eGriz
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Joined: 27 Mar 2002
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Location: Missoula, Montana
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September 22, 2004
Harmon Forecasts.
Griz defense may get no rest this weekend (Missoulian).
Grizzlies need to regroup, refocus (Daily Interlake).
Times are a bit stormy for fans of the Big Sky (Great Falls Tribune).
Northern Colorado receiver a proven head turner (USA TODAY).
---
Pair arrested after Idaho football player shot (Missoulian).
Cats battle coach who brought them a title (Great Falls Tribune).
MSU no cheap date for Colorado in '06 (Great Falls Tribune).
NCAA ponders adding 12th game to college football season (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).
***
Harmon Forecasts
http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/5625861
Montana 25, No Colorado 10
NAU 23, Weber St 13
E Wash 21, Idaho St 14
Colorado St 28, Montana St 8
McNeese St 24, at Portland St 12
UC Davis 26, Sacramento St 14
Rhode Island 18, at Hofstra 15
Sam Houston St 21, SE La 10
1. Southern Ill 43, at Delaware St 6
2. Furman 7, at Pittsburgh 40
3. Georgia So 24, at Chattanooga 9
4. Delaware 14, at #16 UMass 15
5. SF Austin 26, Southern Utah 10
6. Western Ky 28, at Fla Intl 7
7. Montana 25, No Colorado 10
8. Maine, idle
9. Wofford 60, J Smith 6
10. Colgate 38, Georgetown 7
11. Villanova 21, at #22 Penn 17
12. McNeese St 24, at Portland St 12
13. Northern Iowa, idle
14. New Hampshire 21 at Dartmouth 12
15. Cal Poly, idle
16. UMass 15, #4 Delaware 14
17. App St 14, at #19 Northwestern St 17 18. Northeastern 33, at Towson 13 19. Northwestern St 17, #17 App St 14 20. Hampton 24, Morgan St 15 21. Montana St 8, Colorado St 28 22. Penn 17, #11 Villanova 21 23. NAU 23, Weber St 13 24. James Madison 6, at West Virginia 49 25. Lehigh, idle
***
Griz defense may get no rest this weekend
By FRITZ NEIGHBOR of the Missoulian
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/09/22/sports/sports02. txt
Before Montana struggled in the west Texas heat Saturday night, Northern Colorado forged leads of 24-7 and 34-14 over visiting Idaho State that afternoon.
Both the Grizzlies and Idaho State rallied. But while Montana's surge came too late, the Bengals managed to tie UNC with 25 seconds left in regulation, then won in double-overtime, 49-42.
"They made some mistakes and let Idaho State back in the game," Montana coach Bobby Hauck said of the Bears, now 1-2. "They've got to be sick for having let that game go."
That sounds familiar. Sam Houston State was coming off a last-second loss to Southwest Missouri State when it topped the then-No. 1 Grizzlies 41-29 Saturday. Now the Griz, 2-1, are ranked seventh in The Sports Network I-AA poll, and another team stung by a last-second collapse is gearing up for them.
Northern Colorado will face a team that has struggled defensively, highlighted by Saturday's outing in which Montana gave up 512 yards.
The most glaring statistic is that the Grizzlies are ranked 116th in the nation in pass defense. There are 117 teams in Division I-AA, not counting provisional members Northern Colorado and UC-Davis.
But the thing that caught Hauck's eye the most was Sam Houston's 183 yards rushing. The opponents' rushing totals have gone up from week to week.
"You know, again, we didn't stop the run very well last week, either," said the Grizzlies' second-year head coach. "Which has kind of been something we've done. We were highly-ranked last year in the nation (fifth) in rush defense. But now we're not playing the run well enough either."
Northern Colorado has some weapons, although the Bears didn't score a touchdown in their first two games, a 15-13 win over North Dakota State and a 38-0 loss at Maine. Andrew Wilson is rolling up 111.7 rushing yards a game, which would be good for 19th in I-AA; Tony Christensen threw another two interceptions against ISU, but had 245 yards; Jamar Farbes and Akilah Lacey complement Vincent Jackson at receiver.
