Syracuse Football

Apr 28, 2006

NCAA approves Bowl game for Toronto

The first NCAA football game in Canada is coming to Toronto.

The International Bowl will be held Saturday, January 6, 2007 at noon at the Rogers Centre and was approved by the NCAA yesterday.

The game, which will be shown live on ESPN, will feature the second- or third-rated team in the Mid-American Conference against the fourth- or fifth-rated club from the Big East.

"It's a great, great opportunity for 15,000-20,000 people coming to follow their teams. They would likely stay the entire weekend," International Bowl executive director Ken Hoffman said.

International Bowl media relations director Don Loding said a four-year agreement is in place with the Rogers Centre and ESPN. Loding hopes to have the game on TSN in Canada.

The Mid-American Conference is home to such schools as Toledo, Bowling Green and Western Michigan. The Big East includes Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia and Louisville. Teams must finish at least 6-6 to be eligible for Bowl play.

A team of municipal officials and promoters were given the green light for the venture yesterday in Orlando as the NCAA approved four new Bowl games, raising the total to 31. A bid to stage a game in Toronto last year was turned down.

The only NCAA game held outside the United States happened in Havana, Cuba in 1937.

The NCAA requires Bowls to pay a minimum of $750,000 US to each team. The International Bowl has not unveiled sponsors, but Loding said an announcement on sponsorship will be made at a later date. Loding has experience with Bowl promotion, having worked for the Motor City Bowl in Detroit.

The International Bowl will be played two days before the U.S. national championship -- the new fifth Bowl Championship Series game, which will be played Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.

Organizers believe they can exploit the potent college football brand here in the land of three-downs and envision a crowd between 25,000 and 35,000.

"I think there's clearly a taste and an interest in U.S. football," Hoffman said. "The Argos have told us they would be interested in cross-promoting."

Duncan Ross, Toronto's director of tourism, said, "The economic impact of the Motor City Bowl would be similar and that generates a $15 million churn in the local economy."

Posted at 10:54 am by syrablog
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Apr 13, 2006

Syracuse Strategy and Personnel

Moss came on strong during the second half of his sophomore season and ended up leading the Orange with 359 yards on 26 receptions. He could be the deep threat Syracuse's offense desperately needs.

RB Kareem Jones -- Jones was Syracuse's second-leading rusher last year, gaining 108 yards on 42 carries. Despite showing flashes of potential, he faces stiff competition for the starting job.

SS Dowayne Davis -- He played like a fifth-year senior as a sophomore last year, making 78 tackles to lead the secondary. Has the potential to develop into a dominant force in the middle of the Orange defense.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Syracuse grabbed a number of talented recruits. Three could contribute right away. TB Delone Carter, who was rated the 55th-best running back in the country by Rivals.com, rushed for 2,788 yards and 49 touchdowns last season at Copley Senior High in Ohio to earn the state's "Mr. Football" honor.

QB Andrew Robinson, who was rated the 20th-best "pro-style" quarterback in the country by Rivals.com, could compete for a backup spot immediately. He threw for over 2,500 yards last year as a senior in Maryland. WR Andrey Baskin, who was rated sixth-best wide receiver in the country by SuperPrep, hauled in 10 touchdowns last year at Woodrow Wilson High in Camden, N.J.

ROSTER REPORT: Syracuse is very thin at defensive end after the departure of senior starters James Wyche and Ryan LaCasse. The position is so depleted that linebackers Jameel McClain and Jamar Atkinson have been moved to DE for spring drills and will likely stay there for the foreseeable future. The loss of All-Big East senior safety Anthony Smith has opened the door for a number of players hoping to crack the starting lineup. Reggie McCoy, Donta Herrod, A.J. Brown, Lamar McPherson, as well as converted WR Bruce Williams are all expected to challenge for the starting spot alongside starting SS Dowayne Davis.

Posted at 12:13 pm by syrablog
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Mar 9, 2006

Monk And MacPherson On College Football Hall Of Fame Ballot

Former Orange wide receiver Art Monk and former head coach Dick MacPherson were listed on the 2006 Division I-A Ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, announced on March 9 by the National Football Foundation (NFF). Seventy-seven players and seven coaches are vying for college football's top honor.

At SU, Monk holds the single-game record for receptions in a game with 14, which he accomplished against Navy in 1979. He is tied for sixth all-time at SU in career receptions with 102. Monk's 1,644 career receiving yards is seventh in school history, while his 47.0 yards per game average ranks ninth all-time.

Monk led the Orange in receiving three times. In 1977, he caught 41 balls for 590 yards and four touchdowns. In 1978, he caught 19 passes for 293 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Finally, in 1979, Monk recorded 40 catches for 716 yards and three touchdowns to earn first-team All-America honors.

In his NFL career, Monk participated in three Super Bowls with the Washington Redskins and won two. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. He finished his 16-year NFL career with 12,721 receiving yards on 940 catches. He had a 13.5 average and totaled 68 touchdowns.

