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College Football Capsules: Texas asking fans for patience with network
AUSTIN (AP) — When ESPN and the University of Texas announced their 20-year, $300 million partnership for the Longhorn Network a year ago, they created the wedge that nearly split apart the Big 12.
The Big 12 is still going, with Texas A&M and Missouri on their way out the door and TCU and West Virginia coming aboard. But ESPN is still struggling to find wide distribution for a sports channel that is all Texas, all the time.
Texas officials are pleading with Longhorns fans to be patient.
Since launching the network in August 2011, "delays in distribution have overshadowed the network's many positive aspects and impact," Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds and women's athletic director Chris Plonsky said in a joint statement last week.
"We ask our fans for patience and understanding," they said. "Distribution will happen, but the business negotiations process is painfully slow." "
So slow that football season came and went without a major cable or satellite distributor. The same thing will likely happen with basketball, although both the men's and women's teams are struggling to build NCAA tournament-worthy resumes.
That's an awkward start for a network that was supposed to be an unbeatable attraction for recruits. Texas A&M and Missouri felt the balance of power had tipped so far toward Texas that they left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference and were willing to give up 100-year traditional rivalries with Texas and Kansas, respectively, in doing so.
So far, the LHN is anything but the behemoth it was predicted to be when ESPN officials joined Texas President Bill Powers, Dodds and Plonsky and others at Royal-Memorial Stadium to unveil the deal.
The largest carrier to date is Verizon, which includes the LHN on its FiOS TV sports package with a potential reach of about 4 million subscribers in about a dozen states. The handful of other carriers are smaller providers that reach parts of the Austin, San Antonio and Houston markets, and smaller towns such as Bay City, Longview and Edna.
The nation's biggest distributors, such as Time Warner Cable Inc., Comcast Corp. and DirecTV Inc. have stayed away.
"We continue to have active discussion with distributors to secure as wide a distribution as possible," ESPN said this week in a statement. "Our discussions are ongoing and productive."
Time Warner spokeswoman Maureen Huff said "negotiations are ongoing but there is no agreement at this time."
A big challenge for the LHN is that it serves a niche market, said Adam Swanson, a cable television industry analyst with SNL Kagan. While Texas is a big name with a famous logo and tens of thousands of alumni from coast to coast, it's still just one school.
Major cable and satellite providers can look at regional or national networks such as the Big Ten Network, now called BTN, or the soon-to-launch Pac-12 Network and see more programming punch, Swanson said. Time Warner, Comcast, Cox and Bright House all have deals to carry the Pac-12 Network. Those carriers are in about 40 million homes, although the Pac-12 Network will only be on a sports tier outside the Pac-12 area.
"Having just one school to get content from ... they are not going to see the value across the country to carry a channel like that," Swanson said.
LHN lost valuable content when the NCAA banned school-affiliated networks from broadcasting high school games and the Big 12 banned even showing high school highlights, Swanson said.
The struggling economy also could be working against ESPN and LHN. ESPN has reportedly sought to have LHN included in basic cable packages and not as a premium add-on at a time when many customers are scrutinizing their monthly bills as a way to save money.
"Customers are more price sensitive today," Swanson said.
The ability to create its own network was a major reason Texas balked at the idea of joining the Pac-12 or the Big Ten. ESPN promised that LHN would offer Texas fans unparalleled reporting on the program with behind-the-scenes coverage of one of the wealthiest, most prominent and successful athletic programs in the country.
The Longhorn Network broadcast two Texas football games, and by seasons' end will have broadcast 26 men's and women's basketball games. More than 60 baseball and softball games will be on the LHN this spring.
It would be far too early to call the LHN a failure: Startup networks have to prove their value and the LHN is barely off the ground. For proof of tough negotiations can be, the NFL Network still isn't on Time Warner cable systems eight years after it launched.
ESPN and Texas have invested a lot in the LHN. The network hired a staff of about 50 and built a studio close to the Texas campus.
Dodds has never wavered in his belief the LHN will thrive.
"Our coaches and student-athletes are ecstatic with LHN and they tell us it is helping in recruiting and will do so now in the future," Dodds and Plonsky said.
