UTEP LOOKING FOR ANSWERS

Head Coach Sean Kugler is doing a great job rebuilding the UTEP brand and Football team. He still however, has much work to do. UTEP STILL HAS QUESTIONS LINK

KURT BENKERT NAMED STARTING QB FOR EAST CAROLINA

East Carolina has named Kurt Benkert as its starting QB . Head Coach Ruffin McNeill made the announcement last evening after practice.  Benkert,  a 3 star QB from Florida, had initially  signed with South Florida but made the switch to ECU his Senior Year.

Benkert will have big shoes to fill as he replaces  former ECU QB Shane Carden. Carden and his favorite  WR Justin Hardy( Hardy set the NCAA record for the number of receptions last year) were the public faces of Pirates last year. Benkert is a good athlete with a fast throwing release.

*In other ECU news:

Athletic Director Jeff Compher announced that ECU was seen by 12 million viewers last season. Compher credited the large viewership to the tv contract the AAC has with ESPN. Stay tuned.

UNLV LOOKS FOR WINNING FOMULA

UNLV fans hoping Head Coach Tony Sanchez can turn the program around:UNLV HOPES TO ESTABLISH WINNING CULTURE LINK

CONFERNECE USA NAMES JUDY MACLEOD AS INTERIM COMMISSIONER

Conference USA has named Judy MacLeod as interim Conference Director. MacLeod joined CUSA in 2005 as assistant to then CUSA Commish Britton Banowsky. Banowsky is expected to officially step down as conference head in Sept or October of this year and take the reigns of the College Football Playoff Philanthropy.

ODU President and Chair of the Conference USA Board announced that the league will continue to look for a permeant leader in the months to come. MacLeod becomes the first woman to  head a FBS Conference. MacLeod has an excellent reputation in the sports world and is a front runner to become the permeant CUSA Commish.

A few weeks ago I published a "to do" list for the new CUSA Commish. I am going to republish the list  in case Judy is looking for jump start to her Tuesday morning. Stay Tuned:


CUSA TO DO LIST

With Britton Banowksy stepping down as  Conference USA leader in October the league will have to hire a new Commissioner in the coming months. With this in mind, here are 4 agenda items the new CUSA Commissioner should begin to address  from day 1 on the job:

1. TV CONTRACT: With rumors that the Conference USA tv contract is not receiving  the financial numbers it wants, the new Commish will have to convince TV partners that CUSA is worth a monetary  investment that puts it ahead of the Sun Belt and MAC.

2. INCREASE FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE:  While CUSA is not at the bottom of football attendance, it is darn close. Tv partners are increasingly under financial pressure  from changing cable tv habits. This means they are becoming choosier about how and who they spend their money on especially as it concerns  non power leagues. No TV exec wants to see an empty stadium on Saturday afternoon, especially in HD. Schools like FIU FIU Fan Issues, FAU and RICE to name a few, need extra work in getting fans on board with their sports product.

3. MERGE WITH THE SUN BELT: Britton Banowsky was a big proponent of the use of scale to reduce costs and create efficiencies . The new CUSA Commissioner  should start negotiations with the Sun Belt for a full merger and create divisions based on geographic lines and interest. If tv financial numbers prove to be as low as many expect them to be , then there will be little reason for CUSA to set itself apart from the Sun Belt. A combined league would solve many travel problems and help create regional rivalries that fans actually care about seeing.

4. CREATE THE BEST DIGITAL NETWORK IN COLLEGE SPORTS: Cable tv is changing rapidly. No one really knows  how sports will be broadcast in the next two decades. Instead of waiting for the tv networks to sort things out, why not use existing technology and take control away from the unknown. CUSA should endeavor to create the best digital network in all of College Sports.
Use the guaranteed revenue from the College Football Playoff and cut the cord from traditional tv contract providers. At the very least create a combination of the two. Much like what has happened in the airline industry in the last 15 years, there will be few "legacy" conferences left standing in the next 15 years. The Gang of 5 Conferences are going have to evolve into what amounts to no  frills airline companies  and find leaner and meaner ways of functioning.  By creating a world class digital network CUSA can sell and keep its own ad revenue, distribute product on its own terms and keep fans happy with consistent high quality broadcasts. Stay tuned.

G5 TRAINING CAMP NEWS: NEW MEXICO STATE SEEKS FULL MEMBERSHIP INTO SUN BELT CONFERENCE

COMMENTARY BY JASON GROVES: LAS CRUCES SUN NEWS

"It's now or never for New Mexico State.

Since his hire, Athletics Director Mario Moccia's main charge has been to find a stable home for Aggies football. The current four-year agreement with the Sun Belt Conference is nice, but a temporary membership leaves NMSU in the same college athletics limbo that resulted in the Aggies playing an independent football schedule in 2013.

As conference movement across the country has slowed down in recent years, there is an apparent window open to NMSU. A contingent of Sun Belt officials will be on campus for two days later this week, following visits to current Football Championship Subdivision schools Eastern Kentucky and Coastal Carolina in recent weeks.

NMSU has a number of compelling arguments for full membership to the Sun Belt, a league the university was a member of from 2001-2005. It's location, and accompanying travel costs, is certainly a significant strike against potential membership, especially when compared to Coastal Carolina (Conway, South Carolina) and Eastern Kentucky (Richmond, Kentucky). The Sun Belt has stayed consistent with its geography over time, with the exception of temporary outliers Idaho and NMSU for football." FOR THE REST OF THE STORY CLICK HERE:NMSU SUN BELT MEMBERSHIP LINK

G5 FALL CAMP NEWS: MARSHALL HAS JUST 13 OF ITS 25 2015 RECRUITS AT FALL FOOTBALL CAMP ACCORDING TO COLUMNIST CHUCK LANDON

College Football recruiting is a tough business. Few are better at finding hidden gems than Marshall's Head Coach Doc Holliday. Getting High School players to sign on the dotted line is only half the battle however, as getting them to campus can prove the most daunting part of the recruiting process.

In a recent opinion story in the Herald  Dispatch, the hometown paper that covers Marshall sports, columnist Chuck Landon writes an interesting piece in which he gives a detailed account of why only 13 or Marshall' s 25 2015 signing class has made it to  Herd Fall Camp this year.

Doc Holliday has Marshall playing some of its best ball in school history. Landon's article  however, provides an interesting look into the struggles of getting players to college campuses once they have said yes to playing football. Here is the link to the story: ONLY 13 of 25 2015 MARSHALL RECRUITS REPORT TO FALL CAMP THIS YEAR. Scroll down to a few paragraphs once the link takes you to the article. Stay tuned

ECU Hall of Famer Earnest Byner speaks to ECU football players during Fall Camp