MacPherson coached the Orange from 1981 to 1990, and is third on the all-time wins last at SU with 66. "Coach Mac" led the 1987 Orange to an 11-0-1 record, the program's second undefeated season in its storied history. In that season's Sugar Bowl, SU tied Auburn 16-16 and finished with a #4 national ranking, the school's best finish next to the 1959 national championship team. MacPherson earned National Coach of the Year honors for his efforts. He closed his SU career with a 66-46-4 mark.

In his 17 years as a head coach, Mac compiled a record of 111-73-5. He spent seven years at Massachusetts before coming to Syracuse in 1981, where he went 45-27-1. Mac got his start at Illinois where he served as an assistant freshmen coach. From there, he went to Massachusetts as the head coach of the wrestling and freshman football team. Mac also spent time with Cincinnati, Maryland, and the Denver Broncos before being hired at UMass as the head coach. Before finally coming to SU, he spent time as the linebacker coach with the Cleveland Browns.

The Hall of Fame class will be announced on May 16 in New York City at the Marriot Marquis. Inductions will take place at the NFF's 49^th Awards Dinner on December 5 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Inductees will be officially enshrined in the summer of 2007.

Posted at 03:52 pm by syrablog
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Robinson Completes Coaching Staff with Appointment of Earley and Promotion of Brian White

Syracuse head football coach Greg Robinson hired Phil Earley to coach the Orange quarterbacks and named Brian White offensive coordinator. The Orange begin Spring practice on March 20 and conclude with the Spring game on April 15.

A veteran of the collegiate coaching ranks, Earley joins the Syracuse staff after spending one year as the assistant to the offensive coordinator and the quarterback coach at Auburn University. Earley worked with the Tiger's offensive coaching staff and the AU unit that ranked 37th in total offense and 30th in scoring offense nationally.

White, who was named to SU's staff in January, 2006, has 20 years of college football coaching experience, including the past 11 at Wisconsin. White was the Badgers offensive coordinator from 1999 through 2005, and coached the UW running backs from 1995 through 2005.

Earley's 20 years of collegiate coaching experience spans the country, including his tenure at Washington State (1992-94) where he served as the recruiting coordinator and was responsible for football operations at Washington State University for head coach Mike Price. During that time, the Cougars won the 1992 Copper Bowl and led the Pac 10 in total offense. He was also the Mike Price Football Camp Director. He has served as an offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for 13 years, including stints at Ohio University, Nevada, Idaho and Cal Poly.

In 2004, Earley was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Ohio University after serving in the same role at Nevada from 2000 through 2003. Under Earley's direction, the Nevada offense featured a balanced attack that produced one of only nine offenses nationally that averaged more than 200 yards both running and passing in 2001. The Wolfpack ranked ninth in the nation in offense that year. He coached the nation's leading rusher in 2001 and leading receiver in 2002. Nevada finished 12th nationally in total offense (434 yards per game) and 11th in passing (296 yards per game) in 2002.

In 1997, Earley was named the quarterback coach at Idaho. He added offensive coordinator duties for the 1998 and 1999 seasons. During his tenure, the Vandals won the 1998 Humanitarian Bowl to cap a 9-3 Big West Conference Championship season. From 1994-96, he was the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Cal Poly where his teams set or tied 28 offensive records during that time and were listed among the nation's leaders on a number of occasions.

Earley began his collegiate coaching career in 1986-87 at as the offensive line coach at Western Washington. From there he moved to Weber State, where he coached the offensive line for one season. He returned to Western Washington as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, serving in that role from 1989-91. During those three seasons, the Vikings set or tied 18 offensive records and ranked ninth nationally in total offense.

A three-year letterman at Pacific Lutheran, Earley earned his bachelor of arts degree in education from the Tacoma, Wash., school in 1980. He earned a master's degree in education with a sport psychology emphasis at Western Washington in 1988.

Posted at 03:52 pm by syrablog
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SU's Davis Honored by NCAA for His Historic Accomplishment

In honor of its 100th anniversary, the NCAA has selected the "25 Defining Moments in NCAA History." Former Syracuse University running back Ernie Davis becoming the first African-American student-athlete to win the Heisman Trophy earned recognition on the NCAA's list.

Davis, who is the only SU football student-athlete to win the Heisman trophy, led the Orange to the 1959 National Championship, scoring two touchdowns in the 1959 Cotton Bowl victory against Texas. He broke Jim Brown's SU career rushing record and closed his career by leading the Orange to a Liberty Bowl win against Miami. He is currently ninth on Syracuse's career rushing yards record list with 2,386 yards.

Davis, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of fame in 1979, was the first overall selection in the 1961 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He was traded to the Cleveland Browns where Paul Brown hoped to team Davis in a dream backfield with the man whose records Davis had broken at Syracuse – NFL rushing king Jim Brown. The dream never came to be. Davis died of leukemia in 1963, a wonderful and beloved young man stricken down in the prime of his life.

