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Something Something Penn State Whatever: I'm not going to talk about it here, which will make me just the same as a certain Penn State blog whose expansive staff could not seem to even address the Freeh Report until this morning (and even then, their denial meters went up to 12). However, our mighty general has addressed the topic, and I am engaging in guerrilla warfare across multiple platforms.
Well, okay, I'm lying, sort of. There's this newer piece of news I just have to mock; the Paterno family is apparently bound and determined to make an ass out of me for insisting that they deserve our pity rather than our scorn. They are now intending to launch their own investigation, claiming the Freeh Report is a big sack of hooey. I expect countless updates on this investigation from the tee box at Jay Paterno's favorite golf course, a book entitled "If Joe Had Done It, or Something, or Nothing, Oh, I'm So Confused", and eventually I figure Scott Paterno will be busted committing armed robbery in a hotel room.
Syracuse WIll Not Win the Big East in 2014: That's because they've reached a settlement with their soon-to-be-former conference, enabling them to depart for the ACC on July 1, 2013. This, of course, is as expected; Pitt has not yet reached a similar agreement, but I'd imagine one's probably forthcoming before too long. The sticking point would appear to be that Syracuse paid $7.5M to get out, while Pitt is reluctant to pay more than $5M.
The Big July Welcome Party: Every year, a certain number of schools apply to join a division of the NCAA, whether this involves moving up, or moving down, or joining from the NAIA. Friday, the NCAA made their decisions on applications to start the membership process for Division II. Every school already in the system moved one step further along the ladder, meaning that Academy of Art University (San Francisco), Cedarville, Minot State, Notre Dame (OH), Sioux Falls, and (of relevance to us both locally and spiritually) Bill Snyder's alma mater William Jewell are all now full members of Division II, eligible for conference championships and post-season play and all that good stuff. Depending on executive committee action regarding a slight change in a by-law relating to accreditation, Simon Fraser would also become a full member, officially extending the NCAA's reach into Canada (which is kind of a big thing, yeah?).
On the other end of the spectrum, eight former NAIA schools have been accepted into the D-II membership process: Daemen, Holy Names, Lee, Lubbock Christian, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Oklahoma Christian, Virginia-Wise, and my personal favorite (as it is the closest 4-year school to my hellish little outpost here in NE Oklahoma), Rogers State. These schools will have to navigate a four-year process to become full active members.
Lastly, the D-II Membership Committee voted to recommend that the NCAA as a whole expand the pilot program which brought Simon Fraser into the fold to schools in Mexico, which is also kind of a big thing. Curiously, this would actually be an easier process than with Simon Fraser, as several Mexican universities are already accredited by recognized US accreditation agencies. Should that measure pass, the prime candidates would be the University of Nuevo Leon and Monterrey Tech, and I will note that after some time passes every single one of these foreign schools potentially has the resources to move to Division I.
Lastly, One Single Bit of Diablerie: Putting it simply, I can't wait to see what school Reuben Foster finally ends up signing with. I think we're all in agreement there's a good chance it won't be Auburn, which will be sort of awkward.