Brett McMurphy, FanHouse: It has never been more obvious what should be the next move for college football's elite programs. Leave the NCAA. Just ditch it. They don't need college sports' governing body anymore. They've outgrown the NCAA's archaic system and rules.
Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: Athletics departments rely more than ever on institutional subsidies. The NCAA reports that only 14 athletics departments in Division I-A made more money than they spent in 2008-09, down from 25 in each of the previous two years. The average institutional subsidy for athletics in I-A rose from $8 million in 2007-08 to $10.2 million in 2008-09, the most currently available year of data. Among schools known to have turned a profit: Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana and Purdue.
Michael Hiestand, USA Today: ESPN made the right move by putting sideline reporter Jenn Brown's beer deal on ice.
Shaun Assael, ESPN.com: It was all a hoax. USC freshman running back Dillion Baxter fabricated his story of five teams contacting him after NCAA sanctions were announced against the Trojans. You need an ESPN Insider account to access.
Todd Henrichs, Lincoln Journal Star: How does a travel agent in Nebraska find enough tickets to the Cornhuskers' game at Washington on Sept. 18? Steve Glenn had to purchase 150 Huskies' season tickets to meet the demand of his customers.
Tony Jones, Salt Lake Tribune: Utah State, which turned down an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference a week ago, is once again in talks about joining the league.
Dan Hinxman, Reno Gazette-Journal: Nevada president Milton Glick said he believes the school does not "have any obligation to pay any penalty to the WAC."
Salt Lake Tribune: The newspaper obtains text of the resolution passed by WAC members on Aug. 13 regarding Brigham Young.
Dick Harmon, Deseret News: BYU's fight over Mountain West TV contract details is a battle that should have been decided a long time ago.
Gordon Monson, Salt Lake Tribune: Why BYU ever agreed to the paltry terms and limited scope of the Mountain West’s TV deal is a great question to ask.
Matt Sanderson, Deseret News: The Bowl Championship Series still needs to go, even with Utah moving to the Pacific 10.
Adam Sparks and Monte Hale Jr., Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Middle Tennessee State quarterback Dwight Dasher reportedly borrowed $1,500 from an 80-year-old patient at a local medical center for a high-stakes poker game. Although no formal charges have been filed, Dasher's issues could not have come at a worse time for the Blue Raiders.
Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune: Nearly 2,000 fans (as of Wednesday morning) have joined a Facebook page called "Don't Mess with the Ohio State/Michigan game."
Sports By Brooks: Tweet of the day by the Tribune's Greenstein, who attended Northwestern practice on Tuesday.
Kelly Whiteside, USA Today: NBC is adjusting its ad breaks at the request of Notre Dame's Brian Kelly, who expressed concern that long commercial interruptions would disrupt the flow of the Fighting Irish offense.
Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press: Two guns in a video featuring Michigan running backs coach Michael Shaw are toys, not the real thing.
Robert Cessna, Bryan-College Station Eagle: Is Brad Franchione a victim of his last name?
Brian Murphy, Chadd Cripe and Nick Jezierny, Idaho Statesman: Idaho and Boise State are talking about extending their series beyond this season.
David Baron, Houston Chronicle: Craig James and Mike Leach like to talk, but not about each other.
Jon Nyatawa, Omaha World-Herald: A decade-long look at the preseason media poll. Forty-three percent of preseason top 10 teams have gone on to play in BCS bowls during the past 10 years.
Kyle Ringo, Boulder Daily Camera: Colorado plans to remain in the Big 12 for two more years before joining the Pacific 10 in 2012.
Kimberly Rankin, CBS42.com: Your tax dollars at work, Birmingham: Every year, the city buys 5,000 Alabama Birmingham season tickets and 1,000 Miles College tickets. Birmingham city council member Johnathan Austin says it's to keep the teams coming to Legion Field. The mayor gets around 850 of the tickets, the council gets around 350 and the rest get divided among city departments. Thanks to Ben Maller.
David Teel, Newport News Daily Press: If Frank Beamer, 63, fulfills terms of his new contract that runs through 2016, he would be the longest-tenured coach in Division I-A. That's presuming, of course, that Penn State's Joe Paterno, now entering his 45th season, isn't working at age 90.
John Canzano, Oregonian: Think before you laugh about the bizarre arrest of former Oregon State lineman Tyler Thomas, forever known as "Mr. Three Point Stance."
Matt Hayes, Sporting News: Bobby Bowden says he was fired after last season and did not resign. His relationship with former Florida State president T.K. Wetherell remains strained.
David Whitley, FanHouse: Bowden fired? Seriously? Everybody saw it coming, and everybody could see how the remarkable story Bowden authored at Florida State was not going to have a happy ending. The only revelation was that Bowden is still blind to the reasons he was let go. And all that did was confirm Florida State did the right thing.
David Brandt, Clarion-Ledger: Mississippi quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is still awaiting NCAA clearance to play in the Rebels' opener against something called Jacksonville State.
Robbi Pickeral, Raleigh News & Observer: For the first time in at least a decade, Duke has sold out of season tickets. For the first time since 2000, however, North Carolina State may not.
Joseph Person, Columbia State: Weslye Saunders, the South Carolina tight end embroiled in an NCAA investigation, has been "temporarily suspended" from the team. Steve Spurrier (wink, wink) said the suspension had "nothing to do with the NCAA" investigation.
Gregg Krupa, Detroit News: Former Michigan cornerback Boubacar Cissoko, already serving significant prison time in three thefts and an attempted robbery, allegedly assaulted three prison guards on July 31.
Tom Kirkendall, Houston's Clear Thinkers: Training camp is a tradition that needs to die.
Maury Brown, The Biz of Baseball: Independent bloggers represent the least trusted media type and are the most likely to be turned down for press pass requests, according to the first academic study to assess the sentiments of media-credentialing executives in sports organizations toward new media coverage. Thanks to the National Sports Journalism Center.
Paul Myerberg, Pre-Snap Read: The countdown continues with No. 11 Georgia Tech, No. 10 Florida and No. 9 Iowa.
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