Jackson, of course, is the 6-foot-6, 235-pound senior NFL prospect. After struggling the first two games, he had eight catches against ISU, giving him 12 for the season.
"He's one of the better wide receiver prospects in the nation," Hauck said. "Definitely one of the best ones in the West. He presents matchup problems for us and darned near everybody they play.
"Jackson is averaging 16 yards a punt return, too, which is scary."
The Grizzlies have a couple more days to regroup. The problems were many last week, and Montana seemed to be waiting for that one big play to right the ship. It didn't happen.
"We dropped balls," Hauck began. "We didn't tackle well, we didn't get off blocks well S technique hurt us on Saturday, and playmaking hurt us. They made plays and we didn't. It's as simple as that."
After an early Sunday morning flight, the staff was back in their offices by noon that day. Tuesday's practice was upbeat, even if quarterback Craig Ochs, who suffered a calf injury in the fourth quarter at Sam Houston, hadn't yet appeared (Hauck said the senior was day-to-day).
"The positives are this: We played hard for four quarters," Hauck said. "There was never any doubt in our team's mind that we were capable of coming back, up to the end. There was no panic in our sideline. It's just a matter of we need to make plays sooner. By the time we made plays, it was too late."
He was talking about both sides of the ball.
"We need to mature on defense," Hauck said. "And this week would be a good time for that."
NOTES: The Griz rank 50th in the nation in rush defense, averaging 134.3 yards given up per game. That figure still leads the Big Sky Conference. They are 109th overall in total defense, but are fifth in the Big Sky S Northern Colorado would rank 98th in total defense at 413 yards per game S Ochs is eighth in the nation in total offense (276 yards per game), and is 23rd in passing efficiency rating (136.4). He's ninth on Montana's career passing list with 2,391 yards. Sitting eighth in Brent Pease with 3,655 (1985-86) S Jefferson Heidelberger is third in I-AA in receiving yards per game (143.0) and seventh in all-purpose yards per game (188.7) S Justin Green struggled for yards again Saturday, but is ahead of last year's pace. After three games in '03, he had just 77 yards on 32 carries. He ended up with 1,146. Heading into Saturday's game against UNC he has 119 yards on 37 attempts S Kicker Dan Carpenter's 5-for-5 performance this season puts him in a tie for sixth nationally in field goals per game S The Grizzlies' leading tackler, linebacker Shane MacIntyre, ranks 19 th in the Big Sky Conference at 6.7 per game ... Sam Houston quarterback Dustin Long was named the I-AA Offensive Player of the Week by The Sports Network for his efforts against Montana (329 yards, two TDs).
***
Grizzlies need to regroup, refocus
Daily Interlake (Kalispell)
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/NewsEngine/SelectStory_AD.tpl?co mmand=search&db=news.db&eqskudata=67-733241-40
It wasn't too surprising that Sam Houston State was able to move the ball on Montana last Saturday. The Bearkats entered the game fourth in Division I-AA in total offense, third in passing.
What was surprising - and troubling - was the Grizzlies' inability to counter. Montana was able to move the ball, but couldn't finish early and dug itself a hole it would not climb out of in an eventual 41-29 loss in Huntsville, Texas
"We just didn't play well," UM coach Bobby Hauck said during a phone interview Tuesday. "They're a great team and played a good game. They made plays and we didn't.
"We just got beat. We need to make the plays that we made the previous two weeks."
Sam Houston piled up over 500 yards of offense and scored touchdowns on three of its four first-half possessions, plus the first to start the third quarter, building a 27-3 lead.
"If you look at the numbers, our yardage wasn't down," Hauck said. "We just didn't finish and that's due to not making plays at key times."
So it's not quite time to scrap everything and head back to the drawing board. Hauck said the key is to just regroup and refocus on what the Griz did right the first two weeks.
And they'll get a Northern Colorado team that put 42 points and 446 yards on the board versus Idaho State - and lost.
"They had Idaho State down and found a way to lose it," Hauck said.
- MOVIN' ON UP: Receiver Jefferson Heidelberger had another outstanding game, catching nine balls for 167 yards and a touchdown giving him 28 receptions and 429 yards with two TDs.
