College Football Capsules: Bowden praised on his weekly call-in show
Comments 0TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Bobby Bowden had hoped to coach another year.
The Florida State coach said Thursday on his weekly call-in television show that he wanted to return for another season, but his retirement gives him and his wife Ann an opportunity to travel.
"It's about time to get out and go see the world," he said when asked about his future plans. "I hope to travel a lot."
Bowden said he plans to leave Tallahassee and would not coach again.
"I'm too old," the 80-year-old Bowden said. "Ann and I are just going to become spectators."
Bowden said he didn't want to hang around and be asked to comment on how his successor, Jimbo Fisher, was doing.
"I don't think it's right for people to stay here and have people asking me what do you think about his, or think about that," Bowden said. "I'll probably try to get away for a year and let this coach make this transition. I won't have any connection for awhile."
Bowden said he hopes to stay busy with speaking engagements.
Bowden said he was thankful for his long coaching career, highlighted by working with young men and meeting many families over nearly six decades on the sidelines.
In Bowden's 34 seasons at Florida State, the Seminoles won 315 games, a dozen Atlantic Coast Conference titles, two national championships and were ranked in the top five in The Associated Press poll for 14 straight years.
His 388 career wins are second only to Penn State's Joe Paterno among major college coaches.
Bowden, who announced his retirement Tuesday, said he'd be pulling for Florida State the rest of his life.
"Even though I won't be coaching, I know these kids and know what they can do," Bowden said. "I'll be their biggest fan."
Gene Deckerhoff, who hosts Bowden's weekly Thursday call-in show, summed up the sentiments of many callers.
"Thursdays just won't be the same," said Deckerhoff, the longtime voice of the Seminoles.
Saturdays won't either.
Jones and Solich will match wits in MAC title game
DETROIT — Frank Solich has revived his career, giving Ohio a legitimate football team.
Central Michigan coach Butch Jones is just getting started, winning so many games in three years that his boss is afraid of losing him.
Solich and his Ohio Bobcats (9-3, 7-1 MAC) will face the Jones-led Central Michigan Chippewas (10-2, 8-0) on Friday night in the Mid-American Conference championship game.
Solich was fired by Nebraska after going 9-3 in 2003 and 58-19 overall in six seasons at his alma mater. Ohio hired him two years later and he has given the school a chance to win its first MAC title since 1968.
"I'm very proud of what our team has been able to accomplish," Solich said. "We've gotten better as the season has gone on, and we're playing our best football right now."
The Bobcats won their last four games to clinch the MAC's East Division, getting stronger toward the end of the season with a physical brand of football that Solich says stemmed from successful signings.
"You recruit it," said Solich, who also recruited some of the top running backs at Nebraska. "That's not really something you can teach at that level. Players either have that innate capability or they don't. You can give them technique, but they have to be physical before you get them."
Senior receiver Taylor Price said it was an easy decision to become a Bobcat when he was recruited by Solich.
"I knew I'd be getting coached by one of the best in the country," Price said. "This was a coach who had been in big games, with big-time programs and great players."
Jones was assisting Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia when Central Michigan made him a head coach for the first time after Brian Kelly left to lead Cincinnati.
It has turned out to be a fantastic hire.
Jones is 21-3 against the MAC and 26-13 overall, winning a game at Michigan State this season.
He is the only coach in school history to coach in consecutive bowl games and he'll extend the feat to three straight this year.
"Our players have had a a target on their back since I got here and they've responded very well in every way," Jones said. "We've created a foundation that has built a championship culture that pushes all of us to be winners on and off the field."
Regardless of the outcome of Friday night's game at Ford Field, Central Michigan athletic director David Heeke won't be surprised if he gets a phone call from another school asking for permission to interview Jones.
He was a candidate to replace Rodriguez at West Virginia two years ago after winning a MAC title — Central Michigan responded by giving him a two-year extension — and there might be openings this offseason that Jones would consider.
"We have put together another, five-year contract for Butch that would increase his salary and give him an opportunity to earn more bonuses," Heeke said. "It's our hope that will help him choose to stay here. The reality is, I might start getting calls about him after the game. I take it as a compliment when people want to talk to your coach.
