(Editor’s Note. One of the major issues that any Olympic Games creates is what to do when the Games end with the facilities constructed to accommodate the competition. The following article deals with how the London Summer Games organizers and city officials plan to utilized the Olympic Village buildings following the Games).
On January 25, 2012 an article appeared on The Chronicle of Higher Education blog. The article covered the decision by the University of Maryland to name the basketball court at its shiny new basketball arena after Gary Williams, the long-time men’s coach who retired after the 2010 season.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is an organization created by colleges over 100 years ago in an effort to avoid federal government interference amid a growing number of serious injuries related to football. It was given regulatory powers regarding playing rules, eligibility, championship competitions, etc. After World War II, as college sports became more popular and television began to look to college sports for programming, the NCAA established, the first comprehensive recruiting rules.
(Editor’s Note. This piece is a review of the most recent book, “The Long Shadow of Coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant,” by Dr. Gaylon McCollough. It is the second book he has written that deals with lessons he learned while playing football at the University of Alabama for Paul “Bear” Bryant.)
This past weekend marked the 29th anniversary of the death of coaching legend, Paul “Bear” Bryant. Alabama fans may be basking in the spotlight created by its football team’s dominating win over LSU in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) championship game on Jan. 9 and the fact that Coach Nick Saban has now guided the Crimson Tide to two national championships in three years. But Alabama fans will never forget that in the 25 seasons that Bryant was the head coach, the Tide won six national championships.
New head football coaches at major-college programs will be paid an average of nearly 35% more next season than what their predecessors made in 2011, a USA TODAY survey finds. The increase means the average basic compensation at the schools making changes will go from a little more than $1.1 million this past season to a little more than $1.5 million next season. This rise will fuel what is likely to be another annual increase in the pay for all head football coaches in the NCAA‘s Bowl Subdivision, even as instructional spending at many schools slows or declines amid economic struggles and shrinking state education budgets.
(Editor’s Note. Association football is the second most popular sport in India, behind cricket. India has won two Asian Games championships (1951 and 1962); but over the past few decades the sport languished with little financial support and poor leadership. In 2006 India signed an agreement with Brazil to import coaches and administrators to train coaches and help improve the sport’s infrastructure. The game was introduced to the sub-continent by British soldiers. Indeed, the Indian Football Association did not have any Indians on its governing board until the 1930s).
(Editor’s Note. Issues related to the financing of sports franchise operations have a reach that extends well beyond the world of sports. Many local and state governments are being forced to cut services so that budgets can be balanced while at the same time spending millions of dollars to help subsidize professional sports franchises. Many people feel that this is an unacceptable use of public funds in the current economic climate. Evan Weiner’s article is good reading for anyone interested in sports finance issues).
When LSU and Alabama met in the BCS National Championship Game on January 9 they were the two top ranked teams in the country. What many people don’t know is that the two schools also ranked 1 and 2 in another category.
A new, in-your-face ad campaign in Georgia against childhood obesity is sparking controversy among health experts.
Now that all of the sporting public has found out the result of the latest Game of the Century and Alabama has been crowned as national champion for big-boy college football for 2011 everyone can relax for a short time and get ready for recruiting day and then spring practice. Nick Saban and Les Miles, the coaches of last night’s combatants, can think about the prospect of perhaps renegotiating their contracts. Saban made some $4.93 million this season and Miles made “only” about $3.85 million. Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart may well receive a raise over the $750,000 he earned (before bonuses) this past season.
