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Pryor Named to Davey O’Brien Award Watch List

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 03:19:31 +0000

Associated Press

Terrelle Pryor is among 30 of the nation's top collegiate quarterbacks who were selected to the 2010 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award watch list.

COLUMBUS– Ohio State junior quarterback Terrelle Pryor is among 30 of the nation’s top collegiate quarterbacks who were selected to the 2010 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award watch list. Preseason consideration is based on player performance during the previous year and expectations heading into the 2010 college football season.

Last season Pryor passed for 2,094 yards with 18 touchdowns and led the Buckeyes with 779 yards and seven TDs on the ground. The Rose Bowl MVP passed for a season-high 266 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 72 more and set an Ohio State bowl game record with 338 yards of total offense as the Buckeyes upset the Oregon Ducks on New Year’s Day, 26-17. He enters his junior year with more than 4,800 yards of total offense and is the fifth Buckeye quarterback to rush for more than 1,000 career yards with two years of eligibility remaining.

Pryor is one of 13 juniors to make the list and joins counterparts Ricky Stanzi (Iowa) and Scott Tolzien (Wisconsin) from the Big Ten.

Appearing on the Watch List is not a requirement for a player to be awarded The O’Brien. Quarterbacks from all 120 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools are eligible for the award until the field is narrowed to 16 semifinalists Monday, Oct. 25. The Foundation and the Selection Committee will announce three finalists Monday, Nov. 22. The 2010 winner will be announced on The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show Thursday, Dec. 9.

The 34th Annual O’Brien Awards Dinner will be held Feb. 21, 2011 at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Big 12 saga could help doom BCS

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:14:57 +0000

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —One of the most powerful advocates of a college football playoff system believes the Big 12’s brush with death might eventually help doom the BCS.

It’s not going to happen right away, said Texas Rep. Joe Barton. But the promise of renewed television riches that persuaded the Big 12’s major football members to reject overtures from the Pac-10 has shone the spotlight on the huge financial jackpot awaiting a playoff.

“The reason the Big 12 stayed together is the commissioner was able to put together a deal that enabled Texas and Texas A&M to go from about $8 million-$12 million a year to around $20 million a year” apiece, the Republican said. “I don’t really have a dog in the hunt as to how the conferences ought to be aligned. But I do think this moves us toward a playoff because we now know where the money is.”

After Colorado announced it was going to the Pac-10 and Nebraska agreed to become the Big Ten’s 12th member, the Pac-10 made a bid for all Big 12 South schools except Baylor. As Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott flew from campus to campus in Texas and Oklahoma making his pitch, the Big 12 teetered on the brink.

Momentum seemed to be building toward a handful of 16-team mega-conferences.

As the drama unfolded over several rumor-filled days, BCS haters took heart that a historic, tectonic shift in the collegiate landscape would naturally result in a championship tournament among four or five super leagues.

But after the Big 12 elected not to disband, only two other schools switched leagues, Boise State (Mountain West) and Utah (Pac-10.)

“I think what happened with the Big 12 staying together maybe postpones the creation of a playoff system,” said Barton, who has introduced anti-BCS legislation in Congress. “But it doesn’t eliminate it.”

BCS executive director Bill Hancock said he wasn’t worried.

“The fact is, the consensus of all of the schools in the 11 conferences support the BCS,” Hancock said. “There are some who have said they would rather do something else. But it’s a small percentage because the presidents of those schools know the BCS works. It does match the top two teams in a bowl game and it does preserve the importance of the regular season. And it does preserve the bowl system that so many people enjoy.

“I don’t see the universities changing their minds about a playoff or about the BCS system.”

Hancock refused to speculate on how long it might be before conference expansion again jumps into the headlines.

“The fact is, nobody knows. As of today, we have six automatic qualifying conferences.”

That number, however, could change in two years. The Mountain West, especially after adding two-time Fiesta Bowl winner Boise State, could gain an automatic BCS entry when the current four-year evaluation period ends after the 2011 regular season, though it lost Utah, which has won two BCS games.

“The official data won’t be compiled until after the four years, but intuitively looking at what they’ve done the last two years, we know the Mountain West is off to a good start,” Hancock said.

Another sign of the long-range health of the BCS is its new four-year, $495 million contract with ESPN. But Barton isn’t buying it.