ESPN Classic and ESPNU are airing those moments throughout the months of January, March and September. Each moment is a 30-second vignette that highlights the most exciting, important and memorable events in the NCAA's history. The vignettes began airing January 2 on ESPN Classic and ESPNU.

The "25 Most Defining Moments in NCAA History" were chosen by a special panel that included college presidents, athletics directors, faculty representatives, student-athletes and conference representatives as the top moments that best represent the NCAA's 100-year history.

The NCAA celebrates is 100th anniversary in 2006.

The "25 Most Defining Moments in NCAA History"

* The NCAA is founded in 1906 after a warning from President Theodore Roosevelt to either reform or risk the abolition of football.

* Presidential firsts: Palmer Pierce becomes the Association's first president, holding office from 1906 to 1913 and from 1917 to 1929. On January 12, 1981, James Frank of Lincoln (Missouri) becomes the first black and the first college president elected to serve as membership president of the NCAA. On January 10, 1991, Judy Sweet becomes the first woman to serve as membership president of the NCAA. The NCAA began calling its executive director "president" following the NCAA reorganization in 1997 that eliminated the elected membership president position.

* The first NCAA championship is held June 17-18, 1921, at Chicago when student-athletes from 62 colleges and universities compete in track and field.

* Ohio State's Jesse Owens breaks four world records at the 1935 Big Ten Conference track championships.

* The first men's basketball championship is held at Northwestern on March 27, 1939.

* Walter Byers is named as the Association's first excecutive director in 1951. A national headquarters is established in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1952. Richard Schultz succeeds Byers after his retirement in 1987. Cedric Dempsey becomes the Association's third president back in 1994, followed by Myles Brand.

* Oklahoma football student-athlete Prentice Gautt becomes the first African-American student-athlete to play for a member institution in the Jim Crow states of the South and Southwest in 1956. Gautt later becomes the NCAA's secretary-treasurer in 1994.

* Syracuse running back Ernie Davis becomes the first African-American student-athlete to win the Heisman Trophy in 1961.

* Loyola (Illinois) faces Mississippi State in a 1963 men's basketball tournament regional semifinal. Mississippi State, an all-white team, sneaks out of town in the middle of the night despite protests from the governor and state police of Mississippi to play a Loyola team that features four black starters. Mississippi State overcame an unwritten Mississippi rule against playing integrated teams with a cloak-and-dagger flight to the North just one step ahead of a court injunction. Loyola beats Mississippi State and goes on to win the title.

* On June 19, 1965, UCLA senior Arthur Ashe wins the 1965 NCAA singles and doubles titles and leads the Bruins to a team championship.

* On March 19, 1966, Texas Western and its five African-American starters defeat Kentucky 72-65.

* On March 15, 1973, Dacia Schileru, a Wayne State (Michigan) diver, becomes the first woman to compete in an NCAA championship, entering the College Division Swimming and Diving Championships.

* The UCLA men's basketball team wins a seventh straight NCAA title in 1973.

* The 1979 Final Four championship game, featuring Earvin "Magic" Johnson from Michigan State University and Larry Bird from Indiana State University, earns the highest TV rating (24.1) of any title game before or since.

* Delegates at the 75th annual Convention in 1981 adopt a governance plan to include women's athletics programs and services within the NCAA structure.

* In what many believe is the greatest Cinderella story in college basketball, North Carolina State's Lorenzo Charles dunks the ball as time expires in the 1983 championship game to lead the Wolfpack to a 54-52 win over heavily favored Houston.

* Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie's "Hail Mary" touchdown pass to Gerard Phelan lifts the Eagles over Miami (Florida) in 1984.

* North Dakota State wins a fourth straight Division II Women's Basketball Championship in 1996. The four-year run includes a perfect season in 1994-95 and a 49-game winning streak, one of the longest in NCAA history.

* Marymount basketball student-athlete Corinne Carson becomes one of the first known collegiate athletes to return to the sport after a liver transplant. She is named the WBCA National Player of the Year in Division III for 1997.

* The NCAA and CBS Sports in 1999 reach an 11-year, $6 billion agreement for television, radio, Internet, corporate marketing, licensing, publishing, home video and Hoop City rights for the Division I men's basketball championship.

* Simpson wrestler Nick Ackerman, who does not have the use of his legs, wins the championship match in the 174-pound class at the 2001 Division III Wrestling Championships.

* Iowa State wrestler Cael Sanderson completes his four-year undefeated collegiate career by winning the championship match in the 197-pound class at the 2002 Division I Wrestling Championships.

* UCLA Pitcher Keira Goerl throws a nine-inning no-hitter in the 2003 NCAA Division I Softball Championship Game.

* In 2003, North Carolina wins the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship for the 18th time (in the past 23 seasons) while finishing the season undefeated at 27-0.

* Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt leads her Lady Vols past Purdue in the 2005 NCAA tournament to become the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history.

Posted at 03:52 pm by syrablog
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