[quote name='jerseyguy' post='347203' date='Dec 17 2007, 07:50 PM']
I didn't realize Jerrry Moore was that old. Doesn't make much sense to bring in someone to run a program who's pushing 70. There are not reports out of Morgantown that Nick Sabin's name is being floated. Here we go!
[/quote]



Evidently, Saban's agent has contacted WVU and expressed an interest in WVU's coaching vacancy. Interesting to see how this soap opera plays out. WVU will have 4 million dollars from the Michigan buyout and 2.5 from the Beilien Buyout from last season. WVU's received a 35 million dollar contributiion 3 years ago and 20 million dollar contribution this season to the university. Take into account HUggins in just a short 7 months at the helm of the basketball team has raised 25 million dollars for a state of the art basektball factility all from PRIVATE FUNDS which should rank as possibly rank the best in the facility. WVU is no shortage for cash in landing a coach or projects.


Personally, I am glad RR is gone. I am looking forward to a coach that can pass downfield instead of seeing 20 bubble screens when the opposing team knows our plays. WVU has a pletheroa of offensive and defensive talent waiting to be utilized in the correct capacity I don't know if Saban or Bowden is the answer.


I hope WVU uses the abundeance of money we have or that's incoming to hire someone who can win a natioinal championship in the nxt couple years based otthe roster of major talent on the sidelines.


RR couldn;t do it against a 4 win bad Pitt team, so it's my opinion he ran off like a *itch. Also, the rumors of rita serving him with divorce papers might have had something to do with it. It seems ros had an affinity for a certain real estate agent that was exposed the week before the Pitt game.


Who knows.



Wrote by PSU:


Where's GymMountainEER? Wasn't he insisting that RR wasn't going anywhere last year, he was at WVU for life?
[/quote]


I've been busy. I just recently opend a bail bond business in Happy Valley. My business plan is to offer 20 percent discount to all PSU student athletes. I'll be a millionare by next year, no doubt. LOL

congrats on the new business

maybe you can discounts to JoePa's hair pieces as well

when rugs go bad! next on Faux

Rita serving RR with divorce papers? Now that's a juicy bit of intrigue.

Sabin would be a great hire, but I just don't see it happening. And even if it did, he'd probably only hang around for a couple of years until something better came along. I just hope the WVU administration doesn't go into panic mode and hire Terry Bowden. I think that would be an absolute disaster. The guy hasn't coached for 10 years. There's got to be a reason why no one has come calling.

What concerns me is how this will affect recruiting. Pryor, the big QB recruit out of Ohio had WVU as one of his finalists. He now says he's added Michigan to that list. I also wonder if RR's bailout will prompt Slaton and White to enter the NFL draft.

Also,


ROd called in Backup QB Jarett Brown into hids office ans inquired if he would be interested in transfering to MIchigan. Evidently, he asked for a meeting with Noel Devine. Devine was a no show at this request and seems he's not happy with RR's decision. There were 10-15 players who walked out on RR during his conference with the players. He's done in Morgantown. No one wants him there in any capacity. He's now WVU public enemy along with VT, Pitt, Maryland, Penn State, Boston College, MIami, Rutgers, Louisville, and USF>

What a soap opera.


http://postgazette.com/pg/07352/842541-144.stm

WVU Officials Blamed for Coach Leaving



http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?i...e=ESPNHeadlines

Source: Attorneys to contest ex-coach having to pay $4M to WVU




Apparently, if WVU had given Rod the following he would have stayed:

• Allow at least an additional $100,000 in bonus money for his assistants.

• Allow scholarship players to retain possession of textbooks at the end of each term, which meant they could have sold them, as apparently happens at other programs.

• Waive a $5 ticket fee for each high-school football coach attending Mountaineer home games, a fee that generates an estimated $5,000 for the university each season.

• Hire seven graduate assistants and a new recruiting coordinator, to ease the duties performed by secondary coach Tony Gibson.


They didn't, and now the buyout is in jeopardy.

Apparently Golfer24 you don't have the slightest clue to what you are talking about (I am being very nice when I type this).

80 percent of what RichFraud asked for last year had been given or the projects he wanted totaling over 20 million dollars had already been started or completed.

The things you specify are MINOR. RichFraud called many of his recruits before he let WVU's administration know he was leaving. Rest assured, RichFrauds agent was in contact with Michigan for most of the year. Only a fool considering the evidence would think thse MINOR reasons are the reasons he left.


