News & Notes

Just months after rumors swirled that he would be fired, Alabama Coach Mike DuBose signed a two-year contract extension at season's end.

"I can't say enough about how proud I am of Coach DuBose and the entire football staff for their accomplishments this season and the classy way they have run their program," Athletic Director Mal Moore said in a statement. "This agreement gives our coaching staff the security they deserve and need."

The extension runs through January of 2004 and restores time stripped away as punishment following a sexual harassment scandal last summer. The two years had previously been given to DuBose last January, then were taken away after the scandal.

Under the pact, DuBose gets a 16.66 percent-bonus of his $150,000 base salary for taking the Crimson Tide to the SEC Conference championship and a bowl.

"We're very fortunate that the university gave us an opportunity to coach this year," DuBose said. "It makes for a wonderful finish to a wonderful year for us."

The university settled with a female worker who accused DuBose of sexual harassment. The school agreed to pay the woman $350,000 to avoid a court fight.

DuBose initially denied any involvement with the woman, and some trustees felt he should have been fired when he later admitted lying about the relationship. But the coach quickly regained support as the Tide went 10-3, won the SEC title and finished with a Top 10 ranking.

Longtime Nebraska DC McBride Retires

Charlie McBride, the man who led the University of Nebraska's defenses for the last 18 seasons, retired following the Huskers' 31-21 Fiesta Bowl win over Tennessee.

McBride, 60, spent a total of 23 seasons as a member of the Nebraska staff, celebrating three national championships. Since taking over as defensive coordinator in 1982, the Huskers have finished in the Top 15 nationally in total defense and scoring defense 13 times.

"I love my family very much," said McBride. "I think it's time for them."

"There is a reason why Nebraska has had great defensive teams over the years," said head coach Frank Solich. "Coach McBride is that reason."

Former NU player Craig Bohl, 41, linebackers coach and a member of the staff since 1995, will replace McBride. It will be his first duties as a DC.

Michigan Promotes Parrish, Adds Moeller to Staff

Michigan quarterbacks coach Stan Parrish will take over as offensive coordinator, and Andy Moeller, who coached at Missouri last season and is son of former Wolverine Coach Gary Moeller, has been hired as an assistant.

Andy Moeller, whose father was fired in May 1995 following a drunken outburst at a suburban Detroit restaurant, will coach offensive tackles and tight ends.

Parrish replaces Mike DeBord, who is leaving to take over as coach at Central Michigan. Parrish will become the third offensive coordinator since Coach Lloyd Carr took over from Gary Moeller before the 1995 season.

Parrish just completed his fourth season as the Wolverines' quarterbacks coach. Before coming to Michigan, Parrish spent six seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rutgers. He has also been a head coach at Wabash, Marshall, and Kansas State.

Andy Moeller, who was a four-year letterman at Michigan in the mid-1980s, spent the past six seasons at Missouri, coaching the offensive line the past three years. He also has coached the tight ends and tackles, helped coordinate special teams and recently was promoted to co-offensive coordinator of the Tigers.

UT's Fulmer Wins Robinson Award

Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer is the recipient of the second annual State Farm Eddie Robinson Coach of Distinction Award for his accomplishments both with his team and with the community.

The award, named for the former Grambling coach, was announced in the Dec. 6 issue of Sports Illustrated, citing Fulmer as "a role model and mentor to students and players, an active member of the community, and an accomplished football coach."

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno won the first Eddie Robinson award.

"Eddie Robinson's legacy was built not only on the field, but also in the community and in the lives of the players he coached," Fulmer said.

Fulmer is active in the Knoxville Boys' & Girls' Clubs, the Greater Knoxville Metropolitan Drug Commission, the Jason Foundation, and is a regular visitor, with his players, to area schools, hospitals and retirement homes.

Meanwhile, Smith Completes Missouri Coaching Staff Shakeup

Andy Moeller's departure for Michigan left Missouri head man Larry Smith with some more shuffling to do as he completed the overhaul of his staff.

Moeller and Andy Hill were named co-offensive coordinators in December before Moeller left to take a job at his alma mater, Michigan.

Smith then hired Bill Cubit, formerly of Western Michigan, as co-offensive coordinator. Cubit also will be quarterbacks coach.

Smith also hired another Western Michigan assistant, Sam Pittman, who will coach Missouri's offensive line. And the Tigers promoted graduate assistant Chris Tabor to running backs coach.