“All those contracts have a kickout clause. They could go to a playoff and modify the contract,” he said.

Awaiting action by the House Energy and Commerce Committee is a bill that Barton introduced that would make it illegal to market something as a national football championship unless every eligible team was given a fair opportunity to win it.

“If we’ve learned anything through the basketball and baseball playoffs, it’s this: When you have a true playoff, the underdogs do stand up and bite every now and then,” Barton said. “It would be more fun and exciting and now we know for sure that it would also generate a lot more money.”

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Big Ten must tackle divisions, scheduling

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:05:51 +0000

Associated Press

When conference officials and member athletic directors meet in late July or early August, they'll face a thicket of questions in a brave, new world for the Big Ten.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Big Ten had neatly drawn up its football schedules for the next three seasons before Nebraska joined the conference.

Now those dates and travel plans have all been tossed to the wind.

When conference officials and member athletic directors meet in late July or early August, they’ll face a thicket of questions in a brave, new world for the Big Ten.

With Nebraska on board as the Big Ten’s 12th member, most likely starting in 2011, what will be the divisions in football? How should the conference schedule be set up? Where will the football championship game be played? Will there be different divisional alignments to balance other sports?

“We’ll meet, talk about divisions, try to figure that piece out and talk about a process for a championship game and a location process,” Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said Wednesday. “There’ll probably be other opinions in the room.”

No doubt. Some will want the divisions based on geography. Others favor a balance of power.

“I honestly think it will be amenable,” Minnesota AD Joel Maturi said. “We have a great group of AD’s who see the big picture and get along. It may not be easy but that is only because it is difficult and challenging. I really have no strong preference except the hope to continue some of our strong relationships/rivalries.”

Even once a consensus is reached on a divisional setup, there are a multitude of other considerations.

Commissioner Jim Delany acknowledged that just bringing Nebraska into the fold was only the first step.

“Making the integration successful, smooth and quick is the second,” he said in announcing the expansion.

Conference officials and ADs are trying to set up a workable date to meet and discuss the concerns.

For instance, how many games will teams play within and outside of their divisions?

“Really, it’s probably our major focus,” Smith said.

The general assumption is that the Big Ten will follow other conference models, splitting into two six-team divisions, with teams playing each of the other five teams in their division and then three teams in the other division on a rotating basis.

There is also some talk that football teams might eventually play a nine-game Big Ten schedule, five in the division and four out.

Even arriving at names for the divisions could be contentious — North and South? East and West? Bo and Woody? Paterno and Osborne?

No matter how the schedules are drawn up, some schools will likely grumble quietly. The conference will try to preserve old rivalries, but there are no guarantees that all will be played annually. There’s no question that new ones will be created.

“Rivalries grow up over time,” said Nebraska’s AD and the former coach of the football Cornhuskers, Tom Osborne.

Because they are in different conferences now, the enmity between Nebraska and Oklahoma may dim. Perhaps neighboring Iowa will offer a bit of bad blood for the Huskers.

“As time goes forward, because of proximity, because they’re a very fine program, I would imagine it could grow into a rivalry of some kind,” he said. “We’ve only played each other four times in the last 25 years or so, so there isn’t quite the history, but we’re looking forward to playing them, and there will be a lot of interest in those games.”

Detroit, Chicago and Indianapolis have already expressed interest in hosting the Big Ten football championship.

After all of the problems in football have been resolved, the ADs will address what to do with the other 24 Big Ten sports. The divisions set up for football might not work for women’s volleyball or baseball.

“Just because it works for football doesn’t mean it’s going to work that way for everybody else,” Smith said.

And there’s always the possibility the conference could expand to 14, 16 or even more schools, creating a whole new stadium full of questions.

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Missouri officials scramble to save Big 12

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:17:59 +0000

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, Mo.—Missouri curators met behind closed doors Sunday night for the fourth time in as many days as the school turns its attention to saving the Big 12 Conference after its apparent bid to join the Big Ten failed.

The meeting followed two days of discussions in Columbia amid a shifting landscape that saw fellow Big 12 members Colorado and Nebraska bolt for the Pac-10 and Big Ten, respectively.

Missouri was considered one of the top prospects for an expanded Big Ten, and the school could still wind up there as conference realignment continues to unfold.