RichFraud made 2 million dollars this past year to coach WVU football. He makes 20 times what the governor of WV makes. RichFraud has the most outstanding athletic facilities of any Big East school - AND It's not even close, yet he is crying over not some minor details.


This is not the reason he is leaving. He is leaving because his idiotic hair plug ( who the hell was his hair surgeon anyway because it looks awful) lying, cheating, unethical ass got outcoached by the worst coach in college football ( Wanny) and lost to a PATHETIC PItt team with the national championship on the line AT HOME.

That will be Rich's legacy at WVU. Pat White, Steve Slaton, Dan Moses, Darrius Reynaud, Owen Schmitt, and many other oustanding MountainEERS made RichFraud. He didn't make them.


MountainEER football will continue to excel. We aren't the 15th winningest football programs over night.


NYD, BCS, and National Championship games await. The next coach as Greg Doyel stated on CBSsportline today WVU is one of the top 10 coaching positions in America.



P.S.


I am looking forward to the next coach who won't throw 55 bubble screen passes and will actually allow QB's to pass downfield more than 3 yards.

Everything in my post came directly from press reports, so I don't know how that equates to me "not having a clue" what I'm talking about.

IMO you are fooling yourself if you think the next WVU coach will be better than Rich Rodriguez. The semi-unhinged glee with which Michigan fans are reacting should be enough indication. You are approaching Arkansas levels of self-aggrandizement with that post.


I mean, who will replace him? Terry Bowden, the guy who got run out of Auburn by a pitchfork-wielding mob and hasn't coached in 10 years? That's supposed to be an upgrade?

From CBSSPORTSLINE.com


The most attractive college football job in years is available right now.




And it's at West Virginia.



http://www.sportsline.com/columns/story/10535583


Landing a coach the caliber of Jim Grobe would keep WVU humming. (Getty Images)
So maybe you're wondering: If West Virginia is such a great job, why is it available? Answer: Don't ask me. Ask Rich Rodriguez what he was thinking when he took a few more bucks, and a lot more headaches, to leave the Mountaineers for Michigan.

Michigan is a great job too, of course. It's not quite the job that Michigan or its fans think it is -- the best job in the Big Ten is and forever will be the one at Ohio State -- but it's among the top 10 or 15 jobs in college football.

But when it comes to winning a national championship, it's behind West Virginia, especially the West Virginia that Rodriguez was kind enough to bequeath to whomever replaces him. CBSSports.com college football expert Dennis Dodd thinks the replacement should be Terry Bowden, which would be like handing the keys to a Lexus to Lindsay Lohan.

This job is too good for Terry Bowden or Tommy Bowden or any Bowden who might like to have it. This job is so good, it deserves the best coach in college football, pound-for-pound category, which of course is Jim Grobe at Wake Forest. And in lieu of that, it deserves an NFL coach itching to make the move to college, assuming the NFL coach is more Pete Carroll than Dave Wannstedt.



Elderly WV sports writer comes out of retirement to call it the way it is:


I'd gladly help Rodriguez pack
By Bill Smith
For the Daily Mail
I'VE never done this before -- in almost 17 years of retirement -- but I am weary of coaches at West Virginia University going through the process of blackmailing the school to get what they want and then immediately selling themselves to the highest bidder.

So, I'm venting.

As far as ex-WVU football Coach Rich Rodriguez is concerned, who do I call to volunteer to help him pack?

One year ago he played a bluff using Alabama as his ace in the hole to get what he wanted from WVU. I don't think I'd want to play poker with him. I don't even think I want to be around a person like that. The school gave him everything he asked for. He said at the time he was committed to the university for a "long, long time." After all, he was a West Virginia native and an alumnus of the school. It was home.

What a bunch of bull! In Rodriguez' mind the contract wasn't worth the paper it was written on. His commitment lasted less than one full season. Where I come from we call such a person a welsher.

I had more commitment to my job as former sports editor of the Daily Mail, and I sure as heck didn't make a lot of money. But I was loyal and the paper was loyal to me.

Let's see? As far as I know, Rodriguez taught no classes. Didn't contribute one thing to the education of his players, except to teach them how to knock their opponents senseless and how to use four-letter words. Oh, yes, he taught them "character" too -- like how to honor a contract. And for doing that he made umpteen times what Gov. Joe Manchin makes. Talk about a world out of whack.

