PAC-12 COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
=Chip Kelly, former UO head football coach, is the new
head football coach at UCLA.
=Gary Andersen, former OSU head football coach, is the
new associate head coach at U of Utah. (Andersen is a former Utah State U head
football coach.) This is at least the second fomer OSU head football coach, to
become a U of Utah assistant football coach. Another was Dennis Erickson, who,
in addition to being a former OSU head football coach is also a former head
football coach at WSU, Idaho, Wyoming and Miami. (Erickson was at Utah
2013-2016.)
= An announcement expected on/about Jan. 9, 2018, will be
that Bobby Grinch, WSU football defensive coordinator, will become the 10th
on-field assistant coach at Ohio State.
............
Mata'afa adds to list of Cougar losses on D
Consensus All-American lineman suggests he's leaving
early for the NFL
By DALE GRUMMERT
of the Lewiston Tribune Jan 2, 2018
PULLMAN - The Washington State defense was already bracing
for the loss of several prominent seniors and the probable departure of unit
coordinator Alex Grinch.
Now it's apparently bidding farewell to one of its best
linemen ever.
Hercules Mata'afa, a consensus All-American as a junior
in 2017, suggested via Twitter on Sunday that he's forfeiting his senior season
to turn professional.
"I would like to thank the entire Coug Nation for
all the love and support you've shown me throughout my four years in
college," he tweeted. "I've had an incredible journey at WSU, and I
couldn't be more grateful to the coaches, teammates, fans, friends, community
and family who helped me along the way. I will always be a Coug at heart."
Although the news wasn't exactly surprising, Mata'afa
isn't necessarily a high-round NFL prospect at this point.
At 6-foot-2 and 252 pounds, he's too small to play the
defensive-tackle role he played for the Cougars. He'll need to prove he can
either gain weight without losing much quickness or adjust to a linebacker role
demanding skills he hasn't been asked to display in college.
But he was tremendous this past season, slithering past
or outmaneuvering much larger opponents and sometimes explictly affecting the
momentum of a game. He finished the season with 45 tackles, including 221/2 for
loss and 101/2 sacks, while forcing two fumbles and recovering another. He
notched six official quarterback hurries and innumerable unofficial ones.
Rarely has a WSU defensive lineman in recent decades
crafted a performance on a par with Mata'afa's showing in a 33-25 win at Utah
last month, when he tallied eight tackles, three sacks and five TFLs while also
forcing and recovering a fumble.
He was accorded first-unit status on three of the five
major All-America teams, by The Associated Press, The Sporting News and Walter
Camp. Mata'afa, of the Hawaiian island of Maui, was also named Polynesian
Player of the Year.
The Cougars sorely missed him in the first half of the
Holiday Bowl last week at San Diego as a he continued to serve a suspension for
a targeting penalty in the Apple Cup. He took the field in the second half and
recorded a sack and a QB hurry in the Cougs' 42-17 loss to Michigan State.
The WSU defense has made significant strides the past
three years but must now replace several 2017 seniors, including Daniel Ekuale,
Frankie Luvu, Isaac Dotson, Robert Taylor, Marcellus Pippins, Dylan Hanser and
Garrett McBroom. The list may also include Peyton Pelluer, who suffered a
season-ending foot injury in Game 4, but the Cougars are hopeful he will be
granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.
The Cougars are also expected to lose Grinch, the young
coordinator who has orchestrated their defensive revival. He's reportedly
headed for Ohio State in an unspecified role.
..........
Opportunities grow for
Cosmic Crisp
WSU's apple variety said to
be in stores by 2020
By JOSH BABCOCK of Lewiston Tribune Jan 2,
2018
Growers throughout the
Evergreen State are working to bring Washington State University's Cosmic Crisp
apple to grocery stores by 2020.
A drawing was held for the
more than 630,000 of the first Cosmic Crisp apple trees, which were sent to
growers earlier this year and planted in the spring, and more than 5 million
more are already budded for contracts and delivery in 2018.
"We had to have a
drawing because there were so many interested in the apples," said Albert
Tsui, business development specialist at WSU. "Since 2014 a lot of people
have wanted to get a hand on it." The university released the Cosmic
Crisp, formerly known as WA 38, in 2014. The apple is the newest product of
WSU's tree fruit breeding program.
