December 19 , 2006 HOME - SPORTS NEWS

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Arkansas State chancellor forms committee to solicit ideas for new mascot

Associated Press

JONESBORO, Ark. -- The chancellor at Arkansas State said Wednesday the school would retire its Indian mascot, targeted by an NCAA ban on mascots that are ethnically or racially hostile or abusive. Chancellor Robert L. Potts named a Mascot Selection Steering Committee to solicit ideas for a new mascot. He did not release a timetable for when American Indian imagery would be retired or when a new mascot would be announced. A Mascot Review Committee unanimously endorsed dropping the Indian mascot. Potts said the search for a new mascot should be as broad as possible, saying he had taken note of letters to newspaper editors, media contests, e-mails and other communications received at his office. "I believe that a broad-based group should be assembled to solicit and winnow suggestions from all ASU constituencies and the public but that a small steering committee will be needed to guide the process from its start to its conclusion," Potts said. He named nine people to the panel. The new committee is also charged with establishing steps to retire the current mascot and develop a timeline. The NCAA in 2005 announced a ban on ethnically or racially hostile or abusive nicknames, mascots and imagery at championship events. Arkansas State was one of the schools found in violation of the policy.

New coach says Miami will live up to expectations

Associated Press

PINEHURST, N.C. -- In his first gathering of Atlantic Coast Conference football coaches, new Miami coach Randy Shannon talked about something he knows plenty about: Finishing first. Shannon said Monday there's no reason his team can't win the Atlantic Coast Conference despite last year's disappointing 7-6 season, which led to the firing of coach Larry Coker. Although Shannon, a linebacker on Miami's 1987 national championship team and defensive coordinator for its 2001 national champs, is unsure about who his starting quarterback will be, he's sure the team's talent is championship level. "I don't expect anything less," Shannon said. "The standards are high. We've got to live up to those expectations." Shannon inherited a brutal schedule. The nonconference schedule includes games against Oklahoma and Texas A&M to go along with difficult ACC road tests against Florida State, Boston College and Virginia Tech. The Hurricanes were picked to finish third in the ACC Coastal Division behind Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech by 83 media members at the league's annual preseason kickoff gathering. Shannon replaced Coker, who was fired in November a day after a trying regular season. Aside from the on-field issues, Miami also was touched by tragedy last year, when senior defensive lineman Bryan Pata was shot and killed outside his apartment complex on Nov. 7. The Hurricanes salvaged a winning season with a 21-20 victory over Nevada in the MPC Computers Bowl. Shannon, one of three new coaches in the ACC this season, has established a zero tolerance policy on gun possession by his players. Shannon's first appearance at the ACC football kickoff, comes less than two weeks after three of his players were injured in a car crash near Naples when freshmen receiver Jermaine McKenzie fell asleep at the wheel of a teammate's 2007 Dodge Charger. "The kids called as soon as the accident happened," said Shannon, who was informed immediately that none had life-threatening injuries. "That was a great thing." McKenzie -- who was ticketed for careless driving -- broke a vertebrae in the crash is likely to miss the season along with freshman quarterback Robert Marve, who suffered a broken wrist, dislocated ring finger and cut on his left, non-throwing hand in the accident. Sophomore linebacker Colin McCarthy was also in the vehicle, which belonged to Marve, but not seriously injured. "If they don't heal, they don't play," Shannon said. "If they do heal, they play."

Big East, ACC could see some new faces at the top

By Bruce Feldman
ESPN The Magazine

There is a nether region of programs in college football that tend to be just decent enough that their coaches retain their jobs. Yet these teams never get over the proverbial hump and make it to a bowl game you'd watch for more than 10 minutes. That's the profile of many of these programs ranked from 51 to 75. They usually teeter from "pretty good" to "mediocre," depending on the season, and are rarely much better or worse than that. It's a strange lot in life. The big question is: Can any of them ever jump the tracks and move up to legitimate heavyweight status where they are the perennial top-20 fixtures that blue-chippers grow up rooting for? That kind of leap is very rare. The past 20 years, probably a half-dozen afterthought programs rose up -- and stayed with the big boys. Virginia Tech did it, although it took an enormous amount of faith from the Hokies' brass not to pull the plug on Frank Beamer. K-State did it too. So did Wisconsin and Louisville. Boise State and TCU may well be doing it, but it might be a bit premature to say for certain. The tricky part is that sometimes a program makes waves but really it is only a steppingstone for the coach to land a job with a higher-profile school, and ultimately, that program starts to slide again. (You'll see a few flashes in the pan on this list.) The key to establishing your worth comes on the recruiting trail, where an upstart program must not only scout unheralded gems to build the team but also fend off traditional powerhouses when a blue-chipper comes from its backyard. Take Minnesota for instance: Glen Mason got the Gophers to respectability, built mostly on quality Ohio kids Ohio State had passed over and a handful of talented Florida guys who weren't recruited by that state's big three. Trouble is, many of the best homegrown players have left Minnesota. James Laurinaitis, arguably the country's top linebacker, ended up at Ohio State, and Notre Dame has plucked a bunch of other top players from the area. New Gophers head man Tim Brewster is making some noise as a recruiter thus far, but his first major test will be keeping touted in-state wide receiver Michael Floyd at home. According to a story in this weekend's Star-Tribune, Floyd sounded as though he was favoring Notre Dame and Ohio State over Michigan, Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Gophers. Keeping Floyd would be a huge coup. Of the group of teams in this part of the list, I think there are seven programs with a shot at really moving up: Minnesota (T-52), Pitt (T-52), Washington (T-52), Michigan State (55), North Carolina (67), South Florida (58) and Rutgers (70). If I had to pick three with the best shot of sticking, I'd go with Pitt, UNC and Rutgers.Rutgers is obviously the farthest along. The Scarlet Knights have a growing fan base. They have strong connections in both the Northeast and Florida. They have a hot coach who sounds as if he is going to be around for a long time. And they are beginning to reap the benefits of their success because they are getting better-caliber prospects out of south Florida and they have begun to fend off the big boys for the best in-state players (namely, prized OT Anthony Davis and OLB Manny Abreu). The Panthers also have been impressive, beating elite programs for top local players (QB Pat Bostick, RB LeSean McCoy), but Dave Wannstedt's team still has yet to have a signature win. Fortunately for Rutgers and Pitt, they both play in the Big East, which appears to be fertile ground for another top team to emerge or even to overtake upstart Louisville and West Virginia. Perhaps South Florida could be that program instead, but I still doubt the Bulls are going to be able to get in the mix for the top in-state players on an annual basis. Then again, maybe they will. The program has made some amazing strides thus far. Perhaps the team with the most promising situation is North Carolina. The Tar Heels just hired an established winner in Butch Davis. They already have great facilities and a history of turning out some marquee talent (Lawrence Taylor, Julius Peppers), and last winter they beat everyone for a few big-name recruits, most notably DT Marvin Austin. Better still, Davis hits the ACC when the conference is reeling. Miami and Florida State are still trying to re-establish themselves. Clemson, under Tommy Bowden, keeps tripping on itself, and in-state rival NC State is also in rebuilding mode. The one downside is that North Carolina is always going to be a basketball school. Then again, Florida and Ohio State proved you can be great in both sports. As for the others, I could see Minnesota and Michigan State improving a lot over the next few years, but it's hard to imagine either overtaking Ohio State and Michigan or even merely joining them. So those teams are left to battle with Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn State, and there doesn't appear to be much wiggle room there.

From: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/index