For now, school officials are publicly pledging their loyalty to a 10-team Big 12—even as their counterparts in Texas and Oklahoma prepare for their own private meetings this week that could result in an exodus from the conference, with as many as five Big 12 teams possibly headed to the Pac-10.

Chancellor Brady Deaton told alumni in an e-mail he “will do everything possible to assure the success of the conference.” He offered similar assurances Sunday night at a crowded news briefing on the steps of University Hall after the one-hour curator meeting, which resulted in no action.

He noted Missouri’s century-old history with the schools that form the core of the Big 12 and its predecessors—institutions such as Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State that are also faced with trying to save the conference.

“We have been a proud member of the Big Six, Big Seven and Big Eight, and we continue to take great pride in the accomplishments of the Big 12,” Deaton wrote while noting Missouri’s role in forming the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1907. “Our position as a member for more than 100 years gives us a great appreciation for the tremendous value of our conference and a vital stake in its future.”

Those words represent a sharp turn from Missouri’s previously stated interest in exploring all its options with conference realignment.

But those earlier flirtations came before Nebraska’s departure and assertions from both Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and Big 12 leader Dan Beebe that the oldest conference in Division I sports was not targeting any other Big 12 schools—at least for the time being.

Missouri’s interest in joining a bigger and broader Big Ten was met with criticism Friday from Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman, who cited public comments by Deaton, Athletics director Mike Alden and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon as fodder for the 14-year-old Big 12’s possible collapse.

Alden responded by calling such assertions “silly” and “ridiculous.” And University of Missouri system President Gary Forsee said the school bears no blame for simply protecting its self-interest.

“We were only doing what you would expect any institution, whether you’re sitting here or in Lawrence, Kan., or Waco, Texas,” Forsee said. “Did we contribute more or less than any other institution in the Big 12 or nationally? No. I think we’ve all been caught up in now this national discussion that certainly has spread beyond the Big Ten, and the Big 12 is certainly in the middle of that.”

That would be the 10-team Big 12, as Deaton pointed out after struggling to differentiate Missouri’s current home with the now 12-team Big Ten and 11-member Pac-10.

“We’re working hard to strengthen the Big 12, or the Big Ten as it is right now. In other words,the 10 institutions left in the Big 12.

“Nomenclature is very difficult in this process,” Deaton said.

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Nebraska joins Big Ten

admin — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 16:43:52 +0000

Associated Press

The Big Ten’s board of presidents and chancellors unanimously welcomed Nebraska to the club on Friday afternoon, a little more than an hour after the school announced it had applied for membership. The move takes effect July 1, 2011.

LINCOLN, Neb. —Paterno vs. Pelini. Huskers vs. Hawkeyes. Trips to Columbus, Ohio, instead of Columbia, Mo.

So long, Big 12. Nebraska’s membership in the Big Ten Conference is official.

Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman said the Big Ten offers stability “that the Big 12 simply cannot offer.”

Nebraska is the Big Ten’s first addition since 1990, when Penn State became the 11th member, and it comes just six months after the league announced that it was looking at expansion.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said he presumed there would be a Big Ten championship football game beginning in 2011. He also said the conference would “pause” from further expansion over the next 12 to 18 months. He declined to comment on whether Notre Dame or any other school was on the league’s radar.

Delany, wearing a red-and-white tie and a ‘N’ lapel pin, said he anticipates a wonderful marriage between Nebraska and the Big Ten.

“This beautiful girl, quite honestly, wasn’t going to be there forever,” Delany said, referring to the Huskers. “They were faced with some tough decisions. We had done enough personal interaction with them that we felt this would be a great fit. We encouraged Nebraska to go down that road.”

Nebraska leaves behind a Big 12 that had already lost Colorado to the Pac-10 this week. Perlman also said the Pac-10 had been in touch with many schools in the Big 12 South, suggesting Texas, Oklahoma and others could be the next to leave.

“We were worried about stability in the conference,” athletic director Tom Osborne said, “and as a result we thought this was by far the best thing we could do.”

Nebraska’s move to the Big Ten is the biggest yet in an offseason overhaul that will leave college sports looking much different by this time next year.

“We’ve had a couple disappointing days with the departure of two valued members,” Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said during a teleconference. Beebe vowed to work to keep the 10 remaining members together but acknowledged that other Big 12 schools are mulling their options.