WVU settles Big East lawsuit, will join Big 12
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University announced Tuesday it has settled a lawsuit with the Big East for an unspecified amount, clearing the way for the conference power Mountaineers to join the Big 12 in July in time for the fall football season.
Athletic Director Oliver Luck said the terms of the deal were confidential and WVU wouldn't release details. But Luck said no state, taxpayer, tuition or other academic dollars will be used in the settlement.
A person familiar with the agreement said the settlement totaled $20 million but did not know how much money would come from the university and how much the Big 12 may contribute. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial terms were not announced with the agreement.
Luck said the funding will come only from private sources and money that athletics raised independently. WVU has already paid half of the required $5 million exit fee.
Luck said the new relationship puts WVU among peers that are also large, public, flagship institutions for their states and have strong academic and research programs. Athletically, it's a "challenging and competitive" group, he said, populated by schools with "tremendous legacies, passionate fan bases."
It's also lucrative: Luck said WVU should get about $18 million to $19 million a year in television payouts, about double what it gets from the Big East. Payments are being prorated for the first three years at 50 percent, 67 percent and 87 percent, he said, reaching 100 percent in the fourth year.
"It's a very healthy television payout, and it's important we maintain our self-sufficient status," Luck said. "With this move, we'll be in an excellent position to do so."
A spokesman for the Big 12 didn't immediately comment, but the conference released its football schedule about an hour after the announcement. West Virginia makes its Big 12 debut Sept. 29 at home against Baylor.
The Mountaineers and their explosive offense went 10-3 last season and finished ranked in the Top 25. West Virginia capped off the season with a record-setting 70-33 victory over Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
Luck didn't rule out the possibility of a nonconference game against archrival Pitt after the 2012 season but said that both schools have nine nonconference games and a matchup would be "difficult to schedule."
"It's pretty obvious there will be no Backyard Brawl" in 2012, he said.
WVU sued the Big East in Monongalia County Circuit Court in Morgantown in November, challenging its bylaws in a bid to join the Big 12 in time for the 2012 season.
The Big East countersued in Rhode Island four days later, arguing that WVU had breached its contract with the conference and should remain in the Big East for another two years as required in the bylaws. In late December, the judge there denied WVU's motion to dismiss.
Big East Commissioner John Marinatto had repeatedly said West Virginia would not be allowed to leave until the 2014 football season.
But in a statement Tuesday, Marinatto said the board of directors voted to terminate WVU's membership in the conference as of June 30. The board agreed to the deal because WVU was willing to drop its lawsuit and pay an exit fee "well in excess of that required by the bylaws," he said.
WVU also has agreed to have the West Virginia court enter a judgment that declares the Big East's bylaws "valid and enforceable," which Marinatto told The Associated Press was the most important thing to his board.
"The bylaws are the foundation of how the conference governs itself," he said. "To have the court in West Virginia acknowledge their validity of enforceability obviously reinforces the premise that the conference is viable moving forward, and in a position to do so."
Continuing to fight West Virginia "would have only made the lawyers happy," he said.
Boise State, Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, San Diego State University, Southern Methodist University and Navy have all recently joined the conference.
"The future for the Big East Conference has never been brighter," he said.
But the Big East still has work to do to figure out how next season will play out. Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced in September they are leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference, but have said they will not challenge the Big East's notification rules.
Marinatto said he "would not be open to a conversation" with either school about departing this year. "But given the strength and speed of our expansion efforts, I think our board might be open to a discussion about 2013."
That leaves the Big East with seven football teams for 2012 and a hole in the schedule that could leave its remaining members scrambling to find a game so late — unless one of its future members can be convinced to join a year early.
Boise State, which is joining the Big East in football only, has been approached about leaving the Mountain West early.
"There are challenges on the table right now," Marinatto said. "... We're looking at various scenarios in order to address that. We have plans in place to deal with each possibility."
Those possibilities include an eight-team league next season, he said.
The urgency of the WVU and Big East lawsuits and the eventual settlement was driven by football, but the conference realignment affects other West Virginia sports. The Mountaineers must find a home for their men's soccer team because the Big 12 doesn't sponsor the sport.