"He's playing extremely well right now," Hauck said. "He's got good speed and he's really good with the ball - he's like a good running back with the ball after he catches it."
- STILL PERFECT: True freshman Dan Carpenter, from Helena High, has filled the place kicking duties quite well. On the season, Carpenter is 10-for-10 on PATs and 5-for-5 on field goals.
He replaced Chris Snyder, who left the Griz as the all-time leading scorer in Division I-AA history.
- SPUTTERING START: Montana's running game has yet to find its stride this year. The Griz netted only 78 yards Saturday, though they only ran 25 times, due mostly to playing behind for so much of the game.
Kalispell's Lex Hilliard led UM with 30 yards and a touchdown. In two games this year he has picked up 75 yards on 18 carries, a 4.2 average.
- RANKINGS RESHUFFLE: After the loss at Sam Houston, the Griz fell from No. 1 to No. 7 in the I-AA poll. Montana became the third straight No. 1 team to lose in its first week on top, following Delaware and Southern Illinois.
The Salukis, who lost Sept. 11 to I-A Northern Illinois, resumed the No. 1 spot this week.
- MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Levander Segars continued to excel returning kickoffs. He had five for 129 yards Saturday, including one for 55 yards.
***
Times are a bit stormy for fans of the Big Sky
George Geise, Great Falls Tribune
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040922/localsp orts/1278384.html
If you're a Big Sky Conference football fan, these are not the best of times.
If you're a Montana Grizzly backer, you're still sore from Saturday night's 41-29 licking at Sam Houston State, a loss that was more painful and profound than the 12-point margin suggests.
If you're a Montana State Bobcat booster, you're wondering why your guys can't score more than 16.5 points per game against two of the presumed lesser opponents on the schedule.
And if you're a fan of the other six institutions which comprise what used to be the strongest NCAA Division I-AA football conference in the West, you've got to be wondering how things got so bad, so fast.
You want bad? Here's bad:
-- The Big Sky currently has an 0-3 record against the Southland Conference, with defeats against Sam Houston State, Nicholls State and Stephen F. Austin.
You want worse? Here's worse:
-- The Big Sky currently has a 2-4 record against the Great West Football Conference, losing to Cal Poly (twice), Southern Utah and UC Davis. I'll lay 3-to-1 there aren't 20 fans from Eureka to Ekalaka who could identify the other three schools in the newest I-AA conference in the nation.
It's one thing losing to schools from Texas and Louisiana who recruit from football hotbeds in the Deep South and frequently bolster their rosters with Division I-A transfers. All three of the Big Sky defeats to the Southland came on the road, and it's never easy to win in hostile territory, especially in hot, muggy weather.
It's quite another thing losing to a league that includes four programs that are making the move from Division II to Division I-AA, and doing it mostly with locally recruited athletes. Remarkably, all four losses to the Great West came on the Big Sky's home soil.
The Great West was born last February out of necessity. Nobody else wanted North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Northern Colorado when they left the North Central Conference. Southern Utah and Cal Poly have had problems being accepted by other leagues. UC Davis has been a Div. II school for the past 30 years.
Even though the Great West is a brand-new league, its schools aren't exactly strangers to success against the Big Sky.
Northern Colorado beat Montana State last season in Bozeman, and gave UM a tough game two years ago in Missoula before losing 31-14. The Bears are visiting Missoula again on Saturday and you can be sure Griz fans are plenty worried.
Cal Poly has beaten Montana State six straight times, and also upset Idaho State earlier this season. Or maybe those aren't upsets any more?
Who can forget that North Dakota State stunned UM 25-24 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium a year ago? Certainly not Bobby Hauck and his staff.
Southern Utah has given several Big Sky schools fits over the years, and UC Davis regularly beats Sacramento State in their regional rivalry.
The Big Sky has six more chances to beat the Great West this season, including UM's game with UNC this week, and Montana State's Oct. 23 date against South Dakota State. You do the math -- the Big Sky needs to win five of those clashes to manage a winning record over the rookies.
These obviously are not the best of times for the Big Sky. Let's just hope they don't get any worse.
