Monday's Chalktalk - February 13, 2012

Monday's Chalktalk - February 13, 2012

TIME OUT: Annual Meeting of the NCAA Rules Committee

EXCLUSIVELY to Monday's Chalktalk, Rogers Redding, the national coordinator of College Football Officiating, provides insights about rules changes and the mindset of college football referees. The CFO is the national professional organization for all football officials who work games at the collegiate level.

The NCAA football rules committee convened in Charlotte, N.C., for its annual meeting on February 6 for two days of deliberations. The year 2012 is the "off year" of the two-year rules change process, so any changes in the rules were unlikely. However, the committee is always empowered to make rules changes that impact player safety. With all the concern about injuries, especially concussions, the committee considered some modifications aimed at protecting the safety of the student athlete.

The majority of voting members of the twelve-person committee are head coaches from all three divisions of NCAA football. Other members include athletic directors and conference administrators. At the committee's open sessions, the members received input from officials, trainers, commissioners, and other stakeholders. Voting took place on the last day of the meeting in a session that is closed to all except the voting members.

The off-year meeting allowed the committee to step back and look at the game holistically. They considered such issues as the competitive balance between offense and defense, conduct of players and coaches, blocking schemes, and a number of other issues. As stewards of the game, the committee is vitally interested in the overall state of the sport.

THE BLITZ

CBS drama NCIS, starring 1973 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Mark Harmon (UCLA), recently televised its 200th episode, which was viewed by nearly 21 million people.

NFF Board Member and College Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott (USC) attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Pac-12 Studios in San Francisco along with Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, Pac-12 Enterprises President Gary Stevenson, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and former California football player Marshawn Lynch. The studios will be the home of the Pac-12 Network and the Pac-12 Digital Network. Both enterprises are scheduled to launch in August.

College Football Hall of Fame coach Vince Dooley has been named the 2012 winner of the Duffy Dougherty Award. The award honors the late Daugherty, who coached Michigan State from 1954-72 and entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984. Dooley will be honored on April 26 at Eagle Eye Golf Club in Bath, Mich.

College Football Hall of Fame coach Willie Jeffries has been chosen to the Piedmont Athletic Association (S.C.) Hall of Fame's Ring of Honor. Jeffries will be honored on March 24 in Greenville, S.C.

2011 NFF National Scholar-Athlete John Dowd (Navy) was named the winner of the George Fritzinger Memorial Award, given to a graduating interior lineman who most excels as a student-athlete and in team leadership and spirit, and the Cmdr. Ralph Sentmann Award, which honors the graduating player who achieved the highest ranking in academic order of merit, at the Midshipmen's team banquet last week.

College Football Hall of Famer Chet Moeller (Navy) will be honored by the Touchdown Club of Annapolis (Md.) awards banquet on Thursday. Moeller will also serve as the evening's guest speaker.

2011 William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalists Dawson Zimmerman (Clemson) and Michael Hoag (Wake Forest) have been named winners of ACC Postgraduate Scholarships.

Campbell Trophy semifinalist Catlin Solum of North Dakota is the NFF's Scholar-Athlete of the Day, presented by Fidelity Investments. Check daily at FootballFoundation.org to see which Campbell Trophy candidate is the Scholar-Athlete of the Day.

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Stay involved with the game. Become an NFF member here.