It's a cross between
Enterprise and Honeycrisp apples.
Unfortunately for consumers,
Tsui said the earliest he expects the apples to hit the stores is 2019, though
2020 is more realistic, and the Cosmic Crisp can only be snatched up at one
place - at Cosmic Crisp field days at different university orchards throughout
the state.
Tsui said in order for
growers to produce quality apples, the trees need as many as three years to
mature before sending any fruit to packers and then grocers.
He said those involved with
WSU's fruit breeding program and the Washington Tree Fruit Commission are
meeting with growers to discuss pruning techniques, best practices for managing
rootstocks and other techniques for high-quality fruit.
"There are things
behind the scenes that are being done," Tsui said.
It's important for the
university to protect its product to ensure it succeeds when it hits the
market, he said, noting that's why the product was patented, and why Cosmic
Crisp apple trees are only being sold to licensed growers and nurseries in
Washington state.
"Initially, 300,000 to
400,000 trees was the expectation (for the first year)," Tsui said.
"But the nursery was able to push things and get it up to the 630,000
mark."
Because of the large first
year push, expectations are high for the apple. "In terms of a commercial
release like this, 5 million in year No. 2 is very high, usually 500,000 is a
large number for the second year," Tsui said. "In terms of a rollout
in the U.S. market, this large of a rollout of an apple is unheard of."
Tsui said the apple is easy
to manage, which may have enticed growers. He said there are no number goals as
far as production for the apple, rather the goal in place now is to get growers
up to speed on the quality of the fruit.
The university will receive
4.75 percent of the price a 40-pound box of apples is sold for, as well as a $1
royalty for each tree sold.
"This apple, you store
it and open it up, it's as good as the day it was picked off the tree,"
Tsui said. "Come late September it remains crisp and crunchy; it may be a
year-round type apple."
.................
Private sector drives growth
in Pullman
Officials say city projects
usually drive development but were surpassed by private investments for 2017
By Scott Jackson, Moscow
Pullman Daily News Jan 2, 2018
Development in the private
sector was the driving force behind new construction in Pullman during 2017, a
contrast to years past when city spending usually leads the charge.
"I think for Pullman
it's very surprising," City Supervisor Adam Lincoln said. "With
(Washington State University) being part of the government sector, usually
they're just the de facto driver of the economy here."
Pullman Planning and Public
Works Administrative Specialist Shandy Lam said numbers indicate December will
add roughly another $10.5 million to the yearly total, which should be around
$130 million.
Lam said while the number of
permits issued for new projects in 2016 and 2017 were roughly the same, the
city and WSU were less active this year while private development surged.
"The city itself hasn't
had many large projects this year," Lam said.
She said WSU spent just over
$60 million by early December of 2016 compared with the $7.7 million it spent
in that same time period for 2017.
"The difference is last
year we did 28 permits for WSU," Lam said. "This year we've only done
15."
Schweitzer Engineering
Laboratories is usually a big spender in Pullman, Lam said. She said SEL's new
$16 million industrial building fell into this year's permitting cycle,
bolstering private investment numbers significantly. SEL Communications Manager
Kate Wilhite said the building will be used primarily for additional
manufacturing space. The building will be called the SDAC, Wilhite said, which
stands for Solution Design Assembly Center.
Wilhite said SEL has spent
around $23 million on new developments in Pullman since 2016. She said the
company moved into its new research and development building in October, and
will likely move into the SDAC by April. She said the company will continue to
grow, but there are no new projects on the horizon that she knows of.
"We're just excited to
have more room and to continue growing," Wilhite said. "When the SDAC
is finished, that will bring us, on the Pullman campus, to about 1 million
square feet under-roof."
Lam said the biggest project
on the books for 2017 is the $20 million Evolve on Main, a mixed-use building
promising to offer downtown apartments and new retail space. Lincoln said the
project is being monitored closely by the city.
"That's quite a big
project that's going to help reshape downtown," Lincoln said.