Perlman said he believed Nebraska is much more “aligned” with the Big Ten than the Big 12 when it comes to academics, culture and athletics. And he said Nebraska shouldn’t be considered the “bad guy” in the Big 12.

“One school leaving a conference does not destroy a conference,” Perlman said. “Nebraska did not start this discussion. After the Big Ten announced it planned to consider expansion, we saw reports that Missouri would want to go to the Big Ten, including a statement by their governor, a member of board of curators and chancellor—comments that weren’t clearly supportive of the Big 12.”

Perlman said the Big 12 had given Nebraska a Monday ultimatum to decide what to do. Perlman said Beebe requested that Nebraska publicly commit to staying put until at least 2016, but the chancellor said he couldn’t do that because no other Big 12 school would do the same.

The biggest deal-breaker, Perlman said, was that Texas would not agree to promise to assign its broadcast rights to the Big 12 rather than explore starting its own TV network.

To generations of Nebraska fans, going to the Big Ten at one time would have been unthinkable. The school’s athletic tradition is built on more than a century of football games against the likes of Missouri and Kansas, dating to the days the team was known as the Bugeaters.

The Huskers, in fact, have been conference partners with Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Kansas State since 1928; with Colorado since 1948 and with Oklahoma State since 1960.

Now the Huskers are on the verge of taking their five national titles in football, three Heisman trophies and enthusiastic fans east. They will look to start building new traditions, like a border rivalry with the Iowa Hawkeyes and regular trips to Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State.

At Iowa State, a Big 12 school rarely mentioned in realignment discussions, officials sent an open letter to boosters expressing disappointment in the moves by Colorado and Nebraska.

“But as all of the discussions about conference realignment illustrate, the future of college athletics appears to be less about academics and competitive success and more about money, as measured by television viewership and the associated revenues,” the letter said.

Fatter paychecks will be coming to Nebraska, eventually. Nebraska received about $10 million from the Big 12 in 2009, half the $20 million received by Big Ten members (thanks largely to bigger television contracts and the in-house Big Ten Network).

The Big Ten told Perlman that no current member would receive a reduced share of revenue from the conference because of the addition of a new member. Perlman said Nebraska has been assured it would not receive less than it did in the Big 12, however, if it joins the Big Ten.

“This is not a financial windfall,” Osborne said.

Delany has said he wanted to add only members that would be considered “home runs.” The Huskers’ football team struggled in the early and mid 2000s but have returned to national prominence the past two seasons under coach Bo Pelini, an Ohio State alumnus.

As for the Big 12, it never was a comfortable fit for the Huskers.

When the league formed, Nebraska football was at its pinnacle, having won three national titles between 1994-97 and winning 60 of 63 games before Osborne retired as coach.

That success didn’t translate to juice when it came to influencing league policies.

Nebraska and the old Big Eight members, all of whom went to the Big 12, believed they were helping out Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor when the old Southwest Conference collapsed.

The perception in Nebraska was that the Big 12’s balance of power was held by the South Division, particularly Texas.

Nebraska from day one was against a championship game in football, for fear it could trip up a team bidding for a national title. But even issues ranging from academic admission standards to location of the league office (Dallas) chafed Nebraska.

When the league last week picked Cowboys Stadium to host the next three conference championship football games—after hosting the 2009 and 2010 games— Osborne complained that continual treks south are unfair to fans of the North representative.

“This is not about any type of vindictiveness,” Osborne said. “You don’t make a decision of this size based on where you’re going to play Big 12 championship games.”

Online:

Big Ten Conference: http://www.bigten.org/

University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletics: http://www.huskers.com

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Texas in Big Ten addition talks

admin — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:46:04 +0000

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio—An e-mail sent by the president of Ohio State to the Big Ten’s commissioner hints that the conference is pursuing Texas as part of its expansion plans.

Big Ten expansion may include Texas

Ohio State president Gordon Gee told Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany in an April 20 e-mail that Gee had spoken with University of Texas president Bill Powers. In the e-mail obtained by The Associated Press, Gee writes that Powers would welcome a call to say they have a “Tech” problem.

It’s not clear what that means, but Texas Tech is one of Texas’ rivals in the Big 12 Conference.

In another e-mail, Gee told the Big Ten commissioner that the conference controls its own destiny, but must move swiftly. The e-mails were first reported by The Columbus Dispatch.