"It's been well documented that if you can have success in this league — as Butch has — you're a good football coach because you have to do a lot with a little."
-- Larry Lage
Hofstra ends football; cites costs, weak interest
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — With costs growing and few students even bothering to go to the games, Hofstra shut down its football team.
The decision came in a unanimous vote by the board of trustees Wednesday night, jolting the players and marking the end of a sport at the school that had been around since the university's founding in 1937.
"The cost of the football program, now and in the future, far exceeds the return possible," Hofstra president Stuart Rabinowitz said Thursday.
He added that despite Hofstra having sent several players to the NFL, the team does not attract enough national attention. The $4.5 million spent annually on the team will be used on scholarships and other priorities.
"Given that, along with the low level of interest, financial support and attendance among our students, our alumni and the community, the choice was painful, but clear," Rabinowitz said.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris, who played at Hofstra from 1994-97, called the move a "sad state of affairs."
"It was weird because it kind of happened out of nowhere," he said.
Rabinowitz noted the scant interest on campus in the team. He said students were offered free tickets to games, but an average of only 500 attended games at the 13,000-seat campus stadium, and that included cheerleaders and a pep band. Hofstra has a student body of 12,500, but only 4,200 live on campus. The average attendance this season — students and nonstudents — was 4,260.
Rabinowitz said the stadium will still be used for NCAA lacrosse matches, where crowds sometimes top those at football games. It also will be used for high school football playoff games and possibly outdoor concerts.
The decision follows a two-year review of sports spending at Hofstra. Rabinowitz said there are no plans to cut any other sports at the Long Island school.
Last month, Northeastern University in Boston dropped football after 74 years. Northeastern, like Hofstra, plays in the Colonial Athletic Association. Four of the final eight teams left in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs are from the league.
Hofstra was 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the league this season. Northeastern went 3-8, 3-5 in the CAA.
"We know this is a difficult time for our football team members, their dedicated coaches and loyal fans, and we will do everything we can to help them navigate this transition as smoothly as possible," Rabinowitz said.
He said the 84 players were informed Thursday and were told they can keep their scholarships if they remain at the school. Those who transfer will be eligible to play immediately.
"It's devastating," redshirt junior linebacker Rashad Swanson of San Francisco said. "Football is pretty much our lives here. There's some guys who are thinking about staying. But me, personally, I'm thinking about leaving. I can't be here if I can't play football."
Keith Ferrara, a junior from Queens, said his teammates were shocked.
"It was the last thing I was expecting them to say," he said. "I had no idea it was coming. I want to play football, so I'm probably going to transfer out."
Four former Hofstra players are now in the NFL: Kyle Arrington of New England, Stephen Bowen of Dallas, Willie Colon of Pittsburgh and Marques Colston of New Orleans. One of the best-known Hofstra players to have played in the NFL was receiver Wayne Chrebet of the New York Jets.
"I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to the university, my coaches and my former teammates and I am sure that they share in my disappointment," Colston said.
While Hofstra and Northeastern are dropping football, 13 new programs have been announced, including six next season.
-- Frank Eltman
Richardson gets OK to inquire if offers arise
BATON ROUGE, La. — Southern University football coach Pete Richardson met Wednesday with Athletic Director Greg LaFleur and Chancellor Kofi Lomotey, who gave the coach permission to pursue other opportunities at the end of this season if those opportunities arise.
"Before today, I hadn't really taken a look at any of them," Richardson said later. "But (now) I've been given permission to take a look at some of those other opportunities."
The Jaguars (6-4, 3-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) have one game left this season, at 1 p.m. Saturday in Houston against Texas Southern (5-5, 4-2).
Richardson has said that he plans, as always, to sit with his wife for an after-the-season assessment. This much he knows: He wants to continue coaching, and he'd prefer to continue coaching at Southern.
"I want to coach football, and I'm not going to retire. If I retire, probably it would cause havoc within my household because I'd spend too much time at home," Richardson joked. "So I feel good ... I just want to finish up because I owe that to Southern University, to finish up what I have to do with the individuals on this football team, and then I'll make an assessment at that time."
