The fallout from national signing day continued around the college football world this past week with critics weighing in on the best and worst of this year’s recruiting classes. That wasn’t all the college football news fans were talking about this week though with a major announcement out of USC, the Big 12 meetings continuing and some positive news coming out of the ACC. Here is a quick recap of this week’s important news and notes from around the college football world.
Pat Haden Retires At USC
USC president Max Nikias announced that athletic director Pat Haden will retire on June 30th in a move many won’t be too sad about. Haden took over for Mike Garrett in 2010 with a primary mandate to lead the Trojans through a dark period of sanctions including a two-year bowl ban, probation and significant scholarship losses. It didn’t get any better for the Trojans once the sanctions ended as Haden was forced to deal with the fallout from head coach Steve Sarkisian’s ongoing health problems this past season. Many people felt that Haden enabled Sarkisian and probably should have fired him sooner. Instead, he let Sarkisian continue even when it was clear he needed help (showing up visibly drunk at a preseason dinner) and therefore had a hand in the team’s disappointing season. Nikias gave no indication as to who will succeed Haden as AD, but did say that Haden won’t be leaving the school completely. Haden will start a one-year job guiding the renovation of the Coliseum once he retires.
No Championship Game For Big 12
There was plenty of speculation about the possibilities that could emerge from a meeting of the Big 12 directors this past week, but in the end, there really wasn’t any major college football news to report. Once again we’ll have no Big 12 championship game this season. The AD’s were expected to discuss the possibility of a conference championship game as well as the potential for expansion and a Big 12 network, but at the end of the meetings, there was no major news to announce. It’s always tough for these schools to get on the same page – especially in terms of the broadcast deals – because the Texas Longhorns are the star program and they want a bigger piece of the pie than everyone else. They even have their own network, so why worry about getting into other arrangements? The Big 12 remains the lone Power Five conference that does not have a conference championship game. It’s a double-edged sword that hurts them in some years, but also saves their highly-ranked teams from having to endure one more game before the College Football Playoff.
Tennessee Misses Out On Higgins
Less than five months after committing to Tennessee, football and basketball star Tee Higgins has decided to reopen his recruiting. Higgins made the announcement on social media last Thursday. While he did say that he considered the Vols a priority when it comes to making a decision, the fact that he is exploring his opportunities in the first place is a strong indicator otherwise. Higgins is a four-star recruit and the No. 7-rated wide receiver for the 2017 class and it will be a major blow for Butch Jones and his program if they are unable to convince him to stick with Tennessee.
Pittsburgh Running Back Jon Conner Will Play In 2016
We received some welcome college football news when Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi announced he believes that running back James Conner will play in 2016. Conner, who missed the bulk of the 2015 season because of a knee injury, is battling Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer in his neck and chest. Conner has continued to work out while battling cancer and he has said that he will be ready to play for the Panthers this fall once he beats the cancer. The former ACC Player of the Year has received financial support from the program to handle the cost of the treatments. The last two years haven’t been kind to Conner, but it would be an incredible story if he is able to beat cancer and complete his comeback for Pittsburgh.
