The Wiz of Odds

Reporters Notebooks

Kathleen Megan, Hartford Courant: Connecticut is replacing its cheerleaders with a "spirit squad." A spokesman said "we want people formerly called cheerleaders to focus in on building spirit at UConn, on spending time working on ways to engage fans and to really spread Husky spirit" rather than spend hours perfecting stunts. Thanks to Ben Maller.

Andy Staples, SI.com: Hats off to SI.com, which says fans have the right to know how coaches vote each week in the USA Today poll, which is one of the determining factors in selecting teams for Bowl Championship Series games. SI.com has made open records requests to 51 of the 59 coaches at public universities for their coaches' poll ballots. Every ballot SI receives will be published.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: South Florida was the first school to respond to SI.com's request. Jim Leavitt, who has talked repeatedly in the past few weeks about how young and unproven his team is, ranked the Bulls No. 18, the highest ranking of four Big East teams on his ballot. Leavitt voted Oklahoma No. 1.

Joe Strupp, Editor & Publisher: Gannett has directed its daily newspapers that cover the Southeastern Conference not to sign on to a controversial new credential policy, while the Associated Press has also declared it will not agree to the new rules that have sparked opposition for limits on Web video and audio use, photo displays, and blogging.

Steve Wieberg, USA Today: A terrific piece looking at the golden years of every Division I-A team.

Penn State Clips: Penn State's 2010 game at Indiana is being moved to FedEx Field in Landover, Md., essentially giving the Nittany Lions another conference home game. Many Big Ten bloggers are angry after hearing the news.

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego State has added another opponent to its schedule — the media. Team practices, personnel evaluations, assessments about the team's progress — all are being closely guarded behind closed gates and vaguely worded answers to the media. Thanks to Mike!

Syracuse

A once-proud program has fallen on hard times. Syracuse, which had only one losing season from 1983-2001, has won only 10 games in the past four seasons. Doug Marrone, who was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints, is the new coach. The team also has a new quarterback in Greg Paulus, the former Duke point guard who transferred to Syracuse as a graduate student this spring. He hasn't played football since his senior year of high school. Here's the good news: The Orange have eight home games, including seven of their first eight in the Carrier Dome. A reminder to click any poster schedule for an enlarged view. Thanks to Michael!

It's Never a Good Idea to Forget the Wife's Birthday

Coaches pour a lot into their profession, and sometimes it comes at the expense of their home life.

Arizona's Mike Stoops announced this week that he and his wife, Nicole, are in the process of getting a divorce. Stoops is 47, Nicole 33. They were married in July 2001 and have two young children.

Stoops was visibly emotional when he made the announcement and said he will have no further comment on the matter.

So what went wrong? Wouldn't a marriage to a big-time coach be a dream life?

Harbaugh and His Royal Throne Causing a Stink

A private luxury bathroom and shower has been added to the office of Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh at a cost between $50,000 and $70,000, according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News.

"It was something I'd asked for," Harbaugh said. "It cuts down on drag."

By drag, Harbaugh means time. The nearest bathroom was about 20 steps down the hall from the football office and the nearest shower was two floors below Harbaugh's desk.

Swine Flu: The Unexpected Opponent

College football schedules are generally made up years in advance. But this fall, many teams could be facing an unexpected opponent. The H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, could infect between 30% and up to 50% of the American population during the fall and winter months, with large outbreaks expected at universities.

The virus swept through the Duke roster two weeks ago, and Tulane canceled fan day last Saturday after 27 players came down with Type A flu, the same strain as H1N1. I examine the potential impact of H1N1 on the college season in my latest piece for Covers.com.

Covers is second to none in coverage of industry news, statistics and advice. With the start of the season just around the corner, you'll want to have Covers' college football page among your bookmarks.

Minnesota

The Golden Gophers spent 26 seasons playing home games at the off-campus Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. All that is about to change. The team is back on campus in the $288.5 million TCF Bank Stadium, with the first game in the new facility scheduled for Sept. 12 against Air Force. Coach Tim Brewster and six players are pictured in the Bank's locker room, which is 60 yards long by 25 yards wide. It contains 120 cherry wood lockers and is the largest in professional and college football. Having spiffy digs is nice, but will this team make Minnesotans proud? The Gophers must come out of the tailspin that concluded the 2008 season, when the team lost its last five, including a 55-0 humbling by Iowa in Minnesota's final game in the Metrodome. Thanks to Chris, Jordan and John!