Video: Minnesota introduces interesting strategy to excite students
Minnesota has come up with an interesting idea to drum up excitement from the student body to increase ticket sales.
In this clip, Goldy the Gopher goes around campus, hiding around corners and jumping out to scare passing students. While Goldy isn't the most intimidating mascot, he does help get the overall message across at the end of the day.
Plus let's be honest, who doesn't enjoy seeing people get scared silly?
With that in mind, who would be the best / most efficient mascot in the country to reenact this situation with? Our vote would have to go to Mike the Tiger at LSU. How about you?
UCF is looking to add black helmets this fall
Central Florida is planning on breaking out some new black helmets for the 2013 season.
During an event in front of a few hundred fans at Bright House Networks Stadium, head coach George O'Leary showed those in attendance two helmet designs that are being considered.
However, the addition of black helmets has not changed O'Leary's stance on rolling out an all black look anytime soon.
"I don't tell them what to wear except black-on-black, they're not wearing black-on-black," he said, drawing mixed reactions from the crowd including fair amounts of boos and laughter the Orlando Sentinel pointed out.
"Too bad, I'm not listening to you." O'Leary added, smiling.
Here's a look at the two helmets that were being showed off.
Larry Kehres steps down at Mount Union
One of the most dominant reigns in college football history came to an end Wednesday as Mount Union (D-III - OH) head coach Larry Kehres announced his retirement from coaching. He will remain on as the school's athletic director, while assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Vince Kehres will take over as head coach.
Kehres, a Mount Union graduate, returned to Mount Union after two years as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green and one year in the Ohio high school ranks as an assistant football coach and head swimming coach in 1974. He was named athletic director in 1985 and assumed the Purple Raiders' head coaching duties in 1986.
Mount Union ruled Division III and the Ohio Athletic Conference with an iron fist for much of his 27 seasons. Under his guidance, the Purple Raiders posted 23 conference titles, 21 undefeated seasons and 11 national championships. In a 13-year stretch from 1996-2008, Mount Union won the Division III crown nine times. Kehres' most recent title came in his last game as head coach, leading the 15-0 Purple Raiders to the 2012 national title while ranking first nationally in passing efficiency, scoring offense, rushing defense, total defense and scoring defense.
"The best part of the job was developing relationships with players and continuing those relationships following their graduations," Kehres said in the school's release. "Coaching the Purple Raiders has been a tremendous experience for my family. We have shared many great experiences with our players, fellow coaches, trainers and their families. We plan to continue to enjoy working with Mount Union coaches and athletes."
He steps down with a career record of 332-24-3 and an unthinkable .924 winning percentage.
Simply put, Mount Union's run of dominance under Kehres will never again be duplicated in college football history. This is a career where nearly 80 percent of his regular seasons ended with a perfect record, where the last time Mount Union didn't win the Ohio Athletic Conference and reach at least the Division III quarterfinals came in 1991, where his 12th best season ended with a 14-1 record and national title appearance, where his last regular season loss came eight seasons before his retirement. Look at it this way - every single player on Mount Union's roster has seen the Purple Raiders win the conference championship every year of their entire life.
Vince Kehres, also a Mount Union graduate, has spent 13 years on the coaching staff, the last eight as defensive coordinator. He has had a hand in 10 of Mount Union's 11 national titles as either a player or coach.
"Obviously Mount Union football has been a part of my entire life," stated Vince. "I have a passion for coaching and working with young men and I can think of no better place to do that then at Mount Union. I promise this program will continue to uphold the values and ideals that have made Mount Union what it is in the world of college football," said Vince Kehres. "Our mission remains the same -- bring quality young men to this place and allow them the opportunity to grow and be successful on and off the field."
15 of the top 19 revenue-producing schools come from either the SEC or the Big Ten
Cash registers continue to sing at colleges across the nation.
Nowhere is that more true than in the SEC and Big Ten, as illuminated by USA Today on Tuesday. The folks behind the FBS coaching salary database and the FBS athletic director salary database, released their findings on the revenue streams of 228 Division I universities on Tuesday. Revenue ranged from more than $163 million (Texas) to slightly above $3 million (New Orleans) and with a spread like that, it's hard to fathom how anyone those schools are truly peers competing against each other for the same prize.
Of the 13 schools to top the $100 million mark in the 2012 fiscal year, ten came from either the SEC or the Big Ten and a 14th, Arkansas, came less than $250,000 shy from joining the club. Seven of the top eight and 15 of the top 19 revenue-generating programs came from those two conferences.
Here's a look at the top 20.
