College Football weekly news and notes

-Courtesy of the National Football Foundation

New Hall of Fame Exhibit Showcased During Black History Month

The College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., has unveiled a new exhibit that showcases the struggle, hard work, and triumph of African-Americans who made pioneering contributions to the sport of football and our country.

Visitors to the South Bend exhibit have the opportunity to walk through a historic locker room filled with memorabilia representing all 50 historic black colleges and universities. The exhibit features the rich pageantry of the black marching bands, the hallowed black college All-America teams, and a tribute to the black college national champions.

The interactive video game, Black College Football: The Xperience, marks the centerpiece of the exhibit. Developed by Nerjyzed Game Studios, the video enables visitors to compete against each other in the unique world of black college football.

NFF News

There were approximately 125 senior football signees from 2007-08 NFF Play It Smart programs for NCAA FBS and FCS members in last week's tabulations. These numbers do not include several '08 incoming freshmen who may enter college football programs as walk-ons or early 2007-08 junior college signees or transfers, who also could swell the ranks.

The NFF Chicago Chapter will host its annual awards ceremony Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Harry Caray's Restaurant. The Voice of the Chicago Bears, Jeff Joniak, returns as emcee while Illinois coach Ron Zook is the keynote speaker. Former Miami (Fla.) RB Jarrett Payton will discuss the Walter Payton Cancer Fund's research efforts and will accept a NFF Chapter donation of $1,500 for the Payton Cancer Fund. Other scheduled attendees include Big Ten Commissioner and NFF National Board member Jim Delany, famed retired coach Marv Levy, 2007 College Football Hall of Famer Chris Zorich, Chicago Board of Trade and Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame Chairman Charlie Carey, and a plethora of former college players.

The NFF Central New York Chapter in Syracuse held its eighth annual Scholar-Athlete dinner on Jan. 27 at the Turning Stone Resort with 630 supporters on hand. The group honored 57 high school and eight collegiate scholar-athletes with $38,000 in scholarships. Keynote speaker was College Football Hall of Famer Kenny Gamble of Colgate while the Outstanding Contributor to Amateur Football was former Colgate head coach Fred Dunlap. Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson was a special guest.

The NFF Southern Arizona Chapter banquet is set for Mar. 2. Jack Lengyel, 2005 NFF John L. Toner Award recipient and former head coach at Marshall when the school restarted its football program after the 1970 airline tragedy, will be the guest speaker. There also will be a memorial for chapter board member and famed college coach Larry Smith who passed away last month from leukemia.

Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel will be the guest speaker at the Northeastern Ohio Chapter awards banquet on Apr. 28 at LaCentre in Westlake, Ohio. The group will present 12 scholarships to high school scholar-athletes at the annual function.

The St. Louis/Tom Lombardo Chapter has a solid program lined up for its May 4 extravaganza. Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel will receive the Tom Lombardo Leadership Award. The Don Faurot Distinguished American Award is slated for Roger Wehrli, a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

Wayne Perry, the winningest college football coach in Indiana history, will receive the Central Indiana Chapter's Distinguished American Award at the 14th annual Scholar-Athlete awards banquet in Indianapolis. Perry retired in 2007 after 26 seasons as head coach at Hanover College and was 174-89-2.

Dave Foley, a 2008 College Football Hall of Fame nominee, is the guest speaker for the 41st Greater Cincinnati Chapter Scholar-Athlete award banquet at the Hilton Nederland Hotel on Feb. 21. The Cincinnati native was an Ohio State standout, an NFF High School and College Scholar-Athlete and captain for the Buckeyes' 1968 national title squad.

Two-Minute Drill

NCAA Division III may have to be split into a Division IV within the next 10-12 years if projections to growth continue. There are currently 440 DIII members, and there could be as many as 480 schools by 2018... 2007 BCS National Champion LSU will host Appalachian State in the Tigers' 2008 home opener... Texas Tech will open its 2008 season with new opponent Eastern Washington on Aug. 30 in Lubbock... Western Michigan has scheduled Illinois for Ford Field in Detroit on Nov. 8, 2008... The Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic squad for 2007 includes 40 scholar-athletes and a team-leading six from Maryland. All 12 ACC schools are represented... NASA astronaut Leland Melvin on Mission STS-122 (scheduled for Feb. 7- 18) is an NFF National Scholar-Athlete from Richmond and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1986. He also was a wideout in Toronto Argonauts and Dallas Cowboys training camps in later years... Greg Sharpe is moving to Nebraska as play-by-play voice of Huskers' football and baseball. He previously was football and basketball broadcaster for Kansas State... CBSSports.com has begun an internet relationship with Facebook.com for posting college athletics news of interest... Famed novelist and college sports enthusiast John Grisham has dedicated his most recent novel, "The Appeal," to Dr. Robert Khayat, chancellor at Ole Miss and recipient of the 2003 NFF Distinguished American Award... WhatIfSports.com did a computer recreation of the 32 2007-08 bowl games and accurately predicted the winners in 88 percent of these bowls after analyzing statistics, road records, coaches, etc. The group ran simulated games 1,001 times for the 32 postseason tussles.