Big projects on the WSU
campus in 2016 - including a costly new multicultural center - pushed valuation
totals past $100 million for the year for the first time in the city's history,
Lam said.
"That last year was a
record-breaking year for us to even pass that," Lam said. "This year
we passed $100 million excluding anything having to do with WSU, so that was
that was really huge for us."
According to the most recent
data released by Pullman Public Works, development of new single family homes
has remained relatively flat, with 48 units permitted so far this year,
compared to the 49 permitted by early December of 2016. New multi-family units
were up a bit from 114 units permitted last year, to 148 units this year.
……………
Global Campus selected to
host Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning
January 2, 2018 WSU Insider
The Online Learning
Consortium has selected Washington State University to host its 10thannual
Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning. The Institute is a unique
leadership development program for emerging leaders in online education
featuring a blended-learning format, including an immersion experience to be
held at Washington State University Pullman Campus. David Cillay, vice
president for WSU Academic Outreach and Innovation, serves as co-director of
the 2018 program and continues as part of the distinguished faculty.
In August 2018, the
faculty-led intensive immersion experience will take full advantage of WSU’s
new state-of-the-art, digital classroom building “The Spark,” to accommodate
both formal and informal learning spaces for small and large group learning.
WSU’s partnership with the
Online Learning Consortium positions WSU Global Campus to be part of the
leadership advancing online learning across the nation. More than 325 emerging
leaders have successfully completed the Institute’s program since it first
launched in 2009, representing a wide and diverse field of institutional types.
“After completing the program, IELOL alumni are better positioned to drive
institutional goals, navigate change and innovation, as well as advance their
organization’s online learning strategy,” said Kathleen S. Ives, D.M., CEO and
executive director, Online Learning Consortium.
WSU’s Office of Professional
Education is managing registration and Immersion logistics. Registration is
open from Nov. 1, 2017 through March 30, 2018. OLC is offering an early bird
discount for applications completed before Jan. 31, 2018. Those interested in
applying for the Institute can submit an application at this link:
cm.wsu.edu/olcielol. Additional details about the program are available online
at https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/learn/ielol.
……………
Nearing the midpoint of the season, there are still plenty
of games left, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the Pac-12 to
change what looks to be a slim number of teams advancing to the NCAA
tournament.
By Percy Allen /
Seattle Times
By now you’ve heard the Pac-12 performed a historically spectacular
pratfall in college football bowl games.
Utah produced the lone victory in the conference’s dismal
1-8 performance — the worst postseason record by a league — that has many
contemplating how the Pac-12 can restore a product that pales in comparison to
the rest of the major conferences.
Meanwhile, the situation isn’t as dire on the men’s
basketball side of things, but the Pac-12 didn’t exactly set itself up for
success in March following a mediocre showing in nonconference matchups.
Against ranked teams, the Pac-12 went 6-9 against the other
Power Six conferences (Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, Southeastern and Atlantic
Coast).
Nearing the midpoint of the season, there are still plenty
of games left, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the Pac-12 to
change what looks to be a slim number of teams advancing to the NCAA
tournament.
No. 4 Arizona State and No. 14 Arizona are the only Pac-12
teams in The Associated Press Top 25. And UCLA was the only other team to
receive votes.
ESPN’s Andy Katz included all three among his projections of
teams that will receive one of the 36 at-large bids to the Big Dance.
Still, others project an even dourer forecast for the Pac-12.
ESPN’s bracket guru Joe Lunardi includes just Arizona and
Arizona State among his 68-team field.
If Lunardi is right, it would be the fewest Pac-12 teams in
the NCAA tournament since 2012, when Washington won the regular-season league title
with a 14-4 record.
The Huskies sat at 21-10 on Selection Sunday, but they
became the first regular-season winner from a major conference not included in
the NCAA tournament.
A look at the RPI reveals just three Pac-12 teams (ASU,
Arizona and Utah) among the top 34. That’s not to suggest USC, UCLA and Oregon
— NCAA tournament teams last year — or anyone else can’t make a run and receive
an at-large berth.
But the odds are stacked against them.
Sun Devils finally lose
The 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers’ record is safe for another
year.
