NCAA Endzone

Boise State lovebirds Ian Johnson and Chrissy Popadics were married over the weekend, with no racial nastiness invading the ceremony. Good luck, kids. Being married is sometimes hard, but you get out of it what you put into it.

UCLA wide receivers coach Eric Scott has been put on administrative leave following a burglary charge. Coach Karl Dorrell (pictured) will take over Scott’s duties.

University of Montana cornerback Jimmy Wilson has been ordered to stand trial in the death of his aunt’s 29-year-old boyfriend. The suspended cornerback remains in jail pending an Aug. 14 hearing.

Jury selection has begun for Mitchell Cozad, the Northern Colorado backup punter accused of stabbing starting punter Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg. The trial is expected to last about 10 days. Mendoza, unable to fully extend his kicking leg after the attack, is rehabbing the leg this summer.

Baltimore Sun reporter Heather Dinich talks about rule changes in her Terps blog. This is the first I’ve heard of any college football rule changes. Stay tuned.

And last but certainly not least, the New York Times ran a wonderful article on the Play It Smart program. Anything that helps kids finish school is a good thing in my book. A couple of the program’s graduates are considered strong candidates for the Heisman Trophy this year. Check the article out to see who they are.

It’s about to storm, and my dog is a huge baby about storms ever since the nasty Florida hurricane season in 2004. Right now he is trying to take my laptop’s place on my lap, so that will be all for today. Got to go take care of my baby.

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Yesterday the New York Post ran an article that hinted at NCAA football having a “plus-1″ semifinal playoff format as early as 2011.

The information on a possible “final four” format is speculative rather than substantive at this point, but interesting nonetheless. One has to wonder who the reporter’s sources are, and how they know what they know.

Whatever the change is, one thing is clear - the playoff format must change. The BCS is arbitrary at best, and at its worst excludes teams that by anyone’s standards should have a shot at the “national championship.” Perhaps we’ll never see a true “final four” like there is in NCAA basketball, but having semifinal and final bowls would at least lend some legitimacy to selecting a college football champion.

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Northern Colorado punter Mitchell Cozad lost his bid to have his statements to police suppressed. As you may remember, Cozad was a backup punter and is accused of stabbing starting punter Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg. He’s set to go to trial on July 30.

Jimmy Wilson, currently suspended from the University of Montana football team, entered a plea of not guilty to a murder charge on Monday in Los Angeles. He is accused of shooting his aunt’s boyfriend to death following a dispute.

Rumor has it that Evan Sharpley is the frontrunner in the three-way race for the starting quarterback spot at Notre Dame. The source? None other than David Frazier, father of former Notre Dame QB Zach Frazier, who split when he learned that he was the fourth man in the three-way race. Of course, this could be just another blog rumor. Sometimes those things pan out, though, so stay tuned.

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Twenty-year-old Avery Atkins, a former Florida and Bethune-Cookman football player, was found dead in his car Thursday in Port Orange, Florida. The car was parked inside the garage of his aunt’s house, and police are considering the death to be suspicious. He leaves behind one child.

Atkins tripped a few times along the path to a successful college football career. He was released from the Gators by Urban Meyer after being charged with domestic violence battery. He then transferred to Bethune-Cookman, playing in only 3 games in the 2006 season before being released from his scholarship there.

He’d racked up some serious charges along the way, as so many troubled young men seem to do - two separate charges of domestic violence battery on the mother of his child, aggravated battery and drug-related charges, most recently on Monday for possession of crack cocaine.

This is undoubtedly a tragic end to what likely was a young life once full of hope and dreams of the future.

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Just days after the demise of NFL Europa, the All American Football League is beginning its tryouts at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Scheduled to launch in the spring of 2008, the new league’s teams will be based in Florida, Alabama and other areas with a strong college football fanbase.

Using players who have already graduated and used up their college eligibility, the league will play mostly by college rules. Team colors will match those of popular college teams in their areas, and the plan is to have players play near where they played in college. Games will be held on college football fields.

It’s a different approach than other pro leagues have taken, and I have a feeling that it just might work a little better than past approaches. I’m interested.

The Hartford Courant is reporting that former Notre Dame QB Zach Frazier has narrowed his choice of schools to UConn and Cincinnati.

Frazier made a second visit to UConn this week, and his father says he’ll be making his decision on where to go within the next few days, based on his chance at playing time and his gut.

Who can really blame the kid for picking the school where he’ll be able to actually play? No football player worth his shoulder pads wants to sit on the bench. And after learning he would have virtually no chance to play at Notre Dame, Frazier barely hesitated in his decision to transfer to another school. I believe he’s serious about wanting to play and I wish him good luck wherever he goes.

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The NCAA Championship and Competition Cabinet decided yesterday to turn down a proposal related to drug testing.