What about his assistants and their wives and families? Will he take all of them to Michigan? No, probably just two or three. For the ones left behind, great news at Christmas, huh? Yeah, Merry Christmas, guys. See you later.

He has a $4 million buyout in his contract. In other words, if he breaks his contract for another position, either the school that hires him or Rodriguez himself has to pay WVU the $4 million for the school to let him out of his contract. When basketball coach John Beilein abandoned WVU last year (I don't put him in same category as Rodriguez) for the Michigan job, Michigan refused to buy out his contract and Beilein talked WVU into negotiating and taking a smaller buyout.

WVU administrators should have learned their lesson. Even if they have to file a lawsuit, they should hold Michigan and Rodriguez to the full terms of the contract -- $4 million, and not one cent less!

Unfortunately, big-time college football and basketball haven't been about student-athletes competing against one another for more than half a century now. It's big, big business. It's all about money.

Some will say, "Yes, but Rodriguez took WVU football to new heights." He did, but he was paid for it. He was very well paid for it. He was doing the job he was paid to do.

Is he a great coach? I'm sure he is. Is Bobby Bowden a great coach? I'm sure he is. He's the winningest coach in the history of college football. However, I hate to say it, because Bobby is a dear friend of mine, but his Florida State team wasn't all that great this year.

The late, great Woody Hayes wrote a book years ago entitled "You Win With Players." There aren't any secrets in coaching, Oh, you might pull off an upset once in a while, but you won't win if you don't have the players.

Rodriguez' spread offense has some great players. But he lost to Pitt. No, he not only lost, he got outcoached. And in my humble opinion, it was the worst defeat in the history of WVU football.

So, Michigan can have Rodriguez (and Beilein, too). I think we have a winner in Bob Huggins. And WVU will find a winner in football, too. And the wheel goes around and around. In certain relationships, if a person doesn't want me, I don't want him. I'm funny that way.

As for Coach Rod, if you think you felt heat after you lost to Pitt a couple of weeks ago, just wait until you lose to Ohio State.






Terry Bowden has won bigtime every where he was and he is a WVU guy through and through.


Bowden got into it with Auburn's top booster while at Auburn. That's why he was run out. We all know how SHADY SEC boosters can be, don't we?

SEC boosters shady?

NEVER!

Jim, just a couple of observations.....

I wouldn't consider Pat White a student of the vertical passing game. He can make the throws but not consistently, so the vertical passing game is probably not his strength, nor a strength of the WVA offense. Yes, the read spread option WVa employs is designed for the QB/RB to run or throw depending on the situation and the defensive formation, but we both know Pat is at his best (most dangerous) when running the ball. But Pat was very tentative against Pitt and Pitt's high risk strategy of stacking the line worked to perfection that night. But Jim, the mystery question is why it worked. Pitt coaches clearly knew earlier this season, and last, what they needed to do to slow down the WVa spread, but couldn't. What was different this time round? Why was Pitt able to do this year what they couldn't last year? How did they shut down the WVA offense? Rodriguez took the fight out of the WVa offense; that's what I think. Rodriguez was badly out-coached, but even that's not the whole story. Pitt stopped the WVA running game by walking safties up to the line of scrimmage, putting eight, sometimes nine men, in the box. I'm not sure any team can run the ball consistently against an eight or nine man front. In my mind, even the most basic slip/bubble screens become difficult against that defensive alignment because there's just too many bodies crowding the line to work screens. QBs must throw the ball downfield to make the safties respect the passing game, keep them honest, back them off the line of scrimmage, so that the running game and bubble screens have room to develop.

I'm not a student of the West Virginia offense, so I'm just giving my opinion, but it seemed to me the Rodriguez offensive strategy against Pitt was to keep everything simple, to rely on the run, pass sparingly, and limit turnovers; a very vanilla and conservative philosophy. Basically the gameplan was designed NOT to lose his team's #2 ranking and his team's chance at a National Championship. In effect, the Rodriguez philosophy turned a usually agressive offense into a one-dimensional (the run game) and defensible offense. If there's such a thing as a prevent offense, the antithesis of a prevent defense, this was it. Teams don't win a lot of football games neutralizing its strengths; the things that got them that #2 ranking in the first place. Teams don't win a lot of football games when asked to do things they don't normally do and scared to run plays that have proven successful for years. Especially against a vastly inferior Pitt team. I've seen Pat throw the ball down the field plenty of times; he's a capable QB, but against Pitt, I don't think it was even in the game plan. In short, Rich turned a previously spectacular and versatile spread offense offense into a stagnant and predictable one that simply ran theball from a spread set; there was little, or no, option at all (no passing game). That's not the West Virginia I saw earlier in the season, or, the West Virginia that beat Georgia. It's a shame that on this night, Rich allowed National Championship implications to turn him into an offensive coward. If anyone is to blame for the loss to Pitt, it is Rich Rodriguez and his unwillingness to put the ball in the air and force Pitt's hand on defense; I don't blame the WVa players at all. Worse, he made no game time, or half-time adjustments.