Ohio State said Friday it would not comment beyond what was in the e-mails, and that Gee was out of state and not available.

The conference got the attention of all college sports when it announced that it was considering adding to its current 11 members, a move that could lead to the expansion or demise of other leagues. The Big Ten’s timetable for exploring expansion is said to reach into 2011.

Delany said last month that gaining a foothold in the South and extending the reach of the league’s lucrative television network were the two biggest factors as it decides whether to expand.

Texas would fit nicely into both those goals. The university’s football and men’s basketball teams are perennial national contenders and boast huge followings that would benefit the Big Ten Network.

The Big 12 wrapped up its spring meetings Friday in Kansas City, Mo. Commissioner Dan Beebe said steps were being taken to retain its members, but he did not say school presidents had provided a uniform commitment to stay in the league. Powers, the Texas president, did not appear at a news conference with Beebe as expected.

The Big Ten’s network allows the conference to generate more than any other conference in the country. Some reports have said that Big Ten paid out around $22 million to each school in 2008.

Gee, a proponent of expansion, wrote in an e-mail to Delany on April 19 that the conference can’t wait too long to make its plans.

“I am of the mind that we control our destiny at the moment, but the window will soon close on us. Agility and swiftness of foot is our friend,” Gee wrote.

Delany responded within an hour: “We are fast tracking it but need to know the $ and observe contracts. Also need to make sure we leverage this to increase chance of hr additions.”

Gee also asked Delany how he could help. Delany said he would call him to test some ideas.

The next day, Gee told Delany he had talked with the Texas president.

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If Big Ten calls, Missouri will listen

admin — Sun, 16 May 2010 15:37:00 +0000

Associated Press

Big Ten evaluating expansion to 12 teams

COLUMBIA, Mo. —From geographic proximity to its membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities, Missouri in many ways is a natural fit for an expanded Big Ten.

Need another reason? Try 13 million—that’s about how many extra dollars Missouri could expect to earn annually from a conference with its own television network and a revenue sharing model that distributes equal payments to all 11 members.

The Big Ten insists that no decisions have been made on expansion—and no offers extended, contrary to a Kansas City radio station’s report earlier this week. But Missouri isn’t waiting idly for its prospective suitor to make up its mind.

The Kansas City Star reported that athletics director Mike Alden, Missouri system president Gary Forsee and Columbia campus chancellor Brady Deaton met last week to discuss the school’s potential interest in leaving the Big 12 Conference. A campus spokeswoman declined to confirm the meeting, referring to a previously issued statement that the school “will not respond to speculation about conference realignment.”

At the same time, school leaders have never outright rejected the notion of Big Ten membership, offering public statements with plenty of room for conjecture.

On Tuesday, Deaton told The Associated Press that Missouri will “always do what is best for the university.”

“You’ve got every major conference looking at how they should reposition, or if they should reposition,” Deaton said. “I don’t think all the benefits and costs are known.”

Sports economist Andrew Zimbalist suggested that expansion by the Big Ten or other power conferences is a near certainty.

“There’s going to be some merger and acquisition activity,” said Zimbalist, a Smith College economics professor. “That’s a done deal … The dominant conferences would like to aggregate.”

To that end, the Big 12 and other major conferences are not waiting for the Big Ten decision, which commissioner Jim Delany has suggested could still be another year away.

Most of the Big 12’s athletic directors met with their Pac-10 colleagues at that league’s annual meeting in Phoenix last week. Among the topics: a TV-driven alliance that would offer broadcast partners the chance to lock up most of the major media markets west of the Mississippi.

Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott said the league has also discussed a partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference. And it has hired the Los Angeles-based Creative Artists Agency as a consultant to explore potential media deals.

Still, Scott isn’t convinced that conference expansion—whether by the Big Ten, a weakened Big 12 or other leagues fighting for relevance and survival—is inevitable.

“From our perspective, expansion is not a fait accompli,” he said. “I haven’t heard a compelling argument for why one conference expanding means other conferences have to be bigger too.”

The Big Ten announced late last year it is considering adding at least one school, and possibly more, to add a league championship game in football and broaden the reach of its cable television network.