Saban Heads for LSU

The "security" of a very lucrative contract and the lure of being the "No. 1 program in the state" were enough reason to make former Michigan State Coach Nick Saban leave the Spartans to take over the LSU program.

The move, which Saban called the hardest thing he's ever done professionally, comes after his best season ever in East Lansing in which the Spartans compiled a 9-2 regular season record, a Top 10 ranking and a New Years Day bowl trip.

Running backs and associate head coach Bobby Williams was named interim, and later permanent head coach. MSU went on to defeat Florida, 37-34, to win the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Saban, who earned $697,330 a year at Michigan State, agreed to a five-year rollover contract at LSU with a base salary of $250,000, and will be paid an additional $550,000 for radio, television and Internet appearances, plus additional supplemental pay that will bring his total early package to $1.2 million a year.

"Security is always something that's important to you and to your family," Saban said. "But it's not the reason I came here.

"At Michigan State we were never No. 1," Saban said. "That was always Michigan. It was always UM this or that. If I'd gone to Ohio it would have been Ohio State, Indiana it's Purdue, Chicago it's every other school in the Big Ten. In the east it's Penn State. Wherever you go you're looking at someone else when you're recruiting, trying to catch up, trying to convince someone you're up there."

Saban said he had two firm offers to leave Michigan State previously, for the NFL's New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts, but was not interested in moving until LSU came calling.

The school is in the midst of a major building program that will add 11,000 seats, including 70 new suites, at Tiger Stadium, boosting stadium capacity to 91,700. The stadium will be the fourth-largest on-campus stadium in the nation.

Saban is tied with two other coaches as the third-highest paid coach in college football.

Saban was at Michigan State for 10 years, first as the defensive coordinator and for the past five years as the head coach. He has a 43-26-1 record as a college coach and a 34-24-1 record at Michigan State.

Blown Call Costs SEC Officiating Crew

The Southeastern Conference officiating crew that missed a crucial call in the Georgia-Georgia Tech game paid for their mistake by being pulled from duty at the SEC title game.

The seven-man crew, rated the best in the SEC, ruled that Georgia's Jasper Sanks fumbled at the 1-yard line in the final seconds of the 51-48 Georgia Tech overtime-victory. Television replays showed that the ball popped out after Sanks hit the ground.

Several of the officials involved also lost their postseason assignments.

Crew member Al Ford defended the call after the game, saying two of his officials saw the ball come loose before Sanks was down. But on the following Monday, he admitted the call has been blown.

"It is a bang-bang play, but when you slow it down, no one Ihave heard or seen has said it would be a fumble" said Ford. "It isn't a no-brainer, though."

Commission Impaneled to Investigate A&M Bonfire Tragedy

Officials at Texas A&M and Leo Linbeck Jr., chairman of a Houston construction company, have assembled a commission that will investigate the fatal bonfire collapse at Texas A&M University.

Linbeck is leading the five-person investigation team into the collapse that killed 12 and injured 27 people the week before the A&M-Texas football game.

"I told them I would do it with the understanding that it was a very crisp goal, it was a singular goal to find out what happened," Linbeck said.

Linbeck is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, which regents said will assure the school the investigation is conducted with the scrutiny only an outsider can offer.

Paterno to coach forever?

On Monday January 24, Penn State legend Joe Paterno signed a five-year contract extension, and the 73-year-old Penn State coach said he has every intention of staying through 2004. The university did not release the terms of the contract, but it is believed to be among the richest pacts in all of college football.

"I enjoy coaching and would like to continue as long as my health will permit," Paterno said in a statement. "I look forward to fulfilling this contract and, deep down, to going even longer because I'm excited by all of the positive things that are happening at Penn State."

"I have absolutely no plans to retire," he said. "I am going to coach until I feel I can't do a good job." Penn State's 24-0 victory over Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl was his 20th in the postseason - the Division I record. He has 317 victories at Penn State, six short of the Division I record set by Bear Bryant. He could break the record as early as Oct. 21 against Illinois.

Paterno is entering his 51st year on Penn State's staff, his 35th as head coach.

Former Yale Star Auctions Heisman Trophy

For the second time ever, a Heisman Trophy has been sold at auction, fetching $328,110 for its ailing owner.

Larry Kelley, who won the award in 1936, decided to part with the trophy after suffering a stroke last year. He said he wants to use the money raised to help his wife and 21 nieces and nephews.

"I'm 84 and not doing too good, so I decided to let go of all my memorabilia," Kelley said.