Teams in rifle, wrestling and women's gymnastics at West Virginia compete in other conferences besides the Big East.
Big 12 membership requires WVU to add a men's sport, but Luck said he hasn't determined which it will be or when it will happen.
-- Vicki Smith and Ralph D. Russo
Big 12 releases 2012 schedule with W.Va clearance
IRVING (AP) — A Baylor team adjusting to life without Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III will play its first two Big 12 games next season against league newcomers West Virginia and TCU.
West Virginia will make its Big 12 debut on Sept. 29 at home against Baylor, which two weeks later will host former Southwest Conference rival and new Big 12 foe TCU for the second year in a row. Baylor is the only Big 12 team that will play the two newcomers in back-to-back games, and will be the first to complete both of their games against them.
TCU is also set to play in the first Big 12 game of the season. The Horned Frogs make their conference debut with a Sept. 15 visit to Kansas and new coach Charlie Weis in the only Big 12 game scheduled that weekend.
The Big 12 finally released its 10-team, round-robin schedule Tuesday after West Virginia announced it had settled a lawsuit with the Big East that allows the Mountaineers to begin play in the Big 12 next season.
TCU, coming off its third consecutive Mountain West Conference title and a No. 14 final ranking, will play at West Virginia on Nov. 3. The Mountaineers finished ranked 18th last season.
While the Big 12 said dates are subject to change and adjustments are expected to accommodate its television partners, at least now the matchups are set for the league's first season after Texas A&M and Missouri leave for the Southeastern Conference.
West Virginia basically inherited the Big 12 schedule that had been set for Missouri, while TCU took over the expected Texas A&M slate -- including a game at Texas the week of Thanksgiving.
The schedule currently lists TCU at Texas on Nov. 24, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. But they are also the only league teams without games the weekend before and could be switched to holiday TV viewing in the spot where the Longhorns and Aggies played their rivalry game.
Television selections for the first three weeks of the season and special dates, such as Thanksgiving Day and other non-Saturday games, aren't due to the conference until July 1.
Defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma State plays its league opener Sept. 29 at home against Texas.
For the first time since 2004, the Bedlam game between Oklahoma State and Oklahoma won't be the last regular season game for both teams. The game will be played Thanksgiving weekend, and both teams will still have games left after that on Dec. 1 — Oklahoma at TCU and Oklahoma State at Baylor.
The Sooners and Cowboys played the last Big 12 game last season, on the same Saturday that when the league had formerly held its championship game.
Just like last year, the Big 12 is extending its regular season schedule to the first Saturday in December. Along with the Oklahoma State and Oklahoma road games that weekend, Kansas is at West Virginia and Kansas State hosts Texas.
Oklahoma State will play TCU and West Virginia at home this season after playing Texas A&M and Missouri on the road.
Iowa State, which last year at home defeated Oklahoma State 37-31 in double overtime for the Cowboys' only loss, plays in Stillwater on Oct. 20.
Texas and Oklahoma will play their annual Red River rivalry game at the Texas State Fair in Dallas on Oct. 13.
Oklahoma has what could be a difficult closing stretch, with its Nov. 17 game at West Virginia before Bedlam and then the trip to TCU. The addition of the Frogs to the Big 12 took away one of the Sooners' scheduled non-conference games.
UNT's McCarney confirms stroke, expects recovery
DENTON (AP) — North Texas coach Dan McCarney said Tuesday that he suffered a stroke over the weekend and expects to recover in time to lead his team through spring drills.
McCarney said in a statement provided by the school that he felt his left side go numb Sunday and was taken to a hospital. Doctors later confirmed he had a stroke.
McCarney, 58, is out of intensive care but remained in the hospital Tuesday for further treatment. He said he expected to be back to his normal routine "in time." The team starts spring practice March 28.
"While I have a great passion for coaching and approach my job with a tireless effort, I'm sure that my doctors will ask that I come back at a slower pace," he said. "I fully intend on leading the North Texas football program through spring drills and can't wait to be back around my staff and players."