Baylor's Board of Regents approved $34 million in new construction for athletics... North Texas Board of Regents chose HKS, Inc. to provide architectural and design services for the new proposed on-campus stadium... Minnesota has unveiled a "virtual" tour of its upcoming TCF Bank Stadium via internet.

Bowling Green head coach Gregg Brandon had his contract extended through the 2011 campaign... Ron Lynn has been named assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator at Stanford... Former SMU head coach Phil Bennett has moved to Pittsburgh as defensive coordinator... Willy Robinson has been named as new defensive coordinator at Arkansas... Dan McCarney has moved to Florida as an assistant coach... Offensive coordinator Mike Haywood will call plays for Notre Dame in 2008... Brian Cabral is now associate head coach at Colorado... New Mexico chose Troy Reffert as its new defensive coordinator... Rutgers selected Chris Rippon as its special teams coordinator... Ohio director of athletics Kirby Hocutt is taking the same position at Miami (Fla.) while replacing the retired Paul Dee... Harvard director of athletics Robert L. Scalise has become interim executive dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in addition to his athletics responsibilities... Ken White is the new interim AD at Utah State.

Ted Stachitas, son of NFF Vice President & Executive Director of Play It Smart Len Stachitas, signed with Wake Forest as a quarterback last week... QB Justin Tuggle, son of 2007 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Jessie Tuggle (Valdosta State), inked a letter-of-intent with Boston College on Feb. 6... Ted Thompson, son of Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson, inked with Nicholls State... Central Michigan signed Lorenzo White, son of former Michigan State star and NFL Pro Bowl RB Lorenzo White... Notre Dame signees include Mike Golic, Jr. , whose father Mike played at Notre Dame and co-hosts Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN, and David Posluszny, brother of NFF National Scholar- Athlete Paul Posluszny of Penn State... California signee, QB Beau Sweeney, is the son of Kevin Sweeney (Fresno State) and grandson of 19-year Fresno State head coach Jim Sweeney... Jack Elway, son of College Football Hall of Famer John Elway, signed with Arizona State... QB John Richt, son of Georgia head coach Mark Richt, joined the Clemson program... Wesley Neighbors, grandson of College Football Hall of Famer Billy Neighbors, signed with Alabama last week. Wesley is a third generation Alabama gridder after his father starred for 1983-86 'Bama squads... Ball State newcomer Kyle Hoke is the son of BSU and NFL stalwart Jon Hoke and nephew of the Cardinals' head coach Brady Hoke... Zach Tenuta, who signed with Marshall last week, is the son of Notre Dame defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta... Northwestern signed Hunter Bates, the son of Tennessee and Dallas Cowboys' legend Bill Bates... Nick Adamle, a newcomer at Northwestern, is the nephew of Mike Adamle (Northwestern) and grandson of Tony Adamle (Ohio State.

Louisville QB Brian Brohm, who set 14 Big East Conference football records, has been tabbed as the 2007 Big East/Aéropostale Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year in balloting by the conference's Academic Affairs Committee... The Davey O'Brien Foundation named the William E. Scott Foundation recipient of the 2007 Charles Ringler Founder's Award, which honors an individual or corporation devoted to the O'Brien Foundation that has exhibited passion, pride and perseverance similar to Ringler - one of the founders of the O'Brien Memorial Trophy in 1977... Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Amarillo included Oklahoma standout RB Kenny King.

Kenny Konz, 79, standout defensive back for LSU from 1948-50 and the Cleveland Browns in the 1950s, died last week... 1967-69 All-Big Eight Conference OL Byron Bigby of Oklahoma died last week in South Carolina... Former Delaware star and head coach Ted Gregory, 58, died last week in New Castle, Del... Danny Ellsworth, 62, who played end at Texas Tech and East Texas State died in Midlothian, Texas... Raleigh Blakely, 83, who played on SMU's 1948 and '49 Cotton Bowl teams, died last weekend.