***
Northern Colorado receiver a proven head turner
By Vicki Michaelis, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/independent1aa /2004-09-21-no-colorado-wr_x.htm
GREELEY, Colo. - Brenda Lucio was surprised when patrons at the restaurant she owns on the west side of town, Coyote's Southwestern Grill, first asked if the host she hired for the summer would mind signing an autograph.
"I didn't know I had a celebrity on my hands," she says.
Vincent Jackson, after setting University of Northern Colorado records for receiving yards (1,462 on 66 catches) and touchdown receptions (21) last season with 6-6 height and 4.5-in-the-40 speed, has NFL scouts taking notes, opponents adjusting defenses and people in this northeastern Colorado town doing double-takes.
Athletic enough to walk on to the Bears basketball team and lead it in scoring and assists last season, Jackson is a candidate for the Walter Payton Award as the nation's top Division I-AA football player.
"I coached in the NFL for a long time," says head coach Kay Dalton, who worked for the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Oilers over two decades, "and he's as good a wideout as I ever coached. I had some pretty good wideouts, and he can be better than them."
At his summer job, Jackson most of the time was just the tall guy welcoming folks to Coyote's, asking whether they would prefer to sit inside or outside and handing out crayons and Coyote's Cub Menus to the kids. Occasionally, someone would recognize him and ask him for an autograph. He often signed in crayon.
"It was probably the easiest job I ever had," he says.
The one facing Jackson this football season is much tougher, and not just because NFL scouts are in the stands.
* Northern Colorado, the NCAA Division II champ in 1996 and 1997, is transitioning to I-AA status as a member of the new six-team Great West Football Conference and is playing its first full I-AA schedule.
* The Bears, 9-2 last season, had to replace four of five offensive linemen as well as the starting running back and fullback, weakening a running game that gave the team a balanced attack and Jackson more room to maneuver.
* Unlike last season, Jackson's first as a starter, he's a known quantity in opponents' game plans and is seeing more coverage keyed on him.
"I definitely know that it will be a lot harder to have as successful a year as I did last year," Jackson says.
He has 12 catches for 150 yards and one TD this season as the Bears have started 1-2. That includes eight catches for 127 yards in last week's 49-42 double-overtime loss to Idaho State.
Last season marked the first time Jackson, 21, made a far-flung splash with his athletic ability. Until then, his feats had been as understated as his persona. (Asked about being elected a team captain this season, he says, "Not too many choices, I guess.")
Jackson had few choices coming out of Widefield High south of Colorado Springs. Northern Colorado was one of two schools to recruit him. The other was the Colorado School of Mines, also a Division II team.
When Dalton saw Jackson's high school film, he wasn't dazzled. He sent the recruiting coach to watch Jackson play basketball. The recruiter reported that Jackson "dominated the basketball court."
"That's all it took," says Dalton, who offered a partial scholarship.
It took just a few dashes by Jackson at fall camp for Dalton to make a rare decision to play him as a true freshman. With receivers such as the Indianapolis Colts' Brad Pyatt on the roster, Jackson returned kicks. He averaged 18 yards on 17 punt returns, returning two for TDs, and 24 yards on 11 kickoff returns.
After his freshman football season, Jackson joined some of his teammates in intramural basketball. Some scholarship basketball players saw him play and suggested to Bears coach Craig Rasmuson that he give Jackson a tryout. "He wasn't a great basketball player, but he just was a superior athlete," Rasmuson says.
Jackson played basketball as a sophomore and junior, last season helping the team to survive the loss of four starters to injury by averaging 13.6 points and 3.1 assists. The team finished 6-22 in its first year of Division I.
He doesn't plan to play basketball this season, hoping he will be too busy preparing for NFL tryouts. He knows that to hear his name called during the NFL draft, he will have to shine even brighter after the Bears season ends.
"So much is going to depend on how he tests out," says Frank Coyle, a scout and publisher of Draft Insiders' Digest. "And how he does in head-to-head matchups in all-star games is going to be critical."
Jackson's size and strength (235 pounds) give him a visible advantage against the majority of Division I-AA defensive backs. The question that will follow him into the NFL crucible is whether he can be as dominant against faster, bigger defenders.