McCarney told the Denton Record-Chronicle that he had finished a workout and was sending a text message when he felt numbness.
"There was a blood clot that hit the back of my brain," McCarney told the newspaper. "My son Shane and my wife were there. We dialed 911 and I got the first helicopter ride of my life."
McCarney was hired as coach of the Mean Green in November 2010. He went 5-7 in his first season last year. McCarney coached at Iowa State from 1995 to 2006 and has worked as an assistant at Florida, South Florida, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Michigan State's Mark Dantonio was hospitalized with a mild heart attack following a 2010 overtime win over Notre Dame and a year earlier then-Florida coach Urban Meyer was hospitalized with chest pains after the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Texas and TCU tangle Thanksgiving week
AUSTIN (AP) — It will be Texas vs. TCU on Thanksgiving week under the 2012 Big 12 schedule. The Longhorns and Horned Frogs play Nov. 24, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That game takes the place of the traditional Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry that was played on Thanksgiving.
That traditional rivalry ended last season when the Aggies' decided to leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.
It's possible Texas vs. TCU could still get moved to the Thanksgiving. The league schedule released Tuesday says dates are subject to change and adjustments are expected to accommodate the league's television partners.
Texas begins Big 12 play Sept. 29 at Oklahoma State. The Longhorns host Big 12 newcomer West Virginia on Oct. 6 and play rival Oklahoma in Dallas on Oct. 13.
Baylor's first Big 12 games against league newcomers
WACO (AP) — Baylor's first two Big 12 games next season will be against the league's two newcomers.
The Bears, who tied a school record with 10 wins last season, play their Big 12 opener Sept. 29 at West Virginia. Their league home opener is Oct. 13 against TCU, the former SWC rival playing in Waco for the second consecutive year.
Baylor opens the season Sept. 1 at home against SMU, and also has home games against Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Sam Houston State. The Bears play Texas Tech at Cowboys Stadium and travel to Texas, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Louisiana-Monroe.
Texas Tech hosts OU, W Virginia back-to-back
LUBBOCK (AP) — Texas Tech's first two Big 12 home games next season are against Oklahoma and newcomer West Virginia.
The Red Raiders, who lost five straight games to close their first losing season since 1992, play the Sooners on Oct. 6 and the Mountaineers on Oct. 13. They have another set of consecutive home conference games against Texas (Nov. 3) and Kansas (Nov. 10)
Texas Tech's league opener is Sept. 29 at Iowa State. The other Big 12 road games are TCU, the other newcomer, along with Kansas State and Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders play Baylor at Cowboys Stadium. Tech opens the season Sept. 1 at home against Northwestern State.
TCU will make Big 12 debut at Kansas
FORT WORTH (AP) — TCU opens its 2012 season at home Sept. 8 against Grambling State, a week before the Horned Frogs make their Big 12 debut at Kansas.
After the Sept. 15 game at Kansas, the Horned Frogs play non-conference games against Virginia and at SMU before their first Big 12 home game Oct. 6 against Iowa State.
TCU plays at West Virginia on Nov. 3. Texas Tech, Kansas State and Oklahoma are the other Big 12 home games for TCU. The Frogs also play at Baylor, Oklahoma State and Texas.
Sooners to face West Va., TCU on the road
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma will hit the road to face both of its new Big 12 opponents.
The Sooners' conference schedule released Tuesday includes trips to West Virginia on Nov. 17 and to TCU on Dec. 1. Last season, Oklahoma hosted both teams that are leaving the Big 12. The West Virginia and TCU games sandwich the Bedlam rivalry against Oklahoma State, which moves back to the Saturday after Thanksgiving and returns to Norman after being played the past two seasons in Stillwater.
The Red River Rivalry against Texas will be played Oct. 13 in Dallas. The Sooners' other conference home games are Sept. 22 against Kansas State, Oct. 20 against Kansas and Nov. 10 against Baylor. They'll travel to Texas Tech on Oct. 6 and to Iowa State on Nov. 3.
Oklahoma State unveils full 2012 football schedule
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma State will open Big 12 play with a home game against Texas and also host new conference members West Virginia and TCU next season.