OVER THE MIDDLE

NFF Philadelphia Chapter President and Villanova head coach Andy Talley has been named the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association's Humanitarian of the Year. . . . The NFF Emo DiNitto/Rhode Island Chapter will hold its 25th Annual Awards Dinner on May 7 in Warwick, R.I. Brown Athletics Director Michael Goldberger will receive the Distinguished American Award, Dick Downey will receive the Contribution to Amateur Football Award and the Special Football Officials Award will be awarded to James Peluso. . . . The NFF Touchdown Club of Houston, teaming with the Houston Texans and Houston ISD, will host the Fourth Annual Senior Football Showcase in Houston on Feb. 18. . . . The NFF Cincinnati Chapter will honor a courageous high school senior at its banquet on Feb. 28. Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones will be the featured speaker . . . . The NFF Orange County (Calif.) Chapter will hold its 42nd Scholar-Athlete Banquet on Feb. 27 at the Anaheim Convention Center. . . . Other upcoming February scholar-athlete banquets include the NFF Chicago Metro Chapter and the NFF Colorado Chapter on Monday, Feb. 20, the NFF S.M. McNaughton (La.) Chapter and the NFF Northern California Chapter on Feb. 23, the NFF Central Indiana Chapter on Feb. 25 and the NFF South Jersey Chapter on Feb. 26. . . . Read the Feb. 8 version of NFF Chapter Chalktalk here.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL

Scheduling

Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech have announced a home-and-home series. The Aggies will visit Shreveport, La. on Aug. 30, 2012. The Bulldogs will visit College Station, Texas, in 2016. . . . Texas A&M will host South Carolina State on Sept. 22. . . . Miami (Ohio) will host Southern Illinois on Sept. 8. . . . Cincinnati will host Delaware State on Sept. 15. . . . Louisiana - Lafayette will host Lamar on Sept. 1. . . . Ohio State will host Buffalo in 2013 and Cincinnati in 2018.

Media

The Colonial Athletic Association and NBC Sports Group have reached a five-year agreement which will feature a minimum of five football games on NBC Sports Network annually.

Community Service

Cincinnati hosted the Second Annual Playdate with the Bearcats in conjunction with Mitch's Mission on Sunday.

Facilities

Alan and Jean Pedersen of Monterey, Calif., have donated 550 acres of farmland, valued at $5 million, to the University of Oregon with half earmarked to pay off the new football operations building. . . . BYU has announced plans for a new scoreboard on the north end of LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Miscellaneous

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and partner Hunter Haas finished fourth in this weekend's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Alabama head coach Nick Saban and partner Bob Cauley finished in 23rd place. . . . The Patriot League has announced the league will allow athletic merit aid for football beginning with the incoming freshman class of 2013. . . . UCLA tight end Luke Gane has been named a finalist for the Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Award for his impact on aplastic anemia, a rare blood disorder. The Uplifting Athletes inaugural Gridiron Gala will be held on April 20 in Harrisburg, Pa. . . . Michigan has sold out its allotment of nearly 25,000 tickets for the Cowboys Classic at Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 1 versus Alabama. . . . Rice set a school record with an overall team GPA of 2.93. . . . Former football players Doug Berry, Randy Bostic and the late Buck PaoPao have been selected to the Southern Utah University Athletic Hall of Fame. The 2012 class is the university's first Hall of Fame class since 1997.

Obituaries

Former Clemson quarterback Randy Anderson passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 7. He was 46. . . . Presbyterian player Kyle Allen passed away Sunday, Feb. 5. He was 21. . . . Former Texas running back David Bartek passed away Tuesday, Jan. 31. He was 59. . . . Former Texas A&M quarterback and Tyler (Texas) Junior College coach James L. "Babe" Hallmark passed away Thursday, Feb. 9. He was 86. . . . Former Oklahoma player Dr. Paul Resler passed away Thursday, Feb. 9. He was 71. . . . Former Oklahoma player Merle Dinkins passed away Sunday, Feb. 12. He was 87.

Spring Football Primer: Week One

The NFF takes a look at each Football Bowl Subdivision Conference program as they head into spring football, noting when each school opens spring football, plays its annual spring game, and key coaching positions. This week, the ACC and the FBS Independents are the focus of the Spring Football Primer.

