East so it can join the Big 12 in 2012. The Big East sued West Virginia to make the school abide by the league's 27-month notification period, which would keep the Mountaineers in the conference through the 2013-14 school year.
Marinatto said adding Navy does not affect those lawsuits, though as part of a previous agreement between Big East presidents, the addition of the service academy causes the withdrawal fee for current members of the conference to double to $10 million.
A Rhode Island judge has ordered West Virginia and the Big East to enter nonbinding mediation to resolve their competing lawsuits.
Pitt, Syracuse and the ACC have said they will not challenge the Big East bylaws, though West Virginia's situation could change that.
TCU was slated to join the Big East next season, but backed out when it was invited to the Big 12.
-- Ralph D. Russo
Senior Bowl
Upshaw leads Alabama Senior Bowl contingent
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Courtney Upshaw sidled up to his Alabama coach with a big grin and asked, "Do I look slim?"
"Yeah, you do," Nick Saban responded.
Sure, the 6-foot-2, 273-pound linebacker has more to worry about than appearances during the week leading up to Saturday's Senior Bowl, but the thickly-muscled Upshaw has far less to prove than his participating teammates from the national champion Crimson Tide.
Upshaw, safety Mark Barron and Tide underclassmen Trent Richardson and Dre Kirkpatrick are all projected first-round picks, and two or three might even make it into the top 10.
Wide receiver/punt returner Marquis Maze and center William Vlachos have to overcome height deficits while cornerback DeQuan Menzie and tight end Brad Smelley had lower profiles going into the game.
Safety Mark Barron and noseguard Josh Chapman both declined invitations because of injuries.
Upshaw is working at defensive end after playing a hybrid linebacker/end role in the Tide's 3-4 defense. He already has an impressive resume: Butkus and Lombardi Award semifinalist, defensive MVP of the national championship game against LSU, second-team AP All-American.
He has been in demand in Mobile. Officials from several teams stopped to chat after Monday's opening practice, then a security guard dropped by summoning him to visit with Saban.
Upshaw said moving up to the line is an easy transition since he spent plenty of time there at Alabama. He said he still wants to prove that he can do more than just use his power and explosiveness to try to plow through opposing offensive linemen with the bull rush.
"I like to stay humble," said Upshaw, who's aiming to drop about eight pounds. "I like to just go into it like I've got something to prove, and that's what I'm here to do, is to prove that I've got more of a pass rush in my arsenal than what people expect."
Some such highly rated senior prospects choose to skip the game. Upshaw said he wanted the chance compete with other top ends like North Carolina's Quinton Couples.
"I wanted to play regardless," Upshaw said. "It's not because of where I was rated, high or low, it doesn't matter. It's just because of the competition. That's why I'm out here, to compete with these guys and compete with the best."
Upshaw was second in the Southeastern Conference with 18 tackles for loss and had a team-high 9.5 sacks. He finished his Alabama career with seven tackles and a sack to spearhead a defense that limited LSU to 92 total yards.
"I think he has a fantastic future," Saban said. "He's a guy that's really hard to block. He's a good pass rusher. He's got great size and strength to play outside linebacker and be a designated pass rusher on third down. People are always looking for those kind of guys, and I think he's going to fit well with a team, especially a 3-4 team."
Maze and Vlachos, key figures on the two Tide national championship teams, just want to prove they fit well in the NFL.
At a hair under 5-foot-8, the 184-pound Maze is the shortest player on the Senior Bowl rosters. Plus, he's limited by a pulled hamstring sustained early in the championship game and is still testing it to see if he'll be able to play in the game.
"It's very frustrating, because I was looking forward to this game and wanted to play here," Maze said.
He's still had a chance to field punts and embraced the chance to meet with representatives of various NFL teams. "I know I have nothing to hide," Maze said.
Vlachos can't hide his stature. The 6-foot, 306-pounder is easily the shortest of the Senior Bowl offensive linemen.