The conference pays its members an estimated $22 million annually. Missouri, by contrast, received about $8.4 million from the Big 12 in 2007, the most recent year for which tax records are available.

Missouri’s flirtation with the Big Ten isn’t its first effort to upgrade its dance partner. In the early ’90s, with the Big Eight Conference on the verge of collapse and the Big Ten also talking expansion, Missouri pushed to join the 114-year-old league. A group of state business leaders even formed a lobbying group to boost its efforts.

While Missouri is a charter member of the Big 12, which was founded in 1996 when the Big Eight schools added four members of the defunct Southwest Conference, dissatisfaction with the conference has been growing steadily in Columbia.

The conference’s postseason selection process allows bowl game partners to select any eligible team, regardless of win-loss records or head-to-head results.

For the past three years, Missouri has been passed over by more prestigious bowl games that selected teams it had either beaten or which ranked below the Tigers in conference standings. Most notably, the Orange Bowl selected Kansas as its BCS at-large choice over Missouri in 2007 even though the Tigers beat the Jayhawks weeks earlier.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, an avid sports fan, is among the most outspoken supporters of a Missouri move to the Big Ten. He cites the league’s academic excellence, noting that each of its 11 members, like Missouri, are AAU members.

“We should look at it if it’s offered,” he told reporters Wednesday.

Zimbalist called Big Ten membership a step up in prestige and national recognition for both Missouri and Nebraska, which has also been mentioned as a possible expansion target. Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame are among the other schools seen as potential additions.

“Going to the Big Ten is a step up in branding, it’s a step up in reputation,” he said.

Leaving the Big 12 wouldn’t come without a cost. Under conference rules, Missouri could have left without penalty had it given the league two years notice by June 2009.

Now, a “breaching member” wanting to withdraw would owe the Big 12 a payment equal to 80 percent of its two-year conference revenues if notice is given by June 30. The penalty increases to 90 percent before the end of the year or 100 percent is notice isn’t given until 2011.

Further discussions of conference expansion could take place next week when Big Ten athletic directors meet in Chicago. The Big 12 holds its spring meetings the first week in June in Kansas City.

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Ohio State, Purdue kick off at noon Oct. 23

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:22:59 +0000

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Big Ten Conference says Ohio State will kick off against Purdue at noon on Saturday, Oct. 23.

Ohio State will kick off against Purdue at noon on Saturday, Oct. 23.

The game will be at Ohio Stadium in Columbus and will serve as Ohio State’s 2010 Homecoming game. Television coverage will be announced later.

Four other games on the 2010 football schedule have confirmed starting times.

the Buckeyes’ opener on Thursday, Sept. 2, against Marshall will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Ohio Stadium.

The conference game at Wisconsin on Oct. 16 will begin at 7:15 p.m. Two weeks later, the Buckeyes, five-time defending Big Ten champions, travel to play Minnesota at its new TCF Bank Stadium at 8 p.m.

The highly anticipated matchup with the Miami Hurricanes on Sept. 11 will start at 3:40 p.m.

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Buckeyes under the lights

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:58:35 +0000

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State will play at least three night games this fall.

The Buckeyes are 15-10 in night games under coach Jim Tressel.

The Big Ten Conference and television networks said Wednesday that the Buckeyes‘ opener on Thursday, Sept. 2, against Marshall will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Ohio Stadium.

The highly anticipated matchup with the Miami Hurricanes on Sept. 11 will start at 3:40 p.m.

All four game times were announced by the Big Ten, ESPN and ABC.

Ohio State is 33-16 all-time in games starting at 5 p.m. or later local time. The Buckeyes are 15-10 in night games under coach Jim Tressel.

Big Ten expansion talks appear to be on agenda

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:34:47 +0000

Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)—The Chicago Tribune is reporting that high-ranking representatives of the Big Ten were to discuss accelerating the timetable for a decision on possible expansion.

Big Ten evaluating expansion to 12 teams

The Tribune cited unidentified sources in its report.

The Association of American Universities is meeting in Washington, D.C., through Tuesday. All the Big Ten schools are AAU members.

University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman and Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon, their schools confirmed Sunday, were among the university leaders who planned to attend the AAU meetings.

Big Ten spokesman Scott Chipman could not confirm whether commissioner Jim Delany would be at the AAU meetings. Delany is scheduled to be in Arizona later in the week for BCS meetings.