Last Saturday, the nation’s three remaining undefeated teams
(Villanova, Texas Christian and Arizona State) each lost, and technically the
Sun Devils were the last undefeated team following an 84-78 defeat at No. 14
Arizona at night.
Previously, 40 of the 42 last unbeaten teams from a season
advanced to the NCAA tournament.
Clemson started 17-0 and finished 25-11 in the NIT in 2007.
Meanwhile, Southern Methodist began 18-0 in 2015-16 and finished 25-5, but was
ineligible from participating in the postseason.
Notes
• California and Stanford entered their conference opener
below .500 last week, which was the first time both teams had losing records
before league play since 1971-72.
• Washington State lives and dies by the perimeter shot. The
Cougars attempt 31 three-pointers a game. WSU, which shoots 39.2 percent on
threes, took a season-high 46 against Texas Southern.
• Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle is shooting 94.1 percent (32 of
34) from the free-throw line in the past seven games. He’s made 23 consecutive
free throws in the past four games.
………..
Analysis: Why Pac-12 football
needs a competition committee for continued success
January 2, 2018 in Seattle Times
The Pac-12 needs a competition committee. It's not a reaction to any
single development but, rather, to a series of events over the past few months
and to football’s position at the heart of the conference’s long-term health in
all sports.
By Jon Wilner San Jose Mercury News/Bay Area news group
The Hotline has, on two recent occasions, pushed for the creation of
competition committee that would have full authority to act in the best
interest of Pac-12 football — a governing body of the sport within the
conference, essentially.
This is not a reaction to any single development but, rather, to a
series of events over the past few months and to football’s position at the
heart of the conference’s long-term health in all sports.
Even if I knew today that the Pac-12 would put a team in the playoff
next season, I’d argue a competition committee is essential for the continued
success of Pac-12 football.
(And these days, there isn’t much in the way of success.)
Forget all the specific issues and missteps from the 2017 season and
consider the broader view:
The football product faces:
1) Natural challenges with the time zones
2) Contractual challenges with the night games
3) Limitations created by the Pac-12 Networks.
The conference opted to retain 100 percent ownership of the networks
instead of partnering with Fox or ESPN, and that approach has resulted in
shortages on the revenue and distribution fronts compared to the models used by
peer conferences.
The Pac-12 owns what is, in reality, a regional sports network.
The current state of limited distribution and revenue is likely to
remain in place until the next Tier One contract(s) take root seven years from
now.
Key point: The size and scope of that Tier One contract will be based
largely, if not entirely, on the quality of Pac-12 football at the time.
The conference cannot afford to have a second-rate on-field product,
one that makes the College Football Playoff far less frequently than its peers.
Negotiating leverage in 2023 likely will hinge on playoff success, not whether
there’s enough depth to field an eligible team for the Cactus Bowl.
(Recall that when the $3 billion
deal with ESPN and Fox was negotiated in the spring of 2011, the conference had
just placed a team in the national title game, Oregon, had two teams in the
top-five, Oregon and Stanford, and its biggest brand, USC, was in the afterglow
of a dynasty.)
Moreover, the Pac-12 cannot afford to step to the negotiating table
(across from Fox or ESPN or Facebook or Amazon) with a tainted off-the-field
brand … with games bumped for truck races or ESPN personalities firing zingers
from distant corners.
Placing the intermediate- and long-term future of Pac-12 football in
the hands of a committee made up of football experts sure seems like a
reasonable way to maximize success on all levels.
It would advise on non-conference games and have oversight of the
conference schedule, officiating, bowl partnerships, Pac-12 Networks coverage
of football, practice parameters — anything and everything that’s not directly
legislated by NCAA rules.
And yes, the committee would advise commissioner Larry Scott on the
next Tier One negotiations. (Had the athletic directors been consulted on the
current deal, some red flags surely would have been raised.)
Which brings me to the central topic of this discussion: Committee
specifics.
My original proposal (outlined here) called for a 13-member group, with
a conference official serving as chair and one representative per school,
broken down in this manner:
* Three rotating athletic directors.
* Three rotating head coaches.
* Three rotating directors of football operations.
* Three rotating faculty athletic representatives.
Terms of service would be two years.