Richardson agreed to his current contract just before the 2007 Bayou Classic. The contract runs through the 2010 season and guarantees Richardson $205,000 per year, one of the highest salaries in the Football Championship Subdivision.
In 17 seasons at Southern, Richardson has built a 134-61 overall record, including five SWAC championships and four black college national titles.
But the Jaguars haven't won a conference title since 2003 and by Richardson's own standards, this season has been another disappointment. Prairie View defeated Southern 16-14 on Oct. 22, all but eliminating the Jaguars from the championship race.
SU also suffered a 31-13 loss to archrival Grambling last week, its most lopsided defeat in the Bayou Classic since Richardson arrived in 1993.
UMass AD says football program not in danger
AMHERST, Mass. — Football is safe at the University of Massachusetts.
Athletic Director John McCutcheon told the Republican newspaper of Springfield that the university has no plans to follow the lead of Colonial Athletic Association rivals Northeastern University and Hoftstra University and drop the sport.
Northeastern made the announcement last week and Hofstra followed suit on Thursday. Both schools said they spent more than $4 million per year on their football programs and would use the money for other priorities.
McCutcheon says the UMass program will continue even though it loses between $2 million and $3 million annually.
The departure of Northeastern and Hofstra leave only four schools in the CAA's North Division: UMass, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine.
Sun Devils fire offensive coordinator Rich Olson
TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State has fired offensive coordinator Rich Olson after a 4-8 football season.
Sun Devils head coach Dennis Erickson said Thursday that it likely will be the only change in his staff.
Erickson called plays this season and says he'll relinquish those duties to the new offensive coordinator.
The move comes after a second consecutive losing season in which Arizona State ranked 90th or below nationally in total, rushing and scoring offense.
Olson had been at Arizona State since 2007. He coached under Erickson in the NFL at Seattle and San Francisco and was the Arizona Cardinals' offensive coordinator from 2001-02.
Olson also was with Erickson at the University of Miami.
Michigan's Warren asking NFL for draft projection
LIVONIA, Mich. — Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez says cornerback Donovan Warren has asked the NFL Draft Advisory Board to project when he would be selected if he skipped his senior season.
Rodriguez told reporters before the team banquet Thursday night that he would understand if Warren chose to go pro if the advisory board projected him as a first-round or early second-round selection.
The board consists of scouting experts who offer opinions to players about if, or in which round, they might be picked during the NFL draft.
Warren's four interceptions led the Wolverines in 2009.
Michigan will be without at least one key player during spring drills. Freshman running back Vincent Smith suffered a knee injury against Ohio State that will require surgery, sidelining him until fall.
Skinner wins ACC's Tatum Award
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Wake Forest's Riley Skinner has won the Tatum Award from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The league on Thursday gave Skinner its award for being its top senior student-athlete in football.
Skinner was a four-year starter for the Demon Deacons and led them to three bowls, including the Orange Bowl as a freshman. He had a 3.08 grade-point average in Wake Forest's business school. He's the second Wake Forest player to win the award and the first since Steve Ainsworth in 1992.
The award is given annually in honor of Jim Tatum, who coached at Maryland and North Carolina in the 1950s and twice won the ACC's coach of the year award.
NDSU, USD near football scheduling deal
FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota State and the University of South Dakota are close to finalizing a contract to play three football games, with the first matchup in Fargo next fall.
NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor says the two schools have settled on potential dates. USD athletic director Joel Nielsen says he is optimistic a deal will get done.
The two schools last played in 2003, when the Bison won 35-3 at the Fargodome.
The Coyotes next year will be in the third year of a five-year reclassification to NCAA Division I. The school is a member of the Great West Football Conference — the conference NDSU was in before joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2008.
Wisconsin settles suit over ABC cameraman's death
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin has agreed to pay $85,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of an ABC Sports cameraman who died after falling off a platform at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
The state Department of Justice says the settlement, which was reached last month, ends years of litigation between state lawyers and family members of the late Harold Umansky of Davie, Fla.
Umansky suffered head injuries after falling eight feet from a platform while installing a camera before a football game between Wisconsin and Iowa in 2003. He died days later.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in July that the stadium's facilities director could be held liable for failing to comply with safety rules that required the platform to have a railing.
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