I hate to keep talking about scandals on this blog, but until the season begins, there wont be too much to talk about for the moment. This time it deals with Florida State University and the order they received from the NCAA to vacate several wins in various different sports. We have discussed it before, in which an online music course was botched and answers shared between people. That’s the simple response. The only thing new about this right now is that FSU has sent a second appeal to the NCAA, saying that the actions of the few should not allow for the punishment of everyone else. Anyway, this is how the system works and it’s good to see that the NCAA will hear it again and treat everyone fairly! We’ll be keeping up with all the details of this on the NCAA Football Review.

Rice University has settled the lawsuit brought by the Lloyd family about the wrongful death of their son, Dale Lloyd II. Lloyd collapsed and died during a training workout in 2006, due to a condition secondary to sickle cell traits. The settlement is a big weight off the back of Rice University and it’s officials. The settlement has also been described as fair and just for all people involved, though it of course doesn’t bring the young man back. But the main change that happened is that Rice will start testing for sickle cell trait in African American players, and will also lead the effort to get all schools to test for it, so that the players can remain healthy and safe during exercise. There are other parts of the settlement that haven’t been released and likely will not be. But the NCAA and Rice have both been able to make something good out of a bad situation!

The Alabama Crimson Tide has decided to appeal the NCAA’s decision that the team vacate over 20 wins for their football team. The reason for this, as we have discussed before, was that they had used scholarships and free textbooks as perks for their college athletes, which is not allowed in any way. As a result, the team is being asked to vacate those wins. It’s not clear on what basis the team is appealing, but it’s probably something along the lines of it not being fair to punish everyone for the mistakes of just some players and students. The team is hoping that they will be able to let their playing record stand regardless of what the guilty people had done, and it remains to be seen.

The coaches of the NCAA Football world are working hard to get their teams up to standard this year and they are doing a great job with it. We have lots of respect for the coaches. But there is one interesting skewing of the people who are coaches in the league. There aren’t many minorities in the college coaching world and it will be interesting to see whether that will chance over the next few years. Obviously, it would be great to have a little bigger mix of different groups in coaching. This is, in part, true in the NFL as well, though that’s changed for the better over the last few years too. These coaches work hard and they are a major reason why we have such good games so frequently.

Don’t be surprised. The NCAA Football season is on its way! You might be saying “but summer just began”. However, you might have noticed that summers always go by much faster than you might otherwise expect. This year is no exception, and NCAA football training camps will begin in a matter of weeks. It’s always a lot of fun to see where these teams will be at the end of the summer. Will Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama and other teams dominate once again? Penn State, Cal, and Florida were also very impressive. Other teams that are typically at the head of the pack had a bad year last year. Michigan, Ohio State and USC just didn’t perform up to expectations this time around. Next year could be different and you probably want to see it in person. Make sure to get some 2009 NCAA football tickets and see your favorite team in action.

Everyone in the NCAA Football world keeps an eye on the Ohio State Buckeyes. This is a team that was incredibly successful up until a couple years ago, when some of their best players left for the pros or for their regular life. The team is perhaps rebuilding at this point, but according to the commentators, they are probably already getting better. Their offensive line is doing well and they tend to have the kind of QB that they need. Their receivers haven’ been able to get yards much after catching a ball. So catches are decent, but they can’t catch and run. Meanwhile, the defensive line can be good, but they have lots of troubles too. It’s going to be an interesting year to see what they will be able to get put together during this upcoming season. We will be hoping to see this team attempt to get themselves back in gear after all this time.

Joe Montana was one of the most famous quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. In fact, he still is. But commentators are tripping all over themselves trying to get the inside scoop on what his son Nick will be doing next year when he goes to college. The response seems to be that football is exactly like horse racing, in that talent is decided in a large part by the heritage of the player is rather than by personal talent or good training. In any event, he will be going to play for Washington, which has the same color helmet as his father’s school did. It’s not clear whether he has the same kind of talent as the elder Montana, and perhaps it’s almost impossible to tell at this age anyhow. But it’s always interesting to see who the commentators are looking to as the future of the league.

Fordham University will be offering 60 football scholarships in a bid to improve their football prospects during future seasons. They will be able to move into the higher parts of the NCAA league and 2010 will be the big year for them to make their move. The team hasn’t been dominant in college football since the 50s, but in their day they produced some of the best players. They have the resources to go forward with this and it will be interesting to see how they do at the beginning. They will be able to play against a wide variety of teams, including Division 1-a teams and Ivies, which is a good way for them to make headlines and try to take down the big teams. Some of the best players will now be considering Fordham as a place to play, so this is a definitely plus for the school.

Since the NCAA is on summer break right now, it seems like an appropriate moment to talk about some other developments related to them. The newest NCAA Football game for E3 has been released and it has generally good reviews. Quite a few of the improvements were hard to see at first. But the game has introduced quite a bit of the randomness and chances of mistakes into the sport. For example, if a quarterback sticks around for too long, he is subject to a real sack and if he tries to toss it, it might get intercepted or just fall on the ground. This makes the game especially realistic and fun for people to play. People will be able to experience the game in a way that they would not otherwise be able to.

USC has been one of the best athletic schools in the country for many years and many people are interested in some allegations that have now come to light about what they might have done for their players. Most of the allegations deal with former players and in football, it especially includes Reggie Bush. The suggestions are that he was given improper benefits, including housing, money and other kinds of benefits from sports marketers. It’s no secret that agents, marketers and sponsors are always watching for up-and-coming players and USC is more prone than many other teams because they have so many talented players at any given time. They will have to pay close attention to the investigation so that they can perhaps avoid some kind of punishment.