In-person meetings would take place three times per year: after the
season, at the conference’s annual spring meetings, and at the preseason media
event.
Additionally, there would also be regularly-scheduled teleconferences
to raise concerns, to provide updates on initiatives and research, and to vote.
Who should be on the initial committee? I thought about that, too, and
the names are below.
Balance would be vital: regional balance, divisional balance, academic
balance.
Remember that two schools (Cal and Washington State) are currently
without athletic directors for 2018, and four teams have new head coaches. That
combination limited my options in some regards.
Central to the success of the committee is that each member has the
authority to speak on behalf of his/her school, with full support of the
president/chancellor and the athletic director (in instances when the AD isn’t
on the committee).
CONFERENCE REPS
Chairperson (voting privileges): Jamie Zaninovich. The current deputy
commissioner, Zaninovich is a collaborative, creative thinker who’s viewed
favorably on the campuses. He’s also heavily involved in the strategic planning
initiatives for men’s basketball — he works closely with Arizona’s Sean Miller,
among others — and has experience with TV negotiations from his tenure as
commissioner of the West Coast Conference.
TV liaison (non-voting): Duane Lindberg. Long-serving associate
commissioner for television, meaning he has the contacts and knowledge to provide
the committee with guidance on any issues involving the current deals with Fix
and ESPN.
Pac-12 Networks liaison (non-voting): Mark Shuken. Recently appointed
as president of the networks, his input on production and programming matters
would be valuable. But the flow of knowledge cuts both ways: The more insight
Shuken could gain into football issues, the better the Pac12Nets could act in
its dual role as information source and marketing tool for the football
product.
Consultants (non-voting): Dick Tomey and Mike Bellotti. Both have a
keen understanding of the sport and deep contacts in the coaching industry. Put
them on retainer. (Full disclosure: I have no idea if either would be
interested.)
HEAD COACHES
Washington’s Chris Petersen
Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez
Stanford’s David Shaw
Explanation of selections: Shaw and Petersen are locks given their
success and reputations and the need for the committee to have immediate
legitimacy, both regionally an nationally.
Rodriguez has shown he’s not afraid to speak his mind on conference
matters and would provide an experienced voice with regional balance.
Chip Kelly would have been an obvious option, as well, had he been
involved in the conference in the past five years.
What about Clay Helton? Or Kyle Whittingham? Nope, for reasons noted in
the ADs section.
ATHLETIC DIRECTORS
Utah’s Chris Hill
Oregon’s Rob Mullens
USC’s Lynn Swann
Explanation of selections: Hill is as savvy as they come on football
matters — he hired Urban Meyer and Kyle Whittingham — and his presence would
help ensure initial success.
Mullens’ current standing as a playoff selection committee member makes
him an invaluable resource.
Swann, although a relative newcomer (18 months on the job), is the AD
of the conference’s most powerful football program. We’re not sugarcoating
things, folks: For this thing to work, USC’s athletic director must have a
voice.
(In a basketball version, the same would be true for UCLA’s Dan
Guerrero.)
DIRECTORS OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS
Arizona State’s Tim Cassidy
Colorado’s Bryan McGinnis
Oregon State’s Dan Van De Riet
Explanation of selections: If you’re not familiar, the DFOs work
closely with the head coaches and athletic directors and are responsible for
managing most day-to-day aspects of the massive football operation. McGinnis,
for example, would know exactly where CU coach Mike MacIntyre and AD Rick
George stand on all the relevant topics.
Cassidy has decades of experience, not only at ASU but Nebraska and
Texas A&M, and is one of the most respected football administrators in the
country.
FACULTY ATHLETIC REPRESENTATIVES
Cal’s Bob Jacobsen
Washington State’s Nancy Swanger
UCLA’s Michael Teitell
Explanation of selections: Faculty reps have no hands-on role in the
management of a major college football program, but they are a critical piece:
Including an academic component (i.e., the faculty voice) strikes me as
the best way to secure the support of the chancellors and presidents.
I gave options for this category serious thought and felt it best to
include faculty reps from the conference’s two most-prestigious public
universities.
The presence of Jacobsen and Teitell should help the presidents feel at
ease with an endeavor that is so overtly football-centric.
#