One last thing. Rodriguez was under-paid. I know I live in SEC country where coaches salaries are high, but in my opinion, Rodriguez was worth a lot more than $1.8M/year. Not saying he's not a scoundrel for taking back his word and trying to wriggle out of the $4M buy-out, but dude, that's part of big time football. In a way, its a testament to the fact that Mountaineer football has arrived; other programs are now willing to pay thru the nose to lure away your coach. But here's something that should make you happy. Unless and until Michigan gets a running QB (Terrell Pryor definitely qualifies and he is interested in UM), Rodriguez read spread option can't work at Michigan. Chad Henie and Henie prototypes can't fulfil Rodriguez's football vision because they can't run the ball. Teams like tOSU and UM are stuck in the twilight zone; still clinging pointlessly to the power eye. That's a thing of the past. I think the Michigan faithful know it too; that's why they went after a guy with a contemporary and exciting football mind. Michigan and tOSU have some of the best players in the contrty but both are built for power football. If Rodriiguez is successful at Michigan, and he should be, he will have to do a complete overhaul; he'll have to replace find a running QB who can throw the ball effectively, turn power backs and possession receivers into gazelles, and convert powerful but slow linemen into fleet-footed blockers that can get up the field on running plays. And even that's not his biggest obstacle. He'll have to convince Michigan fans and alumni that the football (the power run) they've watched for almost a century is unworkable in modern college football. People are slow to change, afraid of change, especially radical change, so Rich has a diffuclt task in front of him; he's got to change the mindset of millions of UM fans. It won't be easy.

P.S. This is not an attack on Rodriguez. He 's got a masterful offensive mind, but it wasn't on display against Pitt.

Thomas,


You hit a home run with your post. Richfraud had no game plan or halftime adjustment for the Pitt game. He was an offensive coward. He honestly believed WVU could just line up and do whatever it wanted against Pitt and a 55-14 blowout would be the outcome. After the 1st quarter when it was obvious Pitt was getting 3-4 yards on every carry and gaining first downs and eating the clock on long sustained drives, he paniced and it resonated with the WVU players. We're talking about players who have won 2 NYD bowl games, yet they were frozen. Why? RichFraud didn't have an answer or solution.

WVU didn't throw ONE play action pass after the first quarter. Are you kidding me? We have college football's most mobile quarterback and even our backup QB is a p roven winnner who can throw better than Pat WHite, yet RichRod only wanted to hand off to Slaton, bubble screen, or run the QB on a draw or designed running play. Pitt had 9 in the box ( 6 up front and 3 linebackers blitzing) Pitt wasn't even guarding WVU's outside receivers who were not a threat for the bubble screen pass. How freakin funny is that?


ALso, how difficult would it have been to have the tight end run a route since NO ONE would have been guarding him at some point. OH yeah. WVU is probably the only team in college football that NEVER threw to the THIGHT end in college football this year. Why should have RR adjusted his game plan to have a pass to a wide open tight end.




Ughhhh


Regarding Richfraud now trying to get out of the buyout, it just shows you the type of man he is. He cheated on his wife in Morgantown. He now has one of WVU's top 5 influential boosters ( owner of the Arizona Diamonbacks) making public statements downgrading WVU. Btw, Richfraud and the booster are like best friends, so this doesn't surprise anyone and the booster has only been a contributing member to WVU since RichFraud became coach. This all boils down to a Booster and RichFraud's ego wanting to control WVU football. What they found out is there are many more influential and well off boosters ( milan puskar who donated 40 million dollars 3 years ago) and one other ( 20 million this year) who won't tolerate these antics who've been life lonf donars.


Also, RR was pissed off Huggins just walked into WVU and in 7 months ALL THROUGH private donations was able to raise 25 million dollars for a new state of the art basketball practice facility that will rival Kentucky, Louisvillle, Kansas, and in school in America.


