News and Notes From Around College Football for August 7, 2006

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc.

Monday's Chalktalk

http://www.footballfoundation.com/news.php?id=922

Editor’s Note

Chris Caputo, National Football Foundation communications assistant who helped launch Chalktalk earlier this year, has enrolled at George Washington Law School in Washington, D.C. A scholar-athlete from the NFF’s Morris County Chapter (N.J.), Caputo went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania where he played sprint football as a defensive back and graduated with honors in 2004. We wish Chris the best of luck in law school, and we thank him for his dedication, professionalism and passion for the game and the NFF’s mission.

College Football Hall of Fame to Enshrine 20 Legends Aug. 11-12

On August 11-12, college football fans across the country will gather at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., for a series of events that will pay tribute to the storied careers of 20 of the game’s greatest stars. Out of the more than 4.5 million individuals who have played college football, only 800 players and 173 coaches have been immortalized with a place in the sport’s most hallowed institution. Established in 1951 by the National Football Foundation, the College Football Hall of Fame will recognize a Division I-A Class this week that includes:
Cornelius Bennett (Alabama); Tom Curtis (Michigan); Anthony Davis (Southern California); Keith Dorney (Penn State); Jim Houston (Ohio State); John Huarte (Notre Dame); Roosevelt Leaks (Texas); Mark May (Pittsburgh); Joe Washington (Oklahoma) Paul Wiggin (Stanford); David Williams (Illinois), Coach Pat Dye (East Carolina, Wyoming, Auburn); and Coach Don Nehlen (Bowling Green, West Virginia). Players and coaches from the divisional ranks include: Kevin Dent (Jackson State); John Friesz (Idaho); Ronnie Mallett (Central Arkansas); Jerry Rice (Miss. Valley State); Coach Dick Farley (Williams - Mass.); Coach John Gagliardi (Carroll College (Mont.), St. John's (Minn.); and Coach Vernon "Skip" McCain (Maryland State College).

College Football Hall of Famers Highlight Pro Hall of Fame Class

Harry Carson, a divisional 2002 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame, and the late Reggie White, also a 2002 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame, earned induction this past weekend into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Carson, a 1975 First Team All-America, led South Carolina State to back-to-back conference championships. White, a 1983 unanimous All-America, struck fear into quarterbacks, setting countless records for sacks and tackles at Tennessee.
Troy Aikman, a 2006 ballot candidate for the College Hall of Fame, was also part of this year’s Pro Hall of Fame class. Aikman earned consensus First Team All-America honors in 1988 while leading UCLA to consecutive bowl games. Other members of the Pro Hall’s 2006 class include: Warren Moon, the
1977 Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year and 1978 Rose Bowl MVP from Washington; Rayfield Wright, an All-America at Fort Valley State (Ga.); and Coach John Madden, who played two-ways as an All-Conference player for California Polytechnic College at San Luis Obispo in 1957 and 1958.

Two-Minute Drill


The USA Today Coaches’ Poll was released last week with Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame, Southern California and Oklahoma, claiming the top five spots, respectively. The Coaches’ Poll serves as one of the key components in the BCS Standings, which is tabulated and released by the National Football Foundation and determines who plays for the national championship… The Division I board of directors decided to change the names of Division I-A and Division I-AA to reflect their post-season formats to “Football Bowl Subdivision” and “NCAA Football Championship Subdivision,” respectively, starting in December…

America Football Monthly released its annual list of “Hot Coaches.” The list includes West Virginia’s Rich Rodriquez, Colorado’s Dan Hawkins, San Diego State’s Chuck Long (a 1999 College Football Hall of Fame inductee as a player from Iowa), Navy’s Paul Johnson, Louisville’s Bobby Petrino, UCLA’s Karl Dorrell, and Mississippi Valley State’s Willie Totten (a 2005 College Football Hall of Fame inductee as a player from Mississippi Valley State)… Thirty-three candidates made the Jim Thorpe Award watch list Aug. 3. The winner of the award, annually presented to the nation's best college defensive back, will be announced December 7 on ESPN's College Football Awards Show… Jimmy Harper, the 2002 recipient of the National Football Foundation’s Outstanding Official Award, has retired from the SEC officiating crew after 43 years of service… Trev Alberts, a 1993 unanimous First Team All-America and a 2006 candidate on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot from Nebraska, will join broadcasters Tom Hart, Carter Blackburn, Brian Jones and Jonathan Coachman as part of the CSTV team responsible for the network’s college football coverage.

