Charlie Weis wants his Notre Dame football team to play in New York in the near future, but he isn’t thinking of Giants Stadium. The Fighting Irish are eyeing the new Yankee Stadium.
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told The New York Times on Thursday he is open to the possibility of the Irish playing in the Bronx in the first football game at the ballpark, which opened less than a month ago.
The Irish, off one of the worst two-year stretches in the program’s proud history, would like some good publicity, but they also have an eye toward history.
Swarbrick said the team’s history of playing Army at Yankee Stadium sometime before or during 2013 – the 100-year anniversary of Notre Dame’s win over Army in what is considered the Irish’s most important win – has him thinking the currently lowly Black Knights would be the preferable opponent.
University of Washington looks to reduce ticket prices
The University of Washington draws emotion out of many fans in Eugene, but it’s trying to ease the cost on its fans’ wallets with a new ticket plan.
The school announced early this week that the Huskies will help longtime season-ticket holders by having donors donate two season tickets to around 100 former season ticket holders who had to give up their tickets because of financial difficulties.
Called “Dawgs Supporting Dawgs,” the program will end July 24. According to The Associated Press, the number of season-ticket holders at Washington for football has declined from 55,000 seven years ago to fewer than 40,000 currently.
Conference constructs schedule around cutting costs
The Big Sky Conference, which includes Portland State, will have its men’s and women’s basketball teams play on Friday and Saturdays, among other cost-cutting moves that the conference expects will save $415,000.
The Associated Press reported Thursday that the conference will also not allow traveling by airplane on trips that are shorter than 450 miles. The conference tournaments for volleyball and tennis will cut two spots, from six to four.
Already this year Big Sky officials canceled the annual football media conference in Park City, Utah.
“We feel the Big Sky Conference already runs at a very efficient level,” Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton said. “Many of the decisions made this week were not easy or things our schools wanted to make, but they were decisions that needed to be made in this difficult time.”
Webb retires; Kiffin in trouble again at Tennessee
Tennessee head track and field coach Bill Webb, who led the Volunteers to two national titles, is retiring at the end of the season. Eighteen athletes have won national titles under his coaching, and he has coached at four Olympics.
Things haven’t been going that quietly for Lane Kiffin, UT’s head football coach, who is back in the news again for another recruiting violation.
This time it is a violation via Twitter, the micro-blogging service that has become a recruiting tool many coaches use around the nation, including Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian and USC head coach Pete Carroll, both coaches Kiffin worked with at USC.
The university reported itself to the NCAA for a secondary violation on Kiffin for a post he made about recruit J.C. Copeland, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound defensive end and linebacker from LaGrange, Ga., after his visit to Knoxville.
The post read, “It’s a beautiful day in Knoxville, Tennessee today. I was so exited to hear that J.C. Copeland committed to play for the Vols today!” The post is a violation because employees cannot comment on prospects by name.
UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said it was not Kiffin who made the post but a new assistant.
USC men, Duke women win NCAA tennis titles
No. 8 Southern California has won each of the last two men’s tennis NCAA titles played at Texas A&M University, winning its most recent Tuesday by beating third-seeded Ohio State 4-1 for its 17th tennis title in program history.
When the Trojans beat Georgia in 2002 in College Station, Texas, current head coach Peter Smith was hired because Dick Leach was retiring at the end of the season. Seven years later the Trojans are back on top.
“The last time USC won it, I was being offered the job as they won it. I watched the whole thing and I was shocked they offered me the job as it was going on,” Smith told The Associated Press. “To be back here seven years later and to be on the court, it’s surreal.”
No. 3-seeded Duke won its first women’s crown by knocking off Cal.
“The start we got off to in singles was unbelievable. I was in awe,” Duke coach Jamie Ashworth said. “We just gave them absolutely no breathing room, which was an amazing thing for us.”
NAIA pitcher’s golden arm goes distance for team
Campbellsville University pitcher Bryan Fuller pitched 21 shutout innings in 26 hours this week to help his team advance to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
After losing its first game of the regional, Campbellsville of Kentucky won its next three games, all elimination games, to advance to the world series, the first in school history. And all of it had Fuller on the mound.
Fuller started by picking up the save against Lindenwood in three innings, then started the next game – which started 25 minutes after the Lindenwood win – and pitched a complete game, scoreless win 11-0 against Kansas Wesleyan, a team that had won 26 straight.
Did we mention Fuller had started once in the past four seasons?
And so Fuller talked himself into the start for the regional finale against Kansas Wesleyan again, needing just 77 pitches.
“We’re not sure yet, but we are not opposed to using him in any role,” Campbellsville assistant coach Jake McKinley said. “At this point, we’d be fools not to start him.”
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