RR has some issues. WVU fans knew this before but we thought they were ironed out and he his personal issues he could resolve on his own. OBviously he and his wife need to get away from Morgantown. What's sad is with all their downsides, they are going out like this attacking a university that's done more for him than any other coach in the History of Mountaineer athletics.

Looks like FLorida Associate Head coach and former WVU player DOc Holiday is the front runner for the position. Holiday does have outstanding recruiting ties to Florida where WVU likes to go to get our speed players. Meyer runs the spread offense ( albiet a different version) at Florida, so that's encouraging. Also, Holiday is not affiliated with RichFrad and its easy to say they've disliked each other. When Holiday left WVU the year RichFraud was hired and didn't retain much of legendary coach Nehlen's staff come players left with Holiday to NC State. One of the players was a two time all Big East tight end who became an All American an NC State and left when RR told him essentially he would never get the ball passed to him because of his style of offense.



Here are some other candidates:


Terry Bowden ( former WVU player), CMU ( MAC Champs this year) coach and former WVU player Butch Jones, FSU offensive line coach and former WVU assistant coach, and possibly Virginia Tech defensive cordintor Bud Foster are interviewing for the positionas well.


I am not a fan of Buch Jones. He has no ties to the state and is a RR disciple. GOod riddance to that era.


I do think Bod Foster would be an interesting candidate. He has stated a couple times this week he would love to coach at WVU. He has been the architect of the great Virginia Tech defenses ( yes I just said great in the same sentence with VT). My only concern is would he bolt back to blacksburg when Beamer retired.

Gee, now you know what's it's like being a Penn State fan. LOL Playing not to lose, instead of to win, forgetting you have a tight end most of the time, running the ball even when you have receivers open... then forcing them to make a circus catch to keep the drive alive. The opposing team knows every play you're going to run before you do. Your offensive play calling is just downright offensive, and your gameplan is more vanilla than the uniforms. Thank God for the defense...

Many of your complaints about the coaching at PSU are the same gripes we Texas fans have of Mack Brown:

1. Offensive play calling that's downright offensive - check.

2. Vanilla gameplan - check.

3. Playing not to lose, instead of to win - check.

4. Forgetting you have a TE most of the time - check.

5. The opposing team knows every play you're gonna run before you do - check.

We, or Mack Brown rather, can "one up" you:

a. No defense (pass D is ranked in the 100s; last year was the same even though the secondary had a Thorpe Award winner & 3 guys taken in the NFL draft).

b. East-west running game AND passing game (everytime our offensive coordinator, Greg Davis, calls one of them damned bubble "screens," I just want to wring his neck).

I'm gonna stop there before I lose it.

Maybe the NCAA should start toying with the idea of salary caps for college coaches.....the Petrinos, RR's, and Sabans of the world might think twice......

Pat White and Devine are staying! Woooooo Hooooo


Looks like Terry Bowden has leaped Holliday as the front runner after Bowden Senior called WV gov. and endorsed his son. Bowden has apparently already assembled a staff that's going to send shock waves through the SEC and ACC.


Looks like it's gonnna be Bowden.


Btw, SCTrojan, your little dig about WVU having a welaty booster is an oxymoron on the queen board was funny. Well funny to those how are deaf and blind, maybe.


WVU could lose 40 percent of it's boosters and still have more financial reources than USC. Take that to the bank.

USC plays in a dumpy off campus stadium and your basketballl arena is bush league. Btw, how are all the legal problems of USC paying Bush and other plaers coming along? Tread Carefully. WVU's received almost 100 million dollars in donations in the last 6-7 years. It's hardly an oxymoron.

Ummmm, in case you haven't noticed, USC plays in a brand spanking new state of the art hoops arena(The Galen Center). Hardly a bush league arena.....

Now about those 100$ Parking fees outside the Coliseum for football...yikes !

Gosh I'm running for the bait right this moment! ...Like I'm gonna waste my f**kin breath, Puuuuhhhleeeze! ...Damn troll!

It's a cute little arena with a capacity barely over 10,000 people located across the street from USC's campus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galen_Center


I guess I would have expected more from "USC" since our little Trojan was having a field day stating welahty boosters at WVU is an oxymoron. It's amazing some of the ignorance that's spewed on the other board.