Florida coach Urban Meyer handed his freshmen, touted by some as the Gators’
best class ever, a photo of the five rings earned by the school’s class of ’
93, which claimed four Southeastern Conference championship rings and a national title ring…Buffalo has signed an agreement to play Penn State on Sept. 15, 2007. In 2006, the Bulls’ schedule includes Auburn, Boston College and Wisconsin… Texas A&M is resisting the Big 12 Conference’s call to move team bands from behind a visitor’s bench. Associate Athletics Director Alan Cannon said the band would not move for the upcoming season… Wake Forest announced details for the third phase of its Groves Stadium renovation project, including plans for club seats, premium club tables and box suites, a new press box and ground level restrooms and concessions.

Florida State will hold its annual Fan Day on Sunday, August 13… ASU Athletics has launched a “Lay Down the Law!” initiative for Sun Devil Fans where individuals can suggest laws, which will be displayed on billboards, that can be applied to ASU sports… Western Michigan will host its Inaugural Bronco Football Women's Clinic Aug. 13… Akron will play host to its annual "Meet the Team" Day event on Aug. 13 with head coach J.D. Brookhart and the entire Zips squad signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans… Notre Dame revamped its Web site www.und.com to provide free audio/coverage for the 2006-07 with a New Fighting Irish All-Access Package… During its Sept. 9 home game against Air Force, Tennessee will recognize the retired numbers of four former Volunteer football players who died during World War II : Bill Nowling, Rudy Klarer, Willis Tucker, Clyde "Ig" Fuson. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of its 1976 national championship, Pittsburgh will honor the team during the Panthers’
season-opening contest with Virginia Sept. 2…

Mid-American Conference Commissioner Rick Chryst announced 50 of the 69 home games will be televised commercially and the conference has partnered with XOS Technologies Inc. to provide Internet broadcasting of 19 games this season... Florida International Athletics Director Rick Mello announced that the Golden Panthers will expand their radio partnerships to include three radio stations with signals that will cover from Palm Beach to Key West. Oregon State announced that Fox Sport Network NW will carry all local Beaver telecasts that were previously aired on the “Beaver Sports Television Network”… Sun Sports is broadcasting “Under The Lights: George O'Leary,” a profile of the Central Florida head coach and the Golden Knights’ historic
2005 season and first bowl berth… Middle Tennessee State Athletics Director Chris Massaro and Cumulus Broadcasting announced that WFN 106.7 FM - The Fan will be Nashville’s flagship radio affiliate for the Blue Raider Network this season.

Tulsa Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham announced that head coach Steve Kragthorpe signed a new six-year contract through the 2011 season… Former Zips standout offensive linemen Mike Grzeskowiak was named offensive graduate assistant at Akron… The Ivy League announced the addition of three staff members for the 2006-07 season: Wesley Harris and Bethany Karantonis, as public information coordinators, and Megan McHugo as a compliance coordinator.

Former Baylor football assistant Tom Adams, 48, died Aug. 2… Former Florida State quarterback Gary Pajcic died Aug. 2 at the age of 58… Paul Eells, the “Voice of the Razorbacks”, died in an automobile accident July 31. Known for his trademark phrase “Touchdown, Arkansas”, Eells, 70, earned the affection of the entire state and Gov. Mike Huckabee called for state flags to fly at half-staff.

Schedule Spotlight: Post New Years Day Non-BCS Games

Bowl - Date - Television Partner

Outback - Jan. 1 - ESPN
AT&T Cotton - Jan. 1 - Fox
Toyota Gator - Jan. 1 - NBC
Capital One - Jan. 1 - ABC
International - Jan. 6 - ESPN2
GMAC - Jan. 7 - ESPN

With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy presented by HealthSouth and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College (Mass.), the NFL-NFF Coaching Academy, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes.

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