The Cowboys are set to play Texas on Sept. 29, after an open week, in the schedule released Tuesday. TCU will visit on Oct. 27 and West Virginia on Nov. 10. OSU's homecoming game will be Oct. 20 against Iowa State, and Texas Tech comes to Stillwater on Nov. 17.
The Cowboys finish the season with road games at Oklahoma on Nov. 24 and at Baylor on Dec. 1. Oklahoma State opens the season at home against Savannah State, then travels to Arizona before returning to host Louisiana-Lafayette. OSU's other games are at Kansas on Oct. 13 and at Kansas State on Nov. 3.
Jayhawks get TCU early, West Virginia late in 2012
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Charlie Weis will have his work cut out for him in his first season at Kansas.
The Jayhawks open with South Dakota State and Rice before hosting new Big 12 member TCU on Sept. 15. They face the other newcomer West Virginia in their finale on Dec. 1. Kansas travels to North Illinois for its other non-conference game.
The Jayhawks visit Kansas State on Oct. 6, host Oklahoma State, visit Oklahoma and then host Texas on Oct. 27. They travel to Baylor and Texas Tech in November before facing Iowa State, with a bye week before their game against the Mountaineers.
Weis will be trying to improve on a 2-10 record last season under Turner Gill.
Wildcats release 2012 football schedule
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State will visit new Big 12 members West Virginia and TCU while hosting Miami during the 2012 football season. Kansas State will be coming off a 10-win season and a trip to the Cotton Bowl.
The Wildcats open Sept. 1 against Missouri State, and then face the Hurricanes, whom they beat on the road last season. They wrap up their non-conference slate against North Texas on Sept. 15. Kansas State opens the Big 12 schedule at Oklahoma before a bye week.
The Wildcats host Kansas, visit Iowa State and West Virginia, return home for Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, and then hit the road to TCU and Baylor. After another bye week, they finish up with Texas on Dec. 1.
ISU releases 2012 football schedule
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State has released its 2012 football schedule, which had been held up as Big 12 officials worked to finalize West Virginia's move to the league.
The Cyclones will host the Mountaineers, who won the Orange Bowl last month, in their regular-season finale on Nov. 24.
Iowa State opens Big 12 play at home against Texas Tech on Sept. 29. The Cyclones also host Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma in Big 12 games. Iowa State's league road games will be at TCU, Oklahoma State, Texas and Kansas.
Penn State
Penn State ex-VP seeks criminal charges' dismissal
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A former Penn State vice president on Tuesday asked a judge to throw out charges that he lied to a grand jury investigating former football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and that he did not properly report suspected child abuse.
Gary C. Schultz said his statements to a grand jury that he felt the allegations against Sandusky he fielded from a graduate assistant in 2002 were "not that serious" and that it wasn't clear to him that a crime occurred are opinions that cannot be proved false.
"Perjury prosecutions rarely rest on expressions of opinion or belief," wrote Schultz defense lawyer Tom Farrell.
Schultz also joined a motion filed Monday by co-defendant Tim Curley that challenged the failure-to-report charge on the grounds the law was different in 2002, when Schultz and Curley, the university's athletics director, were told of Sandusky being in the campus showers with a young boy. The defendants also say the statute of limitations has expired.
Farrell sought a more precise description of the part of Schultz's grand jury testimony that prosecutors allege constituted perjury.
Farrell argued that the "defendant must not be left guessing as to which statements he is defending against nor as to basic information as to why such statements are false." Through a spokeswoman, Farrell declined to comment further.
A spokesman for the attorney general's office said Tuesday the agency had not received the filings but would review them when it had.
During a preliminary hearing for Schultz and Curley in December, former Penn State football team graduate assistant Mike McQueary testified that he saw Sandusky engaging in a sexual act with a boy in a locker room shower. He said that he first spoke about it with his father immediately afterward and then contacted head football coach Joe Paterno.
Paterno, who was fired as coach after the arrests but was not a target of criminal investigators, told the grand jury that McQueary recounted something of a "sexual nature" but that he did not press for details.
