Over 80 Attend Inaugural NFF-FWAA Football Forum

The National Football Foundation and the Football Writers Association of America held the inaugural Football Forum last Thursday and Friday, hosting over 80 coaches, administrators and national news media to discuss the college game. The event, which was held at the Grand Hyatt at DFW International Airport, was moderated by Fox Sports’ Chris Rose and panelists included Kansas head coach Mark Mangino, TCU head coach Gary Patterson, Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, Washington head coach Tyrone Willingham, Florida State University president Dr. T.K. Wetherell, Army director of athletics Kevin Anderson, Notre Dame director of athletics Dr. Kevin White, and Big 12 Conference commissioner Dan Beebe. Key topics included the state of college football, bowls, the BCS vs. playoffs, popularity of the game, financing of the sport, minority coaching opportunities, recruiting, the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR), and several other pertinent topics. Transcripts of the event are available at www.footballfoundation.com.


NFF News

Texas head coach Mack Brown was a special guest at last week’s Greater Austin Chapter scholar-athlete banquet. Former Longhorn standout and current UT assistant coach Major Applewhite addressed the scholar-athletes and large audience at the gathering. College Football Hall of Famers Darrell Royal, Roosevelt Leaks, James Saxton, and Chris Gilbert joined UT director of athletics and NFF John L. Toner Award recipient DeLoss Dodds, NFF board member Christine Plonsky, and chapter president/former Texas head coach David McWilliams among the participants.

The College Football Hall of Fame's 12th Annual KeyBank Gridiron Legends Luncheon Series continues Tuesday with Indiana head coach Bill Lynch… Country music legend Travis Tritt will perform in South Bend on Friday, July 18, 2008 at the Morris Performing Arts Center, during the Enshrinement Festival. Please go to www.collegefootball.org for more information on both events.

Regis Philbin visited the Sports Museum of America last week during a portion of "Live with Regis and Kelly". The segment included a museum tour, highlighting artifacts on loan from the College Football Hall of Fame. The Notre Dame helmet worn by College Football Hall of Famer Angelo Bertelli in the 1943 national championship was one of the featured items.

Two-Minute Drill

Ohio State players assisted in College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin’s Stay in School Day… Syracuse student-athletes have been reaching out to Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops to provide life lessons and to emphasize staying in school… Baylor-Wake Forest will open FSN’s national telecast schedule on Thurs., Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. (CDT) from Waco, Texas… 2005 College Hall of Famer David Williams will be recognized in ceremonies prior to the Illinois-Eastern Illinois game on Sept. 6… Arkansas State has begun its “Howling for Red Wolf” season ticket drive… Colorado State has beefed up its 2008 season ticket packages with a “Young Alumni Special” offer… Northwestern head coach and 2008 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Pat Fitzgerald will appear on the first stop of the university’s Chicagoland Caravan at Brookfield Zoo… Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen will participate in today’s Johnny Holliday Scholarship Classic celebrity golf tourney, hosted by radio voice of the Terrapins and former Chris Schenkel Award winner Johnny Holliday... Eastern Washington’s new head coach Beau Baldwin will address alumni and fans in Colville, Wash., and Tacoma, Wash., for the first time in coming days… The Cleveland Sports Commission has begun selling individual tickets for the Aug. 30 Kent State-Boston College First Merit Patriot Bowl at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Southern California and the Los Angeles Coliseum have signed a 25-year agreement for Trojans’ home football games… Kansas State is beginning enhancement of football facilities and proposed construction of a Kansas State Hall of Fame area… TCU's Sam Baugh Indoor Practice Facility has captured the 2008 AGC/Quoin Summit Merit Award from the National Association of General Contractors… Oklahoma is installing a $4.5 million state-of-the art HD video screen – one of the five largest nationally… Southern Illinois has received a $500,000 pledge from the Southern Illinois Orthopedic Center for Saluki Way athletics facility projects… St. Francis (Ind.) is performing a $200,000 renovation of its athletics center.

The Big Ten Conference and Learfield Sports have partnered to develop a multimedia rights agreement to institute Big Ten Sports Properties in 2008… Bill Carollo has been named coordinator of football officials for the Big Ten… Bill Reeves, director of athletics at Texas-Arlington from 1975-93, was named to the Southland Conference Hall of Fame… The Sun Belt Conference has slated its football media days in New Orleans on July 21-22… Western Athletic Conference media days will be held on July 22-24 in Salt Lake City.

Texas head coach Mack Brown was honored with The Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at a dinner in Austin last Friday. College Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno gave the keynote address at the event, while 1993 Hall of Famer Lynn Swann served as the emcee. Brown is one of only a few college coaches in history to be endowed with a chair… College Football Hall of Fame coach Frank Broyles is one of eight directors of athletics named to the NACDA Hall of Fame in 2008. Others include Jake Crouthamel, Syracuse; Joe Etzel, Portland; Christine Grant, Iowa; Willis Ham, South Carolina State; Ted Leland, Stanford; William Moore, Central Connecticut State; and Ron Warnock, De Anza College (Calif.)… Central Michigan and George Mason athletics have received 2007-08 Diversity Awards from the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport… Wake Forest director of athletics Ron Wellman, UConn’s Jeff Hathaway, Kansas’ Lew Perkins, and Ohio State’s Gene Smith are the four finalists for the 2008 Street & Smith Sports Business Journal Athletics Director of the Year Award… Navy director of athletics Chet Gladchuk has been appointed to the NCAA Leadership Council… Former Duke QB Leo Hart was inducted in the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame last week.

Indiana has signed an eight-year pact with Adidas for athletics apparel… Alabama has signed a new agreement with Buffalo Rock Bottling Co. of Birmingham to provide Pepsi products for all athletics and campus events… Connecticut’s “Huskies All Access” weekly television program has earned a New England Emmy Award.

Dave Scobey, 85, a member of the Middle Tennessee Chapter and longtime Southeastern Conference football official, died last Monday in Nashville, Tenn. He officiated 12 bowls, notably the 1978 Clemson-Ohio State Gator Bowl (College Football Hall of Fame coach Woody Hayes’ final game).

Key NFF Dates

July 18-19: College Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival - South Bend, Ind.
July 23-27: NFF Play It Smart National Conference - Arlington, Texas
Dec. 9: NFF Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf=Astoria – New York, N.Y.
Jan. 5, 2009: National Hall of Fame Salute at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – Glendale, Ariz.
Jan. 9, 2009: Presentation of MacArthur Trophy to BCS national champion – Miami, Fla.

2009 BCS Schedule

Jan. 1: Rose Bowl presented by Citi – Pasadena, Calif., ABC
Jan. 1: FedEx Orange Bowl – Miami, Fla., Fox
Jan. 2: Allstate Sugar Bowl – New Orleans, La., Fox
Jan. 5: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – Glendale, Ariz., Fox
Jan. 8: FedEx BCS National Championship Game – Miami, Fla., Fox



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