ACC

Boston College
Spring football starts: Feb. 18 Spring game: March 31
Head coach: Frank Spaziani Offensive coordinator: Kevin Rogers Defensive coordinator: Bill McGovern

Clemson
Spring football starts: March 7 Spring game: April 14
Head coach: Dabo Swinney Offensive coordinator: Chad Morris Defensive coordinator: Brent Venables

Duke
Spring football starts: Feb. 22 Spring game: March 31
Head coach: David Cutcliffe Offensive coordinator: Kurt Roper Defensive coordinator: Jim Knowles

Florida State
Spring football starts: March 19 Spring game: April 14
Head coach: Jimbo Fisher Offensive coordinator: James Coley Defensive coordinator: Mark Stoops

Georgia Tech
Spring football starts: March 26 Spring game: April 20
Head coach: Paul Johnson Defensive coordinator: Al Groh

Maryland
Spring football starts: March 10 Spring game: April 21
Head coach: Randy Edsall Offensive coordinator: Mike Locksley Defensive coordinator: Brian Stewart

Miami (Fla.)
Spring football starts: March 3 Spring game: April 14
Head coach: Al Golden Offensive coordinator: Jedd Fisch Defensive coordinator: Mark D'Onofrio

North Carolina
Spring football starts: March 14 Spring game: April 14
Head coach: Larry Fedora Offensive coordinator: Blake Anderson Defensive coordinator: Vic Koenning

N.C. State
Spring football starts: March 23 Spring game: April 21
Head coach: Tom O'Brien Offensive coordinator: Dana Bible Defensive coordinator: Mike Archer

Virginia
Spring football starts: March 19 Spring game: April 14
Head coach: Mike London Offensive coordinator: Bill Lazor Defensive coordinator: Jim Reid

Virginia Tech
Spring football starts: March 28 Spring game: April 21
Head coach: Frank Beamer Offensive coordinator: Bryan Stinespring Defensive coordinator: Bud Foster

Wake Forest
Spring football starts: March 1 Spring game: April 14
Head coach: Jim Grobe Offensive coordinator: Steed Lobotzke Defensive coordinator: Brian Knorr

FBS Independents

Army
Spring football starts: Feb. 11 Spring game: March 9 (Fort Benning, Ga.)
Head coach: Rich Ellerson Offensive coordinator: Ian Shields Defensive coordinators: Payam Sadaat/Chris Smeland

BYU
Spring football starts: March 15 Spring game: TBD
Head coach: Bronco Mendenhall Offensive coordinator: Brandon Doman

Navy
Spring football starts: March 19 Spring game: April 14
Head coach: Ken Niumatalolo Offensive coordinator: Ivin Jasper Defensive coordinator: Buddy Green

Notre Dame
Spring football starts: March 21 Spring game: April 21
Head coach: Brian Kelly Offensive coordinator: Chuck Martin Defensive coordinator: Bob Diaco

2012 Key NFF Dates

May 15, 2012 - Announcement of the 2012 Football Bowl Subdivision inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame - New York City

July 20-21, 2012 - College Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival - South Bend, Indiana

Dec. 4, 2012 - 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner - Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, New York City

NFF Information

Advertising in NFF publications will put your organization in front of key decision makers in football including key administrators, coaches, players, former players, as well as other key sports business executives throughout the year. To inquire about the print advertising opportunities available to your organization, please contact Bret Krift with IMG College at 859-226-4406 or bret.krift@imgworld.com.

Become a fan of the National Football Foundation on Facebook - Upload your game day photos, check out pictures of the NFF Annual Awards Dinner, and chat with other college football fans.

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Stay involved with the game. Become an NFF member here.

For more information on the NFF and college football, including announcements from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and NCAA Football, please visit www.footballfoundation.org.

Sign up for "This Week in NCAA Football" at ncaafootball.com.

The 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner will be held Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, 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.

Purchase the 54th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Program

The 54th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Program is still available for purchase, but only a limited number remain. The program can be obtained by sending a check for $20, plus $4.75 for shipping and handling to: NFF Annual Awards Dinner Program, 433 Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 1130, Irving, TX 75039.

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 to news@footballfoundation.com.