I just thought I would call him out of it. WVU's new practice facility almost rivals USC's brand new basketball arena. I have always enjoyed the curtians at the off campus football stadium at USC. The curtians over certain parts of the stadium are done with precision to ensure fans don't sit in poor seats for a stadium that was built for Olympics ( ie track and field) and not football games.


Oh well. I guess us poor WVU fans will have to do with the close to 100 million dollars we've received from private donations eavery 5 years or so that assist an athletic department that ALWYAS has a surpluss from it's own revenue and some of the best facilities in the nation.



If only WVU could have USC's faclilities.
LOL!




Honey, you should be accustomed to running.


THis is funny

" Like I am even going to waste my breath"


You already did pretty well eslewhere, now you are at a lost of words.


NO worries though. I've never found you interesting enough to engage in anything more than this....


So you are safe.

Is that why West Virginia finished 57th in last year's Director's Cup standings? Princeton and Harvard are 63 and 64. You'd think WfVU could put that $100M every 5 years to better use. At least they are ranked 10th so far this year behind--you guessed it--USC at #5.


This is really a stupid argument. Who gives a shit about a basketball facility on a football board? And I hate USC.

WVU doesn't compete at many sports that those teams like UCLA and so forth do.


WVU's football team's been in the top 10 the last 3 years and was actually as ranked as high as 6th 4 years ago.

WVU's basketball team's been ranked the last 4 years.

WVU's women's team is currently ranked 13th.

WVU's men and women's basketball team are top 10 teams.


WVU's cross country team finished 9th this year.

WVU's gymnastics team is a top 20 program.

WVU's wrestling team is a top 20 team.

WVU's rifle team is the best in the nation having won 12 national championships.

WVU's swimming team won the Big East with a 12-0 record and was a top 10 team.


WVU is usually good in baseball.

WVU's women rowing team is among the best in the nation.



Btw, some of that that 100 million goes toward academics, too. There is a reason why WVU produces an abundance of Rhodes Scholars that only Ivy League schools can rival.

Umm......yeah, thats because WVU doesn't have the money to support as many teams. Now stop flailing.


STACK Magazine Releases First Annual College Rankings of NCAA Football, Basketball and Other Division I Sports Programs:
http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=132308

1.) University of North Carolina
2.) Stanford University
3.) University of Texas
4.) University of California, Los Angeles
5.) Duke University
6.) University of Florida
7.) University of Michigan
8.) University of Southern California
9.) Ohio State University
10.) University of Wisconsin
11.) University of Virginia
12.) Notre Dame
13.) University of Georgia
14.) University of California at Berkeley
15.) University of Tennessee
16.) Louisiana State University
17.) Auburn University
18.) University of Illinois
19.) Penn State University
20.) Florida State University
21.) Rice University
22.) University of Washington
23.) Arizona State University
24.) University of Maryland
25.) Georgetown University
26.) Northwestern University
27.) Texas A&M
28.) University of Minnesota
29.) Oregon State University
30.) Clemson University
31.) Boston College
32.) Georgia Tech
33.) Vanderbilt University
34.) University of Connecticut
35.) Wake Forest University
36.) Rutgers University
37.) University of Kansas
38.) Cornell University
39.) University of Nebraska
40.) University of Louisville
41.) Brigham Young University
42.) Southern Methodist University
43.) University of Arizona
44.) California State University at Fullerton
45.) University of Portland
46.) Michigan State University
47.) University of Colorado
48.) Indiana University
49.) Baylor University
50.) Purdue University

no west virginie on the list !

Of course, I'd rather to be good to outstanding at the majority of sports ( especially the major ones) than average at most and only great at one or two that actually have more than 3 people in the stands cheering on the great water polo victory.

HA HA Haaaa! This coming from a school where 13 of its 14 NCAA titles are in "co-ed rifle". Yeah, that's a major sport.

And just so you can be more informed in the future, the water polo championships average about 3,000 in attendance......ncaa women's volleyball finals average 15,000.

"And just so you can be more informed in the future, the water polo championships average about 3,000 in attendance......ncaa women's volleyball finals average 15,000."


Wow. I am aroused now.

Is Bellotti heading to UCLA?!?

LOL. WfVU has only one other national championship, EVER? Which sport?


Bellotti to UCLA would be a huge hire. Norm Chow would have been a disaster and I would have been OK with Neuheisel.

Well.....way back in 1938 WVU was in a 3-way tie for the Boxing title. LOL. Of course, that was such a major sport, that it was discontinued.