For now, "He's a quarterback's dream. He's fast, he's big, he can catch anything," Bears quarterback Tony Christensen says.
It wasn't always so. As a freshman in high school, Jackson was 5-8, looking up to most of his friends, drinking gallons of milk and repeatedly wishing out loud he would grow. His dad, Terence, a career Army sergeant, finally ripped off a piece of masking tape and stuck it to the door frame of his home office, telling his son they should keep track.
The tape is still there, 10 inches higher than where it started, with notations charting Jackson's progress to the unimagined height of a potential NFL player.
The frame could become a collector's item, as could a few crayon-scrawled autographs.
"You hear so much that the chances of making it to the NFL are 1 in a million and that so many guys aren't going to make it," Jackson says. "I've just kept it real. I'm going to play as far as I can."
*** ***
Pair arrested after Idaho football player shot
Associated Press, Missoulian
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/09/22/sports/sports03. txt
MOSCOW, Idaho - A University of Idaho football player was shot to death and police arrested two brothers from Seattle following a chase that extended halfway across Washington state.
Eric McMillan, 19, a starting cornerback for the Vandals on Saturday against Washington State, was pronounced dead of a gunshot wound to the chest at 4 a.m. Monday at Gritman Memorial Hospital, Moscow police Capt. Cam Hershaw said.
On Sunday night, hours after the shooting, Matthew R. Wells II, 27, and James J. Wells, 25, both of Seattle, were arrested on Interstate 90 near Vantage, about 160 miles west of Moscow.
The Wellses were booked into the Whitman County, Wash., Jail and were being held for investigation of felony attempted eluding with bail set at $75,000 each, Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy said.
The two, formerly football standouts at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, made an initial appearance Monday in Superior Court and charges will likely be filed Wednesday.
Judge Phillip Faris ordered a mental evaluation of Matthew Wells, the alleged driver, who told the judge he had auditory hallucinations.
Tracy said he would consult with Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson about extradition if charges are filed in Idaho.
Meanwhile, Thompson told The Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune that investigators were looking into reports that drugs might have been involved. He said police reported that a passenger in the vehicle threw a bag and plastic baggies out a window during the chase.
McMillan, a redshirt freshman from Murrieta, Calif., had three tackles in Idaho's 49-8 loss to Washington State on Saturday.
"We'll deal with this as a football family and get through this together," Idaho coach Nick Holt said before a team meeting Monday.
Officers went to McMillan's residence following a report of gunshots about 5:24 p.m. Sunday and found he had been taken to the hospital in a private vehicle, Hershaw said.
Based on a description and license plate number given by witnesses, Whitman County sheriff's deputies began pursuing a late-model white BMW with two men inside between Pullman and Colfax, Wash., officials said.
Colfax police joined the chase until the fleeing car avoided a roadblock outside Colfax, Whitman County deputies maintained pursuit until Othello and the Washington State Patrol took over from there on Washington 26.
A spike strip across the freeway near Vantage on the Columbia River brought the car to a stop about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Hershaw said.
No motive for the shooting was immediately available.
"We're all baffled," Idaho sports information director Becky Paull said.
McMillan, a business management and human resources major, is survived by two sisters, including a twin, Paull said.
He played football, basketball and ran track at Murrieta Valley High School in California.
"It's an unfortunate situation and our heart goes out to the family involved," Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said. "Our first priority is to take care of the family and help them through this very difficult time."
McMillan's former high school coach, Wally Clark, said McMillan carried a 3.5 grade point average and was a popular athlete after moving to Murrieta Valley from Alabama to live with an aunt.
"If you wanted a son, you'd pick Eric McMillan. He affected everybody he was around," Clark said. "He had a bubbly personality, a huge white smile, no enemies. Teachers used him as an example: This is what you want to become."'
The Wells brothers also were good students and good athletes in high school, Adrian Conley, 24, a teammate of the pair at Rainier Beach, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Matthew Wells was an all-league linebacker and recipient of the All Achievers Awards sponsored by the Breakfast Group. As a senior in 1996, James Wells was a star running back and defensive back in the 1996 state high school football playoffs.
"Everybody is still shellshocked right now," Conley said. "I can't believe they would do anything like this."