About a week and a half later, McQueary said, he met with Curley and Schultz, and the content of that meeting is central to the charges against the two administrators.
McQueary testified in December he told them he had seen Sandusky and a boy, both naked, in the shower after hearing skin-on-skin slapping sounds.
"I would have described that it was extremely sexual and I thought that some kind of intercourse was going on," McQueary said under oath in a Harrisburg courtroom.
He also testified that he saw Schultz, whose duties as senior vice president for business and finance included oversight of the university police department, as a police authority.
"I thought I was talking to the head of the police, to be frank with you," he said. "In my mind it was like speaking to a (district attorney). It was someone who police reported to and would know what to do with it."
Schultz, 62, retired after being charged in early November. Curley, 57, is on leave from the university. Both live in Boalsburg, near State College, where the university is based.
Sandusky, 68, has denied allegations he sexually abused 10 boys over a 15-year period. He faces 52 criminal counts and could go to trial in mid-May.
On Monday, a judge ruled Sandusky can have supervised contact with most of his grandchildren and, rejecting requests by prosecutors, determined the case will be heard by jurors chosen from the greater State College area. Sandusky's lawyer issued a statement saying Sandusky, his wife and their family were "relieved by and pleased with" the visitation ruling, which pertains to all but three of his 11 grandchildren, ages 2 to 14.
The sex abuse scandal at the university also resulted in the departure of university president Graham Spanier, who has not been charged with any crime, and brought shame to one of the nation's premier college football programs.
Paterno, a sainted figure at Penn State for almost half a century but scarred by the scandal, died of lung cancer last month at age 85.
-- Mark Scolforo
Penn State releases details of O'Brien's contract
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Coach Bill O'Brien's five-year deal with Penn State allows for the two sides to agree to an extension by 2016, or the year before his contract is up.
The contract could then be extended by one to three seasons, according to new details released this week by the university.
O'Brien signed the deal Jan. 6, when he was named Joe Paterno's successor at Penn State. The university then had said O'Brien's base salary started at $950,000, with a 5 percent increase each season.
Paterno's base compensation started at a little more than $1 million a year — a relative bargain for a Hall of Fame coach with two national championships and Division I record 409 victories.
He died Jan. 22. Paterno was diagnosed with lung cancer in November, just days after being fired as head coach following 46 seasons in the aftermath of child sex abuse charges against retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
Paterno testified before a grand jury investigating Sandusky and was not a target of the probe, authorities have said. Sandusky is out on bail after denying the allegations; his trial is tentatively scheduled to start in mid-May.
The resulting scandal led critics to question the transparency of decisions at a university which still gets about 6 percent of its funding from the state. O'Brien's contract was released online Monday as part what the school has said was an effort to be more open and transparent.
Among the new details were specifics on performance incentives which were not to exceed a total of $200,000 annually. A 5 percent bonus for winning a division title, and 11 percent bonus for getting to a bowl game were among the incentives.
O'Brien was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots last season. He was also the position coach for quarterback Tom Brady, as the Patriots won the AFC title and lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
Also released was a copy of Acting Athletic Director David Joyner's employment agreement worth $396,000 a year. Joyner has given no indication he plans to leave in the near future, and the agreement calls for the school to give Joyner 30 days' notice before parting ways.
Joyner took over Nov. 17 for Tim Curley, who went on administrative leave after being charged with perjury and failing to report a 2002 allegation of abuse against Sandusky to authorities outside the university. Former school Vice President Gary Schultz faces the same charges; both Curley and Schultz have denied the charges while they await trial.
The school also released its annual financial report to the NCAA, submitted last month. As usual, revenue from the football program made up a big chunk of the athletics budget, including $34.2 million in revenue from ticket sales.
-- Genaro C. Armas
Major College News & Notes
Big East 'open' to talk Pitt, 'Cuse leaving early
Big East Commissioner John Marinatto says his league "might be open to a discussion" about allowing Syracuse and Pittsburgh to join the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2013 football season.
The Big East reached a settlement with West Virginia on Monday that allows the school to become a member of the Big 12 in 2012.