He's still trying to answer the question, is he big enough to make it at the next level?
"I faced those questions my entire career," Vlachos said. "Maybe one day they can measure the size of the chip on your shoulder. I think that can go a long way in some cases.
"That's kind of always the approach I take is to do my best to prove people wrong and prove that I belong here. That's my goal this week."
He gave NFL scouts plenty of film to review. A finalist for the Rimington Award given to the nation's top center, he started 40 straight games in a league that has won the last six national titles.
Saban, a former Miami Dolphins coach, knows that Vlachos might not measure up to NFL teams' ideal size criteria but said he has the intangibles.
''I think they also do a lot to evaluate a player's character, intelligence, toughness," the Tide coach said. "And William Vlachos is going to be off the charts in all those areas except his height."
-- John Zenor
Arkansas St. linebacker to play in Senior Bowl
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas State linebacker Demario Davis is headed for the 2012 Senor Bowl. Officials announced Tuesday that Davis will play for the North Team in the Jan. 28 game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. He is the seventh Arkansas State to participate in the bowl, and will wear jersey No. 28.
Davis, who made the Lombardi Award Watch List in 2011, had 70 stops for Arkansas State this past season. He completed his career with 230 tackles, 22.5 of those for a loss, seven sacks and four interceptions from his linebacker position.
The Senior Bowl annually features some of the country's best senior collegiate football players and top NFL draft prospects on teams representing the North and South.
Jackson invited to play at Senior Bowl
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee defensive lineman Malik Jackson has been added to the Senior Bowl roster for Saturday's game in Mobile, Ala.
Jackson, from Northridge, Calif., broke up two passes and forced a fumble. He was All-Southeastern Conference in 2011 by the media and second-team by SEC coaches. The lineman was a 2010 Associated Press All-SEC second-team pick when he had 11 tackles for loss and 2 1/2 sacks. He becomes the 118th Volunteer all-time to play in the Senior Bowl.
Major College News & Notes
Cincinnati coach Jones gets contract extension
CINCINNATI (AP) — Coach Butch Jones received a three-year contract extension on Tuesday and a raise for leading Cincinnati to a share of the Big East title and a victory over Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl.
The university's board of trustees approved a deal that had been in the works for months.
Jones took the job after Brian Kelly left for Notre Dame after leading Cincinnati to back-to-back league titles and berths in the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The Bearcats won only four games in Jones' first season, but followed with 10 wins and a share of a third title last season.
The extension runs through the 2017 season and includes raises that will bring his annual salary to $2.05 million by 2017. He also will get annual bonuses for staying of up to $300,000 per year.
Whit Babcock started working on the extension when he became the director of athletics three months ago, impressed by how Jones recovered from the four-win season.
"We had one of the biggest turnarounds, if not the biggest turnaround, in the country," Babcock said. "He fits the imprint of what we want here."
The Bearcats tried to keep Kelly by giving him a contract extension before the 2009 season. Kelly took the Notre Dame job six months later.
Jones left Central Michigan to replace Kelly and received a five-year deal through the 2014 season. He was supposed to make $1.1 million in 2012 under his original deal.
The new contract bumps his salary to $1,575,000 for 2012. It will go up to $1.6 million each of the following two years, $1.65 million in 2015, $1.7 million in 2006 and $2.05 million in 2017. He will get a $300,000 bonus after each of the 2013, 2015 and 2016 seasons if he stays at Cincinnati.
The pool for assistant coaches' salaries also was raised.
Boise State hires Lake to coach Broncos' secondary
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Boise State coach Chris Petersen has turned to the NFL to fill a vacancy on his coaching staff.
Petersen announced Tuesday that Jimmy Lake will be the new coach for the Broncos' defensive backfield and coordinator of pass defense.
Lake coached the last two seasons overseeing defensive backs for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he coached the secondary for the Detroit Lions in 2008.
