Tuesday's Chalktalk - January 18, 2011
Auburn Claims 52nd MacArthur Bowl
The National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame (NFF) last week presented the MacArthur Bowl toAuburn (14-0) as their prize for beating Oregon (12-1) in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game before a sellout crowd of 78,603 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. NFF President & CEOSteven J. Hatchell handed the national championship trophy to Head Coach Gene Chizik who accepted the trophy on behalf of his team during a press conference at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn and Resort. The hotel hosted the MacArthur Bowl during its stay in the Phoenix area. The presentation marks the 52nd time that a team has claimed the prestigious trophy.
To read more on the presentation of the MacArthur Bowl, please click here.
NFF News
Mercer and Oklahoma Baptist have each announced that they are adding football. Both schools will begin play in 2013. Mercer competes in NCAA Division I in the Atlantic Sun Conference, which competes at the FCS level. The school has not competed in football since 1941. Oklahoma Baptist is a member of NAIA and the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Late NFF Board Member George Steinbrenner has been honored with a life-size, bronze statue in front of the New York Yankees' training facility in Tampa, Fla.
NFF Board Member T. Boone Pickens has been selected to the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Former Oklahoma player Lucious Selmon will also be a part of the 2011 class.
College Football Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards has been named the recipient of the 2011 Football Bowl Association's Champions Award.
2010 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Ben Chappell (Indiana) will be honored by the NFF Central Indiana Chapter.
College Football Hall of Famer Nile Kinnick (Iowa) has been listed at No. 6 on Big Ten Network's ongoing list of Big Ten Icons.
College Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith (Virginia Tech) was a guest speaker at the Hampton University Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday.
College Football Hall of Famer and former NFF National Scholar-Athlete Tim Green(Syracuse) has received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award.
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Chapter News
The NFF Clark County (Wash.) Chapter will host its annual banquet tomorrow night. . . . Former Michigan wide receiver Amani Toomer will be the keynote speaker at the NFF Westchester (N.Y.) Chapter banquet on Jan. 27. . . . Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema will be the keynote speaker at the NFF Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall on February 21. Among the expected attendees are College Football Hall of Famers Ted Hendricks (Miami, Fla.), John Lattner (Notre Dame), Jim Covert(Pittsburgh), Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern) and Steve McMichael (Texas). Details are atwww.nffchicagoawards.eventbrite.com . . . . The NFF's Orange County (Calif.) Chapter will host its annual scholar-athlete banquet at the Anaheim Convention Center on Feb. 28.
TWO-MINUTE DRILL
Media
Paul Burmeister, Mike Mayock and Charles Davis will have the call for NFL Network's telecast of the 86th East-West Shrine Game from Orlando, Fla. (4 p.m. ET). . . . ESPN's telecast of the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game drew a 16.1 overnight rating, the highest in the history of cable television, including a 67.0 rating in Birmingham, Ala. and a 37.5 in Portland, Ore. The game also drew 619,000 viewers on ESPN3.com, more than doubling the previous record for college football on the platform, which was set during the Allstate Sugar Bowl. . . . Nearly 124 million people tuned into bowl games on the ESPN networks this season, according to the network. . . . The Outback Bowl earned a 7.1 rating, making it the highest rated game on ABC this year and the highest-rated non-BCS game in three years.
Awards
Chip Kelly (Oregon) was named the AFCA Coach of the Year. K.C. Keeler (Delaware) won FCS Coach of the Year, Bob Nielson (Minnesota Duluth) took home the honor for Division II, Lance Leipold (Wisconsin - Whitewater) won the award for Division III andMike Van Diest (Carroll College (Mont.)) earned the distinction for NAIA. . . . Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich has won the Rudy Award. . . . Carroll College(Mont.) linebacker Thomas Dolan has been named the NAIA Defensive Player of the Year. . . . The Mountain West Conference has won the Bowl Challenge Cup for the second consecutive year with a 4-1 mark.
People
Michigan has tabbed Brady Hoke as its head coach. Al Borges will join the staff as offensive coordinator. . . . Stanford has promoted David Shaw to head coach. . . . Les Miles has signed a seven-year contract extension to remain at LSU. . . . Connecticut has named Paul Pasqualoni its head coach. . . . Todd Graham has been named the head coach at Pittsburgh. Calvin Magee has been tabbed as the offensive coordinator andKeith Patterson as defensive coordinator. . . . Tommy Tuberville has signed a one-year contract extension to remain at Texas Tech through 2015. . . . San Diego State has named Rocky Long its head coach. . . . Tulsa has tabbed Bill Blankenship as its head coach. . . . Boston College head coach Frank Spaziani has signed a contract extension to remain at the school through 2015. . . . Maryland has hired Gary Crowton has its offensive coordinator. . . . John Donovan has been named the offensive coordinator atVanderbilt. . . . Central Michigan athletics director Dave Heeke has signed a contract extension to remain at the school through 2014. . . . Kansas State athletics director John Currie has signed a contract extension to remain at the university through 2016. . . .Montana State head coach Rob Ash has been named the 2011 president of the American Football Coaches Association. Mary Hardin-Baylor (Tex.) head coach Pete Fredenburg has been named to the AFCA's Board of Trustees. . . . David Bazzel(Broyles Award) and Bryan Revello (Mackey Award) have been named as the new directors-at-large for the National College Football Awards Association. . . . CBS Sports has promoted Dan Sabreen to Senior Manager, Communications.
Sponsorships
AdvoCare will sponsor the Independence Bowl for the third consecutive year in 2011.
Miscellaneous
Auburn will celebrate its national championship on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Admission is free. . . . TCU drew 6,000 fans to its celebration of the 2010 season and Rose Bowl victory on Sunday.
Obituaries
Dan Petty (Texas) has passed away at 71. Petty served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. He was also a member of College Football Hall of Fame coach Darrell Royal's first recruiting class at Texas. . . . FormerAustin Peay coach Bill Dupes has passed away at 81.
2011 Key NFF Dates
Dec. 6, 2011 - 54th NFF Annual Awards Dinner, New York City, New York
NFF Information
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The 54th NFF Annual Awards Dinner will be held Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, at New York City's Waldorf=Astoria. For more ticket information, please contact NFF Director of National Events Will Rudd at 1-800-486-1865 or via email at
wrudd@footballfoundation.com.
Notes
The NFF would like to thank correspondent Bo Carter for his contributions to this report.
NFF Chalktalk items are welcome, and should be submitted tonews@footballfoundation.com.