The agreement upholds the Big East's bylaws, which require a departing school to give notification 27 months before leaving. West Virginia challenged that in a lawsuit.
Syracuse, Pitt and the ACC have said they would not challenge the Big East's rules, but would like the transition to happen as soon as possible.
Marinatto had previously said that the Big East intends to hold all three schools in the conference until 2014.
"But given the strength and speed of our expansion efforts, I think our board might be open to a discussion about 2013," Marinatto said in a telephone interview.
Even without Syracuse and Pitt, the Big East could have 11 football teams in 2013.
Memphis, Central Florida, SMU and Houston from Conference USA are set to join the Big East in 2013 for all sports. Boise State and San Diego State from the Mountain West are slated to join as football-only members in 2013. Navy is scheduled to join in 2015 for just football.
Marinatto added that he hoped a Big East football schedule for 2012 would be released in a week or two, though whether that schedule includes seven or eight members has not been determined.
The Big East currently has seven members for next season: Pitt, Syracuse, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida and Rutgers.
Marinatto said it's possible one of the schools pledged to join in 2013 could enter the league early to replace West Virginia, though he declined to say which one.
If the Big East can't get a replacement for West Virginia, its remaining members will be left scrambling to schedule another game.
"There are challenges on the table right now," he said. "We've considered all of that. We're looking at various scenarios in order to address that. We have plans in place to deal with each possibility."
-- Ralph D. Russo
Perry hired as Beavers' secondary coach
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State has hired Rod Perry as the Beavers' new secondary coach. Perry has spent five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts as special assistant to the defense. He replaces Keith Heyward, who resigned last month to take a similar position at Washington.
Perry was cornerbacks coach for the San Diego Chargers from 1999-2001, at the same time that Oregon State coach Mike Riley served as head coach of the NFL team.
A native of Fresno, Perry played cornerback at Colorado before a nine-year career in the NFL, playing for the Los Angeles Rams and the Cleveland Browns.
He has held coaching positions with the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams, the Houston Oilers, the Chargers and the Carolina Panthers.
Other News & Notes
Patriot League to allow football scholarships
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. (AP) — The Patriot League will begin offering football scholarships in 2013 in a move the conference hopes could help position itself for potential expansion.
The seven schools that play Patriot League football had been limited to offering aid for financial need since the conference's formation in 1986.
But league presidents said this week allowing "athletic merit aid" for football would help the stability and long-term positioning of the conference.
"The introduction of this financial aid model for football will strengthen the Patriot League's ability to compete for outstanding student-athletes while continuing to uphold the high academic standards of the League and its member institutions," league Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich said Monday in a statement announcing the change.
Starting with the class beginning school in fall 2013, Patriot League schools will be allowed to award up to the equivalent of 15 football scholarships. Transfers would be eligible.
Teams would not be able to exceed 60 scholarships in any year, and would still be allowed to offer need-based financial aid.
Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Fordham and Georgetown play football in the Patriot League. Fordham had already started offering football scholarships in 2010, though the league made the school ineligible to play for the conference title and the NCAA automatic qualifier slot.
"We are very pleased that other Patriot League teams will be joining the Rams in moving toward a permissive stance regarding financial aid for football student athletes," said Fordham's president, the Rev. Joseph McShane. "We have found at Fordham that this approach has allowed our staff and coaches to recruit academically and athletically talented student-athletes in a more efficient and effective manner."
The league said it would revisit this spring whether to again allow Fordham to compete for the league title and NCAA automatic bid to the FCS tournament.
The move could also make it more appealing again for FBS teams to play Patriot League schools. In 2011, for instance, Fordham lost to Connecticut and Army.
In a statement, the league also said it could direct its attention to possible expansion.
"We anticipate that this change in policy will make the Patriot League a more attractive destination for potential expansion candidates for both football-only and all-sport members," the league said.
The Patriot League began as a football-only league, but has since become more well known for basketball. The conference's basketball schools are American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy.