Before coaching at the professional level, Lake worked at Eastern Washington, Montana State and Washington, where he was responsible for cornerbacks in 2004.
Lake takes over for Marcel Yates, who accepted a coaching position at Texas A&M.
Three Duke football players receive extra year to play
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Three Duke football players have received medical hardship waivers from the Atlantic Coast Conference, giving them another season of eligibility.
The school said Tuesday that defensive end Kenny Anunike (ANN-uh-NICK'-ee), defensive back Lee Butler and backup quarterback Brandon Connette received the waivers.
Anunike and Butler were hurt against Tulane in the fourth game of the year, with Anunike tearing left knee ligaments and Butler suffering an unspecified leg injury.
Connette, who replaced starter Sean Renfree in short-yardage situations, separated a shoulder in the loss to Stanford.
Butler and Anunike will be redshirt seniors this season while Connette will be a redshirt sophomore.
Florida DT Orr settles marijuana possession case
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida defensive tackle Leon Orr has settled two misdemeanor drug charges. Orr accepted a deferred prosecution deal. He must pay $50 in court costs and either an additional $150 fine or 12 ½ hours of community service.
Orr was cited Jan. 10 after a University Police Department officer searched his dorm room and found marijuana, a marijuana pipe and rolling papers on his desk and bedside table, according to a police report. Orr admitted to owning the drug, pipe and papers. He was charged with possession of marijuana under 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors.
Orr's arrest was the ninth involving a Florida player since coach Will Muschamp was hired a year ago and sixth involving marijuana. All six cases ended with deferred prosecution.
Elsewhere
Banaszak named coach in waiting at Robert Morris
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end John Banaszak will take over head coaching duties at Robert Morris at the end of the 2013 season.
The school announced Tuesday that Banaszak will eventually replace Joe Walton, who will step down after spending two decades building the program from scratch.
Banaszak has spent the last nine seasons with the Colonials, including the past four as an assistant head coach focusing on the defensive line and special teams. Robert Morris has finished No. 1 in the Northeastern Conference four times since Banaszak joined the staff.
Walton, who formerly coached the New York Jets, has been the only head coach in the program's history.
The 61-year-old Banaszak played defensive line for the Steelers from 1975-81, helping the team to three Super Bowl titles.
UMaine football players suspended over BB gun case
ORONO, Maine (AP) — Two University of Maine football players have been suspended from the team indefinitely because of their alleged involvement in a pellet gun shooting on campus last week.
Freshman defensive backs Aamad Bush and Malik Walker, both 18, were charged with assault and criminal threatening. Campus police say Bush and Walker fired shots from BB guns at two occupants of a dorm room. Neither victim required medical treatment.
The Bangor Daily News reports athletic director Steve Abbott said Walker and Bush will be prohibited from practicing with the team during winter workouts and spring practices. Their scholarships remain in effect through the end of the semester.
They are due in court Feb. 16. The Black Bears went 9-4 last season and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Sale joins McNeese State football coaching staff
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Rob Sale, who played at LSU and then served on Nick Saban's coaching staff at Alabama, has joined McNeese State as the Cowboys' offensive line coach.
Coach Matt Viator, who announced Sale's hiring Monday, says he looks forward to the experience Sale will bring to the Cowboys' program.
Sale, a Monroe native, began his coaching career in 2006 as the offensive line coach at Catholic High of Pointe Coupee and joined Alabama's staff in 2007. He says he hopes to put forth a unit at McNeese that will be tough, play hard and be fundamentally sound.
Former Tennessee, pro Mitchell dead
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Stan Mitchell, a top rusher for the University of Tennessee in the mid-1960s and an ex-pro player, has died. He was 67.
Mitchell, a three-year starter at fullback for the Volunteers, finished with 1,266 rushing yards. He then played five seasons for the Miami Dolphins. The university said he died Tuesday in his hometown, Sparta. Hunter Funeral Home said services are incomplete.