WVU has never won an NCAA title in any major sport.

For the record (I know you didn't initially raise this issue SteelResolve ), here's the list of all-time NCAA title holders.

Total sports: SC @ #3
Men's sports: SC @ #1
Women's Sports: SC @ #8, and they just recently won the women's soccer title so that should now = 12 titles in this category & 85 titles for Total Sports.

WVU won the 1941 NIT. At that time it was on par with the NCAA.




Anyway, doesn't USC have to rent all it's faclities from various groups? We shoud re name them RENTUSC.

Norm Chow hasn't gotten a fair shake. His college offenses have always been top notch.

The endless recycling of poor coaches, esp. those w/ unclean records (e.g., Neuheisel), while bypassing great minority candidates like Chow, tells me there's racial bias in college football.



Considering that Texas doesn't field any teams in ~half of the sports which the NCAA crowns champions, 7th place ain't all that bad. And UT is w/in striking distance of 5th place.

BTW SCT, the Galen Center looks sweet!

did I mention before that Bills OC Steve Fairchild is headed to Colorado State to be the head coach???

Good riddance.....

Thanks. Yeah, the alumni is really happy w/ it.

I wonder if more non USC Pac-10 fans will be in attendance at USC home games than those alumni?

WVU sues RichFraud for 4.0 million dollars for not livingup to his end of a contract in addition to lawyer fees ( which was part of the contract if he reneged).

It was filed in Morgantown today. Evidently, if Michigan boosters pay the 4 milllion, RIchFraud has to pay 1.6 million extra of his own money for tax purposes because that 4 million dollars was a gift.


I almost feel sorry for RIchfraud.


On second thought, not really. Does anyone think he stands a chance in Morgantown of winning such a case?

OK, this is just plain vindictive, and WVU just looks bad. They handled this all wrong, even if they are entitled to the money. Unless I have my facts wrong, his contract says he has 30 days to make the first payment (1/3 due). He resigned December 19th, therefore he has until January 19th to pay. WVU assumes he's not going to live up to his side, so they sue? I'm no legal expert, but you can sue someone because you THINK they're not going to fulfill their end of a contract, even though no deadlines for fulfillment have passed? Apparently you can.

Last year, RR was the second coming. This year, he was still revered up until the Pitt game. Even after that debacle, people weren't calling for his head... people may have been upset, but no one was saying he was a horrible coach, a horrible person. But the minute he left for Meat-chicken, he became the anti-Christ. I guess as long as he kept WVU winning, everyone was willing to overlook the rest? My, how quickly they have turned, like a jilted lover.

Other people have questioned the validity of that portion (buyout) of the contract, and since Rodriquez hasn't publicly disavowed those statements, they (WVU officials) say that shows he doesn't intend to pay up. Bottom line is, he has until January 19th to pay. Until then, I don't see how he is in breach of contract. WVU needs to stop pouting and move on. You're looking for a new coach, how do you think this makes you look to potential candidates? Whoever is running the show is not doing a good job. Get a good coach in the fold, then deal with RR if he doesn't pay up. If you're a big name coach, do you want to go to a school acting like this? Oh wait, it looks like you're interviewing assistants and guys who haven't coached in a long time for "one of the best coaching jobs out there..."

ESPN is reporting that SMU has offered its head coaching position to Hawaii's June Jones for $1.8 million a year.

News story on SMU's offer to June Jones:
http://starbulletin.com/2008/01/04/news/story03.html

PDF of the legal papers filed against RichRod by West Va:
http://wvrecord.com/content/img/f205738/RichRodSuit.pdf

Bill Stewart "controversy"?:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3180348

I was watching College Football Live yesterday and they were giving a lot of air time to a trustee/donor/booster who was publicly criticizing Bill Stewart's hiring at West Va. To do it so publicly (newspaper interview, and then a radio station interview) seems really foolish and kinda classless to me...

Other than money, I can't imagine why Jones would want to leave Hawaii for SMU. Nothing against Dallas, but you gotta think he'd rather live in Hawaii. And he has as good a chance at a BCS berth there as he does at SMU, probably even a better chance. Maybe it's the lure of turning aroun floundering program that hasn't been rlevant since Eric Dickerson was there.