1. Texas - $163,295,115
2. Ohio State - $142,043,057
3. Michigan - $140,131,187
4. Alabama - $124,899,945
5. Florida - $120,772,106
6. Texas A&M - $119,702,222
7. LSU - $114,787,786
8. Penn State - $108,252,281
9. Oklahoma - $106,456,616
10. Auburn - $105,951,251
11. Wisconsin - $103,803,040
12. Tennessee - $102,884,286
13. Florida State - $100,049,444
14. Arkansas - $99,757,482
15. Iowa - $97,902,974
16. Oregon - $94,635,829
17. Michigan State - $93,946,707
18. Georgia - $91,670,613
19. Kentucky - $88,373,452
20. Louisville - $87,840,501
One has to feel for a school like Tennessee. The Vols are one of only a baker's dozen teams to earn nine figures worth of revenue, out-earn more than 96 percent of their Division I peers, but come in sixth place in their own conference. That's the double-edged sword of life inside the SEC.
Here's a look at the top earners by FBS conference and where they stand in the national rankings:
Big 12: Texas - $163,295,115, 1st
Big Ten: Ohio State - $142,043,057, 2nd
SEC: Alabama - $124,899,945, 4th
ACC: Florida State - $100,049,444, 13th
Pac-12: Oregon - $94,635,829, 16th
Big East: Louisville - $87,840,501, 20th
Mountain West: UNLV - $58,806,533, 47th
Conference USA: East Carolina - $35,575,172, 65th
MAC: Massachusetts - $29,762,217, 73rd
Sun Belt: Texas State - $26,886,756, 84th
Here are the top five revenue-producing FCS schools, listed by where they stand inside Division I.
67. James Madison - $34,595,223
69. Delaware - $31,115,528
86. Stony Brook - $25,938,411
89. Rhode Island - $25,719,036
90. UC Davis - $25,554,765
93. New Hampshire - $24,436,579
To see the full database, please click here.
Take a look at the hilarious note that Kliff Kingsbury left his players
With his players getting ready for summer "vacation", Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury decided to leave them a memo reminding them of the lifting times during May, and what should be important to them over the summer months in order to be successful come fall.
As only a young head coach can, Kingsbury cleverly (and hilariously) works in a few video game references to strike a chord with his players.
This is awesome.
(H/T to Bloguin for the picture)
David Shaw explains why he's impressed with Mark Helfrich
David Shaw and Mark Helfrich have a lot more in common than just being head coaches in the same conference. With Helfrich taking over things in Eugene, both head coaches have taken the reigns of very successful programs and both have taken over for head coaches who have left to conquer the NFL.
Being in a very similar situation just a few years ago taking over for Jim Harbaugh, David Shaw has kept his eye on Helfrich thus far, and explained to ESPN why he thinks Helfrich has handled the transition perfectly.
"I think he's done it perfectly so far. The first thing you don't want to do is spend so much time putting your stamp on it that you don't do what's best for the kids. The most important thing is that you put the kids in position to be successful. It's got to be about the team. And your team feeds off of that." Shaw explained.
"It's a great opportunity for Mark to step out in front and poke his chest out and talk about how great he is and all the things he's going to do and change. He hasn't done that. He's said 'Hey, we're going to play our offense. This is Oregon's offense. We're going to play as best as we can. We're going to improve every single day.'"
"All the moves he's made, all the decisions he's made, all the words he said have all been exactly what should be done," Shaw said. "That reassures your team. Really, that's how the team becomes your team because they believe in the coach and they believe he's going to do what's best for them."
Shaw, who has compiled a 23-4 record in two seasons as a head coach, knows a thing or two about making a successful transition, so it would be pretty difficult to get a better stamp of approval as a first year head coach.
It's going to be great watching these two square off in early November.
Why don't more schools release videos like this to name their captains?
New Mexico was the first team we've seen release the name of their captains with a well done video, and our first thought after seeing it was "Why aren't more teams doing something like this?".
Well Seton Hill (D-II - PA) took the idea and ran with it, tying together season highlights with pictures of their newly named captains.
Here's a look at what they came up with.
Wyoming is putting a mountain range on its new field
Graphically bold playing surface designs are a new trend that has spread quickly through college basketball. Palm trees at Long Beach State. The beach at Florida International. Pine trees at Oregon. The Rocky Mountains at the Mountain West tournament. It was a trend solely contained to college basketball, until now.
Wyoming is installing a new field at War Memorial Stadium and decided to remind opponents they were competing on a field that lies more than a mile and a quarter above sea level. While they're sticking to the traditional green between the goal lines, the Cowboys will be the first team to depict a mountain range in the end zones. And if any NCAA personnel are reading this, don't worry, there are no hashtags to be seen on the new surface.
"It's great that we are getting a new surface, and it will be nice to have our gameday gold incorporated in the new design," head coach Dave Christensen said in the school's official release.
(H/T Eye on College Football)