The proposal would have expanded the NCAA’s testing for street drugs. Currently, the NCAA only tests for street drugs at championship events and that will not change. Factors affecting the rejection of the additional testing were extra costs (about $825,000) and the fact that most Division I schools and conferences are already testing for street drugs.

Stiff penalties for drug violations were also part of the proposal. First-time offenders would miss half the season; second offenders would have been banned for a year, and the third offense would have resulted in permanent ineligibility.

I think it’s good that this proposal did not pass. Schools should have the discretion to deal with some issues themselves, and certainly the NCAA regulates the daylights out of athletic programs already. It has to stop somewhere.

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The most exciting news in the college football world Monday was the discipline of 10 Penn State players for their involvement in an off-campus fight that left two people injured.

Yes, it was a slow news day.

Four of the players were expelled for the summer semester; they should be eligible to play in Penn State’s Sept. 1 opener. Two of those players, Anthony Scirrotto and Chris Baker, will go to trial in August for their roles in the fight.

Two of the other six players must undergo counseling and will be on permanent probation; the other four will be placed on probation for a year.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno says a revival of the Penn State-Pitt rivalry is not “realistic” due to financial concerns and the fact that Pitt is interested in an every-other-year playing arrangement.

Speaking of Penn State, two football players will stand trial in August for their roles in an off-campus fight. Anthony Scirrotto and Chris Baker will be expelled for the second summer semester beginning July 3.

Georgia Tech’s Rambling Wreck was actually wrecked this week. The 1930 Model A was being towed on a flatbed truck when the truck went into a ditch, causing the Wreck to fall on its side. School officials promise to have the car repaired in time for the Sept. 8 home opener.

Wide receiver Rodney Gray was dismissed from the Southern Miss football team for “rules violations and poor conduct.” Gray started three games last season and had 15 catches totaling 147 yards.

Indiana offensive coordinator Bill Lynch will serve as the university’s head coach for the 2007 season. He replaces Terry Hoeppner, who died earlier this week of a brain tumor.

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What a sad day it must be for the Hoosiers. Terry Hoeppner, hired as Indiana’s head football coach in 2004, has died of a brain tumor at age 59.

He only won 9 games during his time at Indiana, but those who knew him are saying he was nothing short of amazing.

“He has been a second father, a teacher and a friend,” said Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was coached by Hoeppner at Miami of Ohio. “He believed in me and I owe everything to him for where I am in life.”

Hoeppner’s first brain tumor was removed in December 2005. Then in September 2006, he found out there was another one.

Players didn’t know the severity of his illness until Tuesday. That to me says a lot about the man. Obviously he wanted the young men on his watch to do what they had to do, without the distraction his illness would certainly bring.

Along with the rest of the college football world, NCAA Endzone offers condolences to Hoeppner’s spouse, Jean, three children and four grandchildren.

Quarterback Zach Frazier of Notre Dame has gotten permission to begin speaking to other schools.

Frazier began to investigate transfer opportunities when coach Charlie Weis recently named three quarterbacks as being in the running for the starting job vacated by Brady Quinn. Frazier was not on the list.

Frazier could switch to a Division I-AA program and begin playing right away. If he switches to a Division I-A school, he would have to sit out a year and would have three years of eligibility left.

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Loren Wade, 23, a former Arizona State running back, was convicted Thursday of murdering another former Arizona State player.

Wade was accused of shooting 25-year-old Brandon Falkner outside a Scottsdale, Arizona club. The shooting occurred after Wade saw Falkner speaking with his girlfriend.

Wade could face up to 22 years in prison. His sentencing date has not yet been announced.

Two students alleged that Illinois broke state law when they decided to eliminate the school’s mascot, Chief Illiniwek, from football and basketball games.

A judge did not agree and dismissed their lawsuits on Tuesday.

The students alleged that the NCAA was putting pressure on the school to drop the mascot by threatening to sanction the school’s athletic teams. The NCAA denied this allegation.

The students have 30 days to appeal the judge’s decision.

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Starting in 2008, the NCAA will require that student athletes wanting to compete at Division I schools complete 16 “core” courses in the traditional four years of high school, instead of the 14 now required.

Under the new guidelines, the NCAA will require students to have four years of English; three years of math; two years of natural or physical science; an extra year of English, math or science; two years of social studies; and four years of other core courses, such as foreign language, philosophy or religion.

Some students who had academic blemishes such as sagging SAT scores or substandard grades were exercising the option to essentially redo their senior year at a prep school. The new NCAA guidelines allow students to add only one core-course grade to their high school transcript after graduating from high school.

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Crimson Tide fans will be happy to know that Nick Saban is very close to signing his contract.

While attending the Southeastern Conference’s spring meeting, university President Robert Witt reported that the details of the contract are nearly finalized.

One of the things that was reportedly holding up Saban’s signature was clarification on endorsements. Apparently endorsements are a large part of Saban’s compensation.

So, does that mean we’ll be seeing less of Peyton Manning and more of Nick Saban?

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