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Alabama seems to finish atop Rivals.com's recruiting rankings every February, but this year's haul was especially impressive. Nick Saban and staff landed six five-star recruits, twice as many as any other program in the nation, and compiled one of the finest classes in school history. That crop includes defensive end Da'Shawn Hand, the No. 1 overall prospect in this year's cycle, and linebacker Rashaan Evans, who signed with the Crimson Tide over rival Auburn.

Did you know that the SEC has the most players in this season’s Super Bowl? Yes, college football’s most dominant conference has 31 players dotted among Seattle and Denver’s rosters. This gives it an eight-player advantage over the second-place finisher Pac-12, according to Jon Solomon of AL.com. It’s yet another notch in the SEC’s big, bad belt. Since the Super Bowl has been going on for almost 50 years—way longer than the SEC’s current reign—could it be that teams from other conferences are the real all-time leaders? To answer this, we scoured Pro-Football Reference’s Super Bowl rosters for all 48...

It's been almost comical to watch the liberal sports media's obvious arousal over what they deem the heroic effort by the Northwestern football team to unionize. I say almost comical because this effort is something that could change the face of college athletics forever, and not necessarily for the good either. It is also based on a fundamental flaw. And as is the case with liberals in general, the MSNBC wannabes at ESPN - and other outlets - have no situational awareness of the potential unintended consequences if this is successful. They are simply driven by the leftist reflexive hatred...

Brendan Gibbons, the Michigan football team’s starting kicker for the past three seasons, was permanently separated from the University of Michigan last month for violating the University’s Student Sexual Misconduct Policy, according to documents reviewed by The Michigan Daily. More like this University changes sexual misconduct procedures Office of Student Conflict Resolution releases report Internal sexual misconduct investigations complicate police response From the Daily: Communicating safety “You will be permanently separated from the University of Michigan effective December 20, 2013,” reads a Dec. 19, 2013 letter addressed to Gibbons at his Florida residence from the University’s Office of Student Conflict...

It's not every day that the hard-charging CEO of an S&P 500 company goes back to his university and offers -- not to buy a little immortality with a new dorm or lab -- but himself as an active leader. Al Lord relishes combat: Raised in a Philly housing project, toughened by his campaigns to seize control of student lender Sallie Mae and defy challengers from Wall Street to the White House for 30+ years, Lord stepped down last year and has gone to fight for alma mater, Penn State, which faces unusual reputational and governance challenges... Lord is collecting...

Remembering Joe Paterno’s 1983 Board of Trustees Speech “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” When I visit Joe Paterno’s gravesite, as I have done on occasion over the last two years when I’m in need of some ethereal inspiration or peace, I’m always struck by the above line from Robert Browning on his headstone. The message speaks to the profound impact of Paterno as an academic visionary, and there’s a specific moment that comes to mind when I think of it. It was just days after the school’s first football National Championship,...

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- After a nine-day search, Penn State is set to introduce James Franklin as its new head football coach at a Saturday afternoon news conference. "I can't tell you how excited I am to come home," Franklin said in a statement Saturday. "I grew up watching Penn State football and now to be at the helm of such a storied program is a tremendous honor. It's important to me to be a part of a university that strives for excellence in everything they do. "When football student-athletes come to Penn State, they have a unique opportunity to...

At some point, you almost have to wonder if maybe this isn't about James Franklin, that it's really about Penn State, that these schmucks would have had a problem with anybody we could've tabbed to coach our team, that they would've found some dirt on Al Golden or Mike Munchak or even Larry Johnson, that it's really a cause for their affronted wrath when we win a damn game or two, or threaten to become the national powerhouse we once were. This university can do no right, because then what would they have to write about? The only good...

A new NCAA governance structure favoring the Division I power institutions has been distributed to membership in advance of next week's NCAA convention. At its core the proposed structure would give “legislative autonomy” to the five BCS or power conferences that consider themselves the main stakeholders of big-time college sports: SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC and Big 12. Those schools would define the structure for a stipend paid to athletes, according to documents obtained by CBSSports.com. The Chronicle of Higher Education first reported the existence of the proposals from Wake Forest president Nathan Hatch, the Division I board chair.