He said he had no idea why they would have been in Moscow a day after the Cougars beat the Vandals 49-8 in Pullman.
"That's the question on everybody's mind right now," Conley said.
***
Cats battle coach who brought them a title
By SCOTT MANSCH, Great Falls Tribune
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040922/localsp orts/1278381.html
Nearly 20 football seasons have come and gone, but Dave Arnold will never forget his days in Bozeman.
It's why the former Montana State head coach still keeps tabs on the Bobcats.
It's why he plans to drive through the night to attend a reunion of his former Bobcat players next month.
And it's why on Saturday afternoon, when the Cats play the Colorado State Rams in Fort Collins, Colo., Arnold will be experiencing some mixed emotions.
"I never, ever, thought I'd have to coach against the Bobcats," said Arnold. "In a perfect world, I'd never of left Bozeman."
Arnold came to MSU in 1980 as an assistant to head coach Sonny Lubick, and was elevated to head coach three years later. His four-year Bobcat head coaching career featured an 18-29 record and only one winning season, but what a season it was. Those 1984 Cats beat the Montana Grizzlies in Missoula, claimed the Big Sky Conference championship and went on to win the NCAA Division I-AA national championship.
That year proved to be the rose among the thorns. The 1983 season had produced a 1-10 record, and 1985 was another 2-9 disappointment. The 1986 campaign generated a frustrating 3-8 record, and Arnold was fired a week before the season ended.
Arnolds was subsquently hired as an assistant by Dennis Erickson, the famous MSU alumnus who currently leads the San Francisco 49ers. Arnold worked with Erickson at collegiate programs like the Washington State Cougars and Miami Hurricanes, then went to the NFL and the Seattle Seahawks.
From 1999 to 2003, Arnold went back to his native Michigan and worked with offensive linemen at tiny Albion College. And then his old pal Lubick, in need of a special-teams coach, called and offered a chance to return to the West.
"It was too good to pass up," said Arnold. "Getting back in the Rocky Mountains and back with folks who are really good people -- it's been great for me."
The Rams have played a killer schedule and are off to an 0-3 start, while the 1-1 Bobcats are coming off a lethargic effort in a loss last week to Cal Poly. But Saturday's game means more to Arnold than simply a nonconference clash between regional rivals.
It means a trip back in time, to when Kelly Bradley was throwing tight spirals to tight end Joe Bignell. ... when Choteau's Mark Fellows and Boulder's Kirk Timmer were sacking quarterbacks right and left. ... when Joe Roberts was returning an interception to the house in the national semifinals. ... and when the Bobcats went to Charleston, S.C., and beat Louisiana Tech for the national crown.
Arnold was the toast of the town in Bozeman, if only for a brief, shining moment.
"I had great assistant coaches," Arnold said. "They and the kids were the reason we had that magical season. All I was, was along for the ride."
In reality, of course, he was driving the bus. He was also the fellow making sure all the seat belts were fastened.
"Coach Arnold was one of those guys who was more like a father figure than a head coach," said Timmer, now in private business in Great Falls. "He didn't rule by fear. And he never came across as a huge Xs and Os guy. But he was a genuine person and somebody that you wanted to play for because you liked him so much."
Not all coaches, you understand, maintain such fine relationships with their players. But Arnold was different.
"I really admired Dave," said Fellows, who ranches near his hometown. "I remember that first meeting we had in '84. We hadn't done well the year before but he told us this was a new deal and we were going to get it straightened out. And he was right ... He was a guy you really wanted to play hard for. I'm glad to see him back in the college ranks. It's where he belongs, because he relates to kids so well."
Arnold could spot talent, too. Bradley came to MSU as an unheralded summer recruit and became one of the top quarterbacks in school history. Bradley is now a successful accountant in Wisconsin whose clients include his old head coach.
The MSU link to Arnold didn't end when he was fired in 1986, it turns out.
"I was the guy who got Mike Kramer into college coaching," Arnold said. "I can remember verbatim the phone conversation we had in 1983 when Mike was at Helena High. I said 'can you be here tomorrow morning?' And Mike nearly jumped through the phone."
