The Wiz of Odds

'Tis the Season: Naughty or Nice and the NCAA

A promotional flier for a "Naughty or Nice" Christmas party at a Fort Myers bar/restaurant has caught the attention of NCAA investigators after four current college players were listed as hosts of the Dec. 23 event.

Brothers Sammy Watkins (Clemson) and Jaylen Watkins (Florida), Brodrick Jenkins (West Virginia) and Spencer Boyd (South Florida) had their names on the flier, which was posted Monday on the Twitter account of Marcus Price, a former Fort Myers High basketball player who is known as DJ LowKey. Price, who will perform at the event, said the flier was being reworked to remove the names of the players.

"We don't want them to get in any trouble," he said.

Video of Skybox Brawl at Florida State-Florida Game

A surveillance video showing a brawl between Florida State and Florida fans has been released by the University of Florida. The melee took place on the sixth floor of skyboxes at Ben Hill Stadium after the Seminoles' 21-7 victory on Nov. 26. Keep an eye on the top of the screen, just outside the elevators.

Two men were arrested but the incident remains under investigation. One of the participants was sent to the hospital with what police said was a broken nose. The man was apparently kicked in the head.

A 30-ticket suite goes for $87,000 and a 20-seat suite is $58,000 per season, according to the Gator Booster's office. Although drinking is not allowed in the stands, it is permitted in skyboxes.

The activity wasn't limited to skyboxes. Authorities said 167 people were ejected from the stadium for violations. Outside the stadium, one man was beaten and had his head stomped.

Florida

Florida has been down this road before. Back in 2002 when Steve Spurrier resigned as coach, the school brought in Ron Zook. Although the Zooker won, he didn't win enough to satisfy Gator fans. Urban Meyer came aboard and Florida won two BCS titles. Now Meyer is gone and Will Muschamp is the program's caretaker. Let's see how this works out.

Click the image to enlarge. Thanks to Walter.

Outback Bowl

The Wiz of Odds is conducting a comprehensive study of bowl game expense reports. All of the data collected — expense reports for 56 teams and bowl surveys for 40 teams — are being posted on the site. Here is the latest installment. For an overview of the project, click here.

The Tampa-based Outback Bowl is operated by the nonprofit Tampa Bay Bowl Association. It was called the Hall of Fame Bowl from its inception in 1986 until 1995, when Outback became the title sponsor.

2011 participants: Florida and Penn State.

Florida expenses: The school had no trouble selling tickets to Urban Meyer's final game as Gator coach. Only 935 absorbed tickets were reported at a cost of $68,650. The team reported $65,000 in other expenses, which included pre-bowl practice ($50,000) and meeting room expenses at the team hotel ($15,000). Florida's travel party of 770 was eighth highest among the 56 team expense reports obtained by The Wiz of Odds. Download Florida Expenses

Survey: Florida did not provide a bowl survey to The Wiz of Odds.

Penn State: The school declined to offer its expense report or bowl survey to The Wiz of Odds.

Charlie Weis, Double Dipper

Notre Dame made an initial "termination payment" of more than $6.6 million to Charile Weis when it fired him as coach in 2009, according to tax documents obtained by the Chicago Tribune.

Weis, who was 35-27 in five seasons as coach, will continue to be cut smaller checks until December 2015, so the full scope of his separation agreement won't be known until then.

"Termination payment of $6,638,403 was made during the reporting period to Charles J. Weis under a separation agreement that includes much smaller annual payments through December, 2015," according to the documents.

Weis is currently Florida's offensive coordinator, a job that will pay him $2.62 million over three years. Combined with his Notre Dame severance, Weis is no doubt the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the land.

The good news for Notre Dame is that Tyrone Willingham, the coach Weis replaced, apparently is off the books. Willingham received $650,000 for his "separation agreement" that included payments through December 2009.

Will Muschamp? Huh?

Reaction from the college football world over Florida's hiring of Texas assistant Will Muschamp as coach. Muschamp, 39, has never been a head coach, but that wasn't an issue with Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley, who has given Muschamp the keys to the car.

He replaces Urban Meyer, who according to the Gainesville Sun, resigned because of health risks.

Andy Staples, SI.com: Hiring Muschamp was a bold and intelligent move by Foley.

Chris Low, ESPN: Foley has demonstrated in the past that he's not afraid to go down a path nobody else is expecting. Remember Ron Zook?

Pat Dooley, Gainesville Sun: Muschamp has the credentials to be a great hire.

Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman: Texas should have never agreed to make Muschamp head coach in waiting.

Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle: Muschamp may be a great coach, but he's unlikely to ever accomplish the things Mack Brown has accomplished.

Gene Frenette, Florida Times-Union: Hiring Muschamp was an incredibly bold move considering all the proven head-coaching talent that was available.