Around the Dog Park: Let’s talk about the future of college athletics

General G5

• Here’s a throwback to SMU and Rice meeting in 1973.
• Idaho grossly mishandled a sexual assault complaint against an athlete five years ago.
• Only 30 schools reached both a bowl game in football and the NCAA tournament in basketball.
• Think you know what a student athlete goes through in pursuit of their degree? This essay spells it all out.
• NMSU Head Coach Doug Martin has turned to Twitter to voice complaints about his program lacking resources to hire a full coaching staff of 10 on-field coaches.
• Eastern Michigan is dropping four scholarship sports, perhaps an omen for the future of college athletics as TV revenues drop while cost of attendance rises.
• South Dakota State head coach John Stiegelmeier has plead no contest to a January DUI arrest.
• While we don’t have data for the G5, graduation rates for black athletes is increasing at the Power Five level.
• It’s time for G5 conferences to start producing their own streaming video content. While the upfront cost is significant, the long term payoff for athletics programs would be a monumental shift.

AAC

• Houston’s key objectives for spring ball will be replacing their wide receiver standouts and finding a quarterback to complement D’Eriq King.
• Athletic Director Jeff Compher is out at ECU after battling poor on-field performance and disgruntled fans for years.
• Sonny Dykes has a lot of work on his plate as SMU kicks off spring football.
• Tough blow to Temple’s dreams of an on-campus stadium after the Philadelphia City Council President announced that he would not support the university’s current plans.
• UCF’s undefeated season was worth an estimated $200 million in exposure for the university.

C-USA

• UTSA Head Coach Frank Wilson is not pleased with the performance of his quarterbacks this spring as he looks for a new starter to replace Dalton Sturm.
• Greg Campbell Jr. is moving into a leadership role at the wide receiver position for UTSA.
• Spoiler alert: FAU leads the Conference USA power rankings heading into the 2018 season.
• UNT Head Coach Seth Littrell joined The Solid Verbal podcast to talk about coaching the Air Raid offense.
• North Texas is looking into revising both Seth Littrell’s and Wren Baker’s contracts after the duo brought early success to UNT.
• Conference USA’s TV revenue payouts have increased from $200,000 to $400,000 following their latest contract renegotiation.
• Charlotte is moving to a pro-style offense which probably isn’t the best fit for their most talented player Hasaan Klugh. I don’t understand either.
• Old Dominion WR Jonathan Duhart is back from an ugly injury and is ready to help guide ODU to a bowl game.

Sun Belt

• Appalachian State has scheduled a three-game series with South Carolina.
• ULM has a crowded backfield but they will use the spring period to sort out their options.