Said Kramer: "Dave Arnold is totally responsible for me to be coaching at this level. He's a tremendous coach, a wonderful leader of people, and a tremendous friend.
"Dave is a very, very, very loyal Bobcat ... this will be a very poignant game for me."
And also for Dave Arnold.
"You know, I don't hold any grudges or anything like that," Arnold said. "And I said it when I left, that I wouldn't change a thing. The people of Montana were great to my wife and I, and my kids. ... There's nothing bittersweet about it, because everything about Bozeman, including that ill-fated night I got let go, was all positive. Getting fired is unfortunately a part of this business, but I've had a lot more good things than bad things happen to me, and coaching at Montana State was definitely a good thing."
***
MSU no cheap date for Colorado in '06
Great Falls Tribune
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040922/localsp orts/1278386.html
BOZEMAN -- Big bucks and big Buffs are in store for Montana State's football program.
The Bobcats have an agreement to play the Colorado Buffaloes of the prestigious Big 12 Conference in 2006, MSU Athletic Director Peter Fields announced Tuesday. Montana State will receive $275,000 for the trip to CU, the largest guarantee in school history.
Last month, MSU officials announced that coach Mike Kramer's Bobcats will travel to Stillwater, Okla., next Sept. 3 to meet the Big 12's Oklahoma State Cowboys. Montana State will receive $250,000 for that game.
Then on Sept. 2, 2006, the Bobcats will open the season against the Colorado Buffs in Boulder.
"Colorado has never played a Division I-AA program, and Oklahoma State typically plays high-caliber programs from our division," Fields said in a statement released by MSU. "I think it's indicative of the level of respect Montana State football has earned in recent years and programs at the highest level are willing to play us."
NCAA I-AA teams can offer 63 scholarships, while NCAA I-A permits 85 full-ride grants.
Montana State beat Colorado 12-6 at Bozeman in 1927, the last meeting between the two schools. The Bobcats are 2-1 against their former Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rivals. Montana State has never played Oklahoma State.
Fields said the Bobcats' 2005 schedule is nearly set, with nonconference games against Stephen F. Austin in Bozeman and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., scheduled.
Seven Big Sky Conference games are slated, with MSU officials in need of one more nonleague game to finish the 11-game schedule.
***
NCAA ponders adding 12th game to college football season
But is the proposal putting money over the health and well-being of its student-athletes?
By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Wednesday, September 22, 2004
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04266/383404.stm
More than 30 years have gone by since the NCAA last passed legislation to lengthen the college football season. But if a faction of athletic directors and conference administrators gets its way this winter, the schedule will permanently include 12 regular-season games.
Financial considerations are driving the 12th-game legislation. At many of the large universities, football is the cash cow that funds the nonrevenue generating sports.
Playing host to an extra college football game every year could mean as much as another $1 million in a school's coffers. That money, athletic directors contend, could go a long way toward balancing the budget.
The fact that finances are driving the movement irks Penn State coach Joe Paterno and others who say the players and their well-being are being ignored because a growing number of people in the business of college athletics can't see past the dollar signs.
"I think the athletic directors and the people who are on the management council have to decide whether we're in this to educate kids or whether we're in the business that these kids are going to be used to make money," Paterno said. "And if you look at some of the graduation rates from around the country, you wonder. Now we're going to play a 12th game? It's going to be like basketball. None of these kids will go to school, if we're not careful. I think we have to sit down and be reasonable about what we ask of kids."
The Big 12 Conference is sponsoring the legislation. Joe Castiglione, athletic director at Oklahoma, welcomes the debate.
Castiglione said a 12th game would help balance home and away schedules, would help schools reach attendance criteria to remain members in Division I-A football, and the money generated would be a positive for the universities and their sports teams.
"We're going to take a leadership position on this," Castiglione said. "Sometimes leaders become lightning rods. We'll see where it goes.
"There will be critics who will voice their concerns. That's OK. That's why we decided to put the proposal together and allow it to move through the system, to encourage healthy dialogue and debate."
The legislation will allow for 12 games without lengthening the season, Castiglione said, because the one allotted week off during the season would be eliminated.