Former Griz player to coach running backs
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Montana football coach Robin Pflugrad has named former Griz and NFL player Justin Green the team's running backs coach. Green was a graduate assistant last season. He replaces Mick Delaney, who recently retired as running backs coach and assistant head coach. Pflugrad says Green is a quality person and the players respect him.
Green rushed for 1,784 yards and 22 touchdowns in two seasons with the Grizzlies, including one in which he shared duties with current Miami Dolphin back Lex Hilliard. Green was a fifth round draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens, where he played for three seasons. He played his fourth season for the Phoenix Cardinals. Green recently received his degree in sociology from UM and started his new job on Monday.
Pittsburg State to be honored at Statehouse
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — Football players and coaches from Pittsburg State University head to Topeka on Wednesday to be honored for their NCAA Division II national championship. The Gorillas beat Wayne State 35-21 on Dec. 17 for their first national title in 20 years.
Pittsburg State says 15 Kansas natives will be among the 30 players who will spend Wednesday at the Statehouse, meeting with Gov. Sam Brownback and being honored in both the House and the Senate. Resolutions praising the team will be presented in both chambers. The Gorillas will have lunch with the governor's staff, legislative leaders and lawmakers from southeastern Kansas. The Kansas Board of Regents will also take a moment to recognize the team in the afternoon.
Hampton named DB coach at McNeese State
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Chris Hampton, who played as a defensive back and then coached defensive backs, has joined the McNeese State football coaching staff as a defensive backfield coach. Hampton spent the past season coaching the safeties at Central Arkansas and has also done coaching stints at Georgia Tech and Arkansas State.
McNeese coach Matt Viator said Monday that Hampton's experience as both a coach and a player will be invaluable to the Cowboys program.
Elsewhere
Ex-Mizzou football captain pleads to assault
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Imprisoned former Missouri running back Derrick Washington pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor domestic assault charge involving an ex-girlfriend, agreeing to a deal that spares him more time behind bars.
Washington, who is in prison for a separate conviction of felony deviate sexual assault involving a former university tutor, was scheduled to stand trial next week on two charges of third-degree assault. His former girlfriend has said Washington hit her in the face five to 10 times and choked her during a late-night argument in September 2010, two months after the tutor's sexual assault.
Washington did not appear Tuesday in Boone County Circuit Court as his lawyer entered the plea on his behalf. Prosecutors agreed to drop the second assault charge in exchange for the plea, and a judge handed down a 90-day sentence to run concurrently with the felony sentence.
Washington was sentenced in December to five years in prison in the felony case, though he could be released as soon as next month if he successfully completes a 120-day "shock incarceration" program for first-time offenders. He would remain on probation for the duration of his sentence.
Columbia attorney Bogdan Susan said Washington pleaded guilty in hopes of moving on with his life.
Washington's former girlfriend said that on the night of their argument, he spit on dishes in her kitchen sink before grabbing her by the throat while forcing her into a bedroom. He reportedly then climbed on top of her, pinned her arms behind her head and struck her in the face, causing a bloody nose and a bruised forehead.
The woman told police that when she bit Washington's hand in an attempt to fight back, he poked her in the eyes with two fingers "and tried to press her eyeballs into her skull." Washington also threw a drink in her face, spit on her, cut up a poster she made and cornered her in a walk-in closet until a friend arrived to help. Washington left after the friend called police, and he was arrested at his apartment several hours later.
In the felony case, a 24-year-old Missouri graduate who spent two semesters as Washington's athletic department tutor before the alleged assault testified that he entered her bedroom and fondled her while she slept at her off-campus apartment. Washington was visiting the victim's roommate, also a former tutor for Missouri athletes with whom he shared a consensual sexual relationship.
He was convicted in that case in September 2011.
A Kansas City high school football star, Washington was Missouri's leading rusher as a sophomore and junior until he was kicked off the team before his senior year after the accusations surfaced. He was allowed to keep his scholarship but withdrew from school.
Defense attorney Chris Slusher has said Washington harbored NFL dreams and was projected as a fourth-round draft pick before he was charged. He's now a registered sex offender who won't be able to coach youth sports teams or even visit his own child's school without permission.
-- Alan Scher Zagier
