Associated Press
The college football notebook …TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ó The NCAA must release copies of its response to Florida State’s appeal of penalties stemming from academic violations, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said Friday.
In a letter addressed to NCAA president Myles Brand, the attorney general said failure to release the contents of the letter or provide access to them could result in a $1,000 fine, a year in jail, or both.
Several news organizations, including The Associated Press, have formally requested a copy of the NCAA response to an appeal of sanctions resulting from an academic cheating scandal at the school that would strip it of wins in 10 sports, including victories achieved by longtime football coach Bobby Bowden.
Bowden could possibly lose as many as 14 of his career victories if the penalty from an academic cheating case sticks.
GEORGIA-GEORGIA TECH
MACON, Ga. ó One year ago, Georgia learned a painful lesson about opening the season with a No. 1 ranking: The only place to move is down, and that fall can be painful.
Georgia finished with another 10-win season, including another bowl win, but still the season was widely viewed as disappointing.
Now the Bulldogs are moving closer to another season with different expectations, thanks in part to soaring hopes for in-state rival Georgia Tech.
It’s already time for 2009 preseason predictions to start surfacing, and this summer Georgia might not even be the top-rated team in the state, much less the nation.
Georgia Tech returns 17 starters from a 9-4 team that beat Georgia in Athens to close its 2008 regular season. The Yellow Jackets’ 2008 success is reflected in the first preseason polls to hit magazine racks this summer.
That’s just fine with second-year coach Paul Johnson.
“We’ll be a better football team this year,” Johnson said this week before adding for emphasis, “We will be a better team.
ROSE BOWL
BRISTOL, Conn. ó The Rose Bowl will be televised on ESPN beginning in January 2011, giving the network broadcast rights to all Bowl Championship Series games.
ESPN announced the agreement the Rose Bowl on Friday.
The network had previously said it would air the Fiesta, Orange, Sugar and BCS national championship game as part of a multiyear agreement that also begins in January 2011.
The 2010 Rose Bowl and the 2010 BCS national title game from Pasadena, Calif., will remain on ABC. The Rose Bowl has had a separate media rights agreement from other BCS bowls.
The 2011 season will mark the first time all BCS bowls will be on cable television.
SNYDER CONSIDERED
OMAHA, Neb. ó Kansas State coach Bill Snyder prefers football to politics.
Snyder told a crowd of football boosters in Winfield, Kan., this week that he was asked to be former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ running mate in 2006. He said he seriously considered the job but eventually decided not to delve into politics.