The family of Joe Paterno had a partial victory today as Judge John Leete, ruling over its lawsuit against the NCAA, permitted parts of it to move forward. The family, along with various former coaches, trustees, and players, brought forth a lawsuit challenging various aspects of the NCAA’s sanctions against Penn State and their effects on the community. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs couldn’t pursue breach-of-contract claims over the NCAA because of Penn State’s binding agreement with the NCAA. Penn State has shown it wants nothing to do with this lawsuit and is not a party, and the judge...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Is everyone sure that Florida State beat Auburn to win the National Championship on Monday night? Absolutely sure? Like, 100% sure?

By now, you’ve probably read Patriot News columnist David Jones’ rabble-rousing piece outlining some of the reasons behind Bill O’Brien’s departure — specifically quoting O’Brien during profanity laced tirade against so-called “Paterno people” that supposedly drove him right out of Happy Valley. If you haven’t, you should. I couldn’t help but feel compelled the first time I read the story Tuesday night. On the surface, it has significant shock value and information you won’t find anywhere else. But then I read it again. And again. And now, three days later, I find myself reading it for the dozenth time and...

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Florida State is the BCS favorite. But if you look at how the ACC is faring so far, it does not look good. ACC results so far: Marshall over Maryland 31-20 North Carolina over Cincy 39-17 Mississippi over Ga Tech 25-17 (it wasn't that close) Arizona over Boston Col. 42-19 UCLA over Virginia Tech 42-12 so the ACC is 1-5 by a total score of 157-107. What I conclude is to bet on Auburn to beat Florida State.

The shroud of intrigue surrounding impending NFL head coaching vacancies has again descended upon Happy Valley. The rebuilder and savior of Penn State football, the 44-year-old Bill O’Brien, has resurfaced as one of the hottest candidates. And why not? O’Brien has been a feel-good story for a fan base still reeling from the unthinkable. But with his dream job within reach, how long will he last at a college program saddled by the NCAA’s bureaucratic limbo? The NFL keeps calling. Multi-million dollar contracts are to be negotiated. Sunday afternoons beckon like a siren. “Sure, it seems like a no-brainer,” says...

Sportscaster Bob Costas among those featured in documentary — LEWISBURG — “The story is NOT over,” according to the filmmakers of 365 Days: A Year in Happy Valley. The upcoming documentary about the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal will have an exclusive showing at 2 p.m. at The Campus Theatre in Lewisburg on Saturday, Dec. 28. Tickets are $12 each and must be purchased in advance through 365daysthefilm.com. Veteran NBC sportscaster Bob Costas is among those interviewed in the film. Commenting on the Freeh report, Costas said that while the report might have contained some valuable information, Freeh then “assigned...

IOWA CITY | Top-ranked Penn State delivered a powerful message Saturday night. The three-time defending NCAA champions dominated the third-ranked Hawkeyes 24-12 in a nonconference dual which saw Iowa win just three matches. With a third-period pin at 133 pounds, Tony Ramos energized the Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd of 13,747 which included celebrities Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who enjoyed second-row center mat seats next to wrestling legend Dan Gable. Ramos’ win provided Iowa with the only bonus points the Hawkeyes mustered against the Nittany Lions. “We needed every point we could get and as a captain and leader of this...

SEATTLE — It appeared the Penn State women’s volleyball team was on the brink of blowing a two-set lead. But the right person stepped to the service line at the right time, and the Nittany Lions caught fire. Micha Hancock delivered a pair of aces as the Nittany Lions ran off the final five points of the match — and another national title was theirs. Behind a match-high 21 kills from Ariel Scott, Penn State held on for a 25-19, 26-24, 20-25, 25-23 victory over Wisconsin on Saturday night at KeyArena for the program’s sixth national championship and fifth in...