All the Big 12-2 Conference news that is and isn't fit to read...
And some other stuff.
The Texas-UCLA game on Sept. 17, will be played at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised by ABC/ESPN. [Texas Sports]
The Baylor-Texas game has been moved to Saturday, Dec. 3, so that it may be televised by ABC. [Baylor Bears]
For A&M and their new basketball coach, less is more. [CBS Sports]
It'll just happen in reverse the same way it happened in reverse at Pittsburgh with Jamie Dixon, at Kansas State with Frank Martin, at Memphis with Josh Pastner and at Marquette with Williams. None of those guys were considered slam-dunk hires when they were hired, but now each school has a coach it wouldn't trade.
A&M is Billy Kennedy's dream job. [Sports Illustrated]
"This is a destination job for me," said Kennedy, who is from Louisiana but spent the past five seasons at Murray State.
The Aggies should trust Bill Byrne's new basketball hire. [Dallas Morning News]
Give the guy a chance. Before anybody proclaims Aggie basketball to be officially dead in the water following an uninspiring hire, give Billy Kennedy the benefit of the doubt. For that matter, give Bill Byrne the benefit of the doubt.
Say what you will about Byrne's general attitude, or his cockiness, or his tendency to overvalue his products. But the guy has turned this Texas A&M athletic department into one of the country's best.
There will be some new faces in the Big 12-2 next basketball season. [Fox News]
Sooner co-offensive coordinator Josh Heupel will lead the Land Thieves back to glory. [Sports Illustrated]
Tommy Tuberville was a human guinea pig. [Lubbock Avalanche-Journal]
NCAA enforcement interview techniques don't exactly inspire confidence. [CBS Sports]
Who knew these people had a sense of humor? There was campy humor in video presentations. One witness was coerced into talking because of obnoxious accordion music played by an investigator. One interview was conducted in a bathroom stall. They told us that in the real world, interviews really have gone down in a nursing home, a prison, even a Burger King. They call them "Captain Kirks," boldly going where no one has gone before.
So far, the record isn't too good. NCAA president Mark Emmert talks as if he will play rough with violators. [Yahoo Sports]
That has been the story of the NCAA; a lack of action, a lack of leadership, a lack of respect for someone actually trying to impact the system. For decades it’s been better to do nothing than risk doing the right thing.
Two years later, both BCS title game participants are under investigation (so is the bowl executive who ran the game) and the men’s basketball champion cut down the nets two months after getting busted for committing eight major violations.
Nebraska just won't go away. [Austin American-Statesman]
Osborne has written letters to every Big 12 athletic director, expressing an interest in playing them in any sport. Oklahoma's interested and could arrange a home-and-home football series after 2019. A&M might, as could the Big 12 North schools.
Legal opinion? One for BON's legal team and all the lawyers that read BDR. [San Antonio Express News]
Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, said a measure he filed to give fired Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach permission to sue the school for monetary damages appears to be dead.
But a request for an attorney general's legal opinion that stemmed from Leach's case is still very much alive. It centers on whether lawmakers should have authority over university funds derived from private sources, such as athletic supporter contributions and athletic event gate receipts.
The request was prompted when Tech invoked sovereign immunity — which protects the state from lawsuits unless legislative permission is given — in legal action brought by Leach over his employment contract.
An antitrust economist weighs in on the BCS. [ESPN]
Texas lawmakers want to crack down on agents in college sorts. [Sports Illustrated]
Texas lawmakers are moving to crack down on unethical sports agents and their "runners," threatening a felony conviction and up to 10 years in prison for luring college athletes into contracts and deals that cause them to lose their eligibility.
Legislators say the crackdown would give Texas the toughest sports agent law in the country.
"Far too many times, agents have caused havoc for athletes and universities and walked away unscathed," said Rep. Harold Dutton, a Houston Democrat pushing the measure.
ESPN and Fox teamed up to keep Comcast out of the fight for the PAC 10 media rights. [Sports Business Journal]
Frontline took a look at the culture of high school football. You can watch the full episode the Frontline website. [PBS]
There is a new book out on Teddy Roosevelt and his efforts to save the game of football. [The Wiz of Odds]
And finally...
Thoughts and good wishes go out to Kansas State basketball coach Frank Martin. He is recovering after suffering complications from knee surgery. [USA Today]
BDR doesn't endorse any of the rubbish that is out there, we just link to it.