SMU's Sunday deadline is interesting: if Jones says no, they want to be able to jump on Mike Martz, or another coach on their shortlist. The Hawaii boosters raised several hundred thousand to keep Jones around, anticipating exactly this kind of bid. June's current contract:
http://coacheshotseat.com/HawaiiCoachesHotSeat.pdf

June Jones is in many ways a perfect fit for Hawaii - he is a God-fearing Father Figure for a group of young men who've had brushes with the law. He provides structure and discipline balanced by "family" and brotherhood. The ESPN cover feature on Colt Brennan addressed the number of players who come from juvenille detention or incarceration to the Hawaii football program, but that's not been the only source to mention this aspect of the program.

Part of me really admires what he's been able to do - not just in terms of taking a 0-12 or 1-11 team to 9-3 in just one year, either, but with young athletes and providing them something real to do... But can these qualities and credentials parlay into success at SMU, or program that may not need a "father figure" as much as a great coach?

And, what message does it send his team if he does leave for the more lucrative contract? Moreso than at other schools, I think a Jones departure would really hurt and sting the local community - I also think they would understand. And I can't begrudge the coach for wanting to move on to another great opportunity, where he can potentially turn around another program and play in the national spotlight more often (vs. UCF, and probably TX Tech, at the very least).

Update on June Jones and SMU:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080105/ap_on_...bc_hawaii_jones

He might as well keep his options open. I don't see any problem with interviewing for a job that may pay more than $1M extra per year.

The fact is that Jones can only go downhill from here in his current job. Colt Brennan was a once in a lifetime snag that only went to Hawaii because of a crazy personal situation. If he has ambitions of anything except staying in Honolulu until retirement, he should take the SMU job.

more on the "slur"

if WVU didn't know that these statements would be made public and that they didn't like his answer, he would have never been hired

and another quote from that article


At the time of the incident, Stewart said he also told the player: "All my life, I've been trying to shed the West Virginia country redneck image. Don't give people that opportunity."

Bill Stewart grew up 10 miles from my hometown; he went to the same college as my oldest sister; he coached my oldest sister's best friend's husband in high school; in fact, he coached at my high school

when you have people that think everyone from West Virginia is some sort of ignorant hillbilly, you either have to go that extra step to change people's opinion or embrace the stereotype

Reports indicate that Jones is leaving Hawaii:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080106/ap_on_...bc_hawaii_jones

Is he SMU-bound? We'll probably know Monday or Tuesday.

Knowing the type of guy Jones is, I think this is little more than a publicity stunt orchestrated to give himself a raise at Hawaii. First of all, we've known for 3 days now that he was offered nearly $2 million at SMU and he has not officially accepted. He fires off angry salvos in the media against the athletic director at Hawaii saying that he hasn't improved facilities and hasn't given enough importance to the football program. He issues, through his attorney and friends, a statement that he has resigned from the University of Hawaii. The AD says he has received no letter of resignation from Jones. Late Saturday, Jones says the outpouring of love from Hawaii fans is overwhelming and he's deeply touched and wants to spend more time making his decision.

In typical June Jones fashion, it sounds like a big charade to get public opinion on his side in Hawaii and force the athletic director's hand. It honestly sounds like Jones is trying to sway things so much that the AD is fired. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it happens either.

this sounds familiar to WVU fans

I suspect more coaches leverage higher salaries for themselves and their coaches by playing the "I'm a candidate for a job at school X" game. Heck, it's been reported that's what Tuberville and others did with the Arkansas vacancy - they used the Razorback head coaching position as leverage to get what they wanted from their own schools.

So, as disappointing as it may seem in the case of June Jones, it's not like he's the only one. And that don't make it right.

And, as a further wrinkle, it looks like he IS SMU-bound, after all:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080107/ap_on_..._smu_june_jones

If Jones goes, turns the program around (the only way is up, mind you), and is able to keep SMU over .500 for a few years, he will have successfully established himself as a turnaround man. Good for him. I think the opportunity might be better for him than for SMU, though, but, hey, who am I to judge that?

Here's to hoping Hawaii gets a great new coach that can keep the WAC a solid conference. Otherwise, Conference USA and the Mountain West really do stand to move past the WAC next year. I know, I know, many folks think they're already there, but absent a strong Hawaii team to compliment Boise State and Fresno, the other conferences really should deserve to be seen as being as strong, if not stronger...

TheOtherFSU was right: as June Jones heads to SMU, Hawaii's Athletic Director gets the boot:
http://starbulletin.com/breaking/breaking.php?id=6605