Castiglione wonders why opponents of the legislation scheduled 12 games the past two seasons when it was allowed under NCAA rules. The majority of schools in Division I-A played 12 games the past two seasons, including Penn State.
"Why is it OK to play 12 games in certain years and not in others?" Castiglione said. "The precedent already has been set. That argument doesn't hold up."
The NCAA has allowed 12 games in a season since 1999 but only when there are 14 Saturdays from the first playing date to the final playing date in November. Teams could play 12 games in 2002 and '03 but it's not going to happen again until 2008 and not after that until '13.
If the legislation passes, it will become commonplace for teams to play 13 games a season, considering almost half of the teams in Division I-A qualify for bowl games. And with the proliferation of conference championship games, several teams from power conferences would play 14 games.
Castiglione said even if this proposal passes, it would be unlikely that it would be implemented for next season. The 12-game schedule might not be implemented until 2009.
The only way Paterno said he would support a 12th game is if the NCAA eliminates freshman eligibility or if it allows between eight and 12 more football scholarships each season. It is highly unlikely that the NCAA would revoke freshman eligibility, but scholarship limits could be used as a bargaining chip.
Paterno said the extra players would help teams overcome injury problems during a longer season. The NCAA reduced scholarships from 95 to 85 more than a decade ago. Northwestern coach Randy Walker also supports higher scholarship limits if a 12th game becomes reality.
"Our coaches and our players are being asked to do more and more with less and less," Walker said. "I've been a coach for 29 years in Division I-A football. I go back to when there were unlimited scholarships.
"I'm all for scholarship limitation and academic legislation and all that. But all I know is they keep increasing the season length and asking our players to do more and more. And we're having less resources to do it with. It's difficult.
"Any movement on this should be coupled with some kind of assistance to football. It's going to put more pressure on the players, more pressure on young players especially. I'm not sure it's in the best interests of the kids. That's where I draw the line."
Castiglione said statistics show that injuries were no more frequent during 12-game seasons in 2002 and '03. He also said any changes in scholarship limits would have to be a separate piece of legislation and will not be a part of the current 12th-game legislation.
Scott Kretchmar, Penn State's NCAA faculty representative, is one of 50 university administrators on the NCAA management council, which will vote on the legislation in January.
Kretchmar and other Big Ten members on the management council will meet the first week of October in Chicago to discuss the proposal. Gauging from discussions with his colleagues, Kretchmar said the legislation has a good chance of passing.
"The meetings in the next couple of weeks will be interesting to see if this moves ahead," he said. "When economics gets involved, it gets more complicated. There is a huge financial engine driving this. The athletic directors say they need this to better balance the books."
Kretchmar, though, did say a large contingent of NCAA faculty oppose the idea. The faculty is joined by the American Football Coaches Association in its opposition.
"There is a concern about the balance of higher education," Kretchmar said. "The extra game flies in the face of that."
Ultimately, it will be up to the university presidents, the same people who oppose a Division I-A football tournament, to make it a reality.
After the management council's vote in January, the NCAA Division I board of directors, a panel of 11 Division I-A presidents, makes the final decision on the matter in April.
More seasoning
The most recent NCAA schedule changes in major sports:
Football: Nebraska becomes the first school to play an 11-game regular season in 1970. NCAA passes legislation in 1972 to allow all teams to play 11 regular season games.
Basketball: Expanded from 27-game to 28-game regular season in 1999.
Baseball: Went from 60-game regular season to 56-game season in 1991.
-- Source: NCAA
History of expansion
Increases in the number of games college football teams have played the past 34 years:
1970: Nebraska is the first team to play an 11-game regular season. The Cornhuskers win the Orange Bowl and finish the season 11-0-1.
1983: Nebraska and Penn State participate in the first Kickoff Classic and play 13 games, including bowl games. Preseason classics, until recently outlawed by the NCAA, were exempt games and did not count toward the 11-game regular season.
1992: The Southeastern Conference plays the first conference championship game. Alabama wins it and the Sugar Bowl to become the first team to go 13-0 in a season.
2002: Ohio State participated in the Pigskin Classic, a preseason exempt game, won all 12 regular season games and the Fiesta Bowl to become the first team to go 14-0 in a season.
-- Source: NCAA
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