He said his nephews and nieces had been good to him, and putting the proceeds of the trophy sale into his estate would be a way to thank them.

"What am I going to do with (the trophy)?" he asked. "I can't split it among 21."

A spokeswoman for Leland's auction house in New York said the winning bidder, whose name was not released, was identified only as a domestic buyer.

The $328,110 price tag was nearly $100,000 more than the price paid last February for O.J. Simpson's Heisman.

Turner, Illinois Agree to Contract Extension

Just two years after going 0-11 in his first season as head coach at Illinois, Ron Turner has been given a three-year contract extension.

Turner is 11-23 in three seasons at Illinois, but his teams have improved markedly each season, going 3-8 in 1998 and 8-4 last season. The '99 campaign was the Illini's best since in nine years and was highlighted by a 63-21 thrashing of Virginia in last month's Micron pc.com Bowl.

"I'm excited about it," Turner said. "I definitely want to be here and (athletics director Ron Guenther) wants me to be here, so I'm very pleased."

Turner's current five-year, $2 million contract runs through the 2001 season. The extension will carry him through the 2004 season. Financial terms of the new deal were not discussed.

Alabama State Assistant Among Those Arrested Following Postgame Brawl

Alabama State assistant Frederick Nigel Newton was one of two people arrested after a bench-clearing brawl erupted following the 76th Turkey Day Classic vs. Tuskegee.

Some Tuskegee players ran to the Alabama State sidelines and began taunting and making "vulgar gestures" following Tuskegee's 37-34 victory, Montgomery (Ala.) police said.

Officers were able to get the fight under control in about three minutes, but some Tuskegee coaches began taunting the players again, Lt. John McCall said. Police controlled the fight in about four more minutes.

Newton, 24, was arrested and charged with harassment after he allegedly shoved a police officer, tearing cartilage in the officer's knee, McCall said.

A Tuskegee student was also charged with harassment and disorderly conduct after he came onto the field.

Alabama State Coach Ron Dickerson and his entire staff were fired in December after a 2-9 season.

Comings and Goings - Coaching Changes
Team Level ComingGoing
Green Bay NFL TBARay Rhodes
New England NFL TBAPete Carroll
New Orleans NFL TBAMike Ditka
N.Y. Jets NFL TBABill Belichick
(Resigned after one day)
N.Y. Jets NFL Bill BelichickBill Parcells
Army I-ATodd BerryBob Sutton
Central MichiganI-AMike DeBordDick Flynn
Eastern MichiganI-AJeff WoodruffRick Rasnick
Houston I-ADana DimelKim Helton
Idaho I-ATom CableChris Tormey
LSUI-ANick SabanJerry DiNardo
Michigan State I-ABobby WilliamsNick Saban
NC State I-AChuck AmatoMike O'Cain
Nevada I-AChris TormeyJeff Tisdell
Texas TechI-AMike LeachSpike Dykes
Tulsa I-A Keith BurnsDave Rader
Utah State I-A Mick DennehyDave Arslanian
UTEP I-A Gary NordCharlie Bailey
Wyoming I-A Vic KoenningDana Dimel
Alabama State I-AATBARon Dickerson
Cal State NorthridgeI-AAJeff KearinRon Ponciano
Illinois StateI-AATBATodd Berry
Jacksonville (Ala.) State I-AA Jack CroweMike Williams
Lafayette I-AA Frank TavaniBill Russo
Montana I-AA Joe GlennMick Dennehy
Montana StateI-AAMike KramerCliff Hysell
SE Missouri StateI-AATim BillingsJohn Mumford
Tennessee-Martin I-AA Sam McCorkleJim Marshall
Central ArkansasIIClint ConqueMike Isom
Edinboro (Pa.)IILou TepperTom Hollman
Findlay (Ohio)IIDan SimrellDoug Coate
Humboldt (Calif.) StateIITBAFred Whitemire
Mansfield (Pa.)IIJoe GilbertJoe Viadella
Northern ColoradoIIKay DaltonJoe Glenn
Texas A&M-KingsvilleIIRichard CundiffRon Harms
Valdosta (Ga.) StateIIChris HatcherMike Kelly
Bowdoin (Maine)IIITBAHoward Vandersea
Buena Vista (Iowa)IIISteve OsterbergerJoe Hadacheck
Concordia (Minn.)IIIShannon CurrierJim Christopherson
Hampden-Sydney (Va.)IIIMarty FavretPhilip Culicerto.