Steve Spurrier
At Florida, Steve Spurrier won a national title and became despised in the South. After a brief NFL stint, he’s at South Carolina. Here’s why that’s a good thing:
1.Nicknames
These are the printable ones: Steve Superior, the Ol’ Ball Coach, Darth Visor.
2.Humility
After Tennessee kept losing to Florida, Spurrier said, “You can’t spell `Citrus’ without UT.”
3.Fun `n’ Gun offense
Florida won six SEC titles with it. Now everyone runs some form of a spread offense.
4.Strong ethics
After several players went on a $6,000 shopping spree at Foot Locker, Spurrier said FSU stood for “Free Shoes University.”
5.Commitment to literacy
Spurrier once told boosters that a fire in Auburn’s football dorm destroyed 20 books. “But the real tragedy,” Spurrier said, “was that 15 hadn’t been colored yet.”
Pretty in pink: Iowa’s visitor locker rooms
It was former coach Hayden Fry, not Mary Kay, who chose to paint the walls of the visitor’s locker room at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium pink. The theory was the soothing color might take some of the fight out of Iowa’s foes.
A recent refurbishing has taken Fry’s theory to its ultimate lengths. Everything in the locker room _ from carpet to urinals to ceiling tiles _ is pink.
Former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler hated the pink locker room so much, he once had his assistants cover the walls before he would let his team enter.
Now there’s no getting away from the pink. Coincidentally, Iowa has won 18 straight home games.
Georgia fans dawg-gone mad at the NCAA
Like most players’ parents, Dan Miller, the father of Boise State guard Tad Miller, really wants to be there Sept. 3 when his son’s team takes on the Georgia Bulldogs.
The only problem is Dan Miller is a retired police lieutenant who’s currently training police officers in Iraq. The price tag for his travel to the game is $2,700.
Some Georgia fans spread the word about Miller’s journey on Internet message boards and raised the money for his trip. Except the NCAA nixed it, saying it would be an unfair benefit to a player’s family. Even though he plays for the other team.
The good news is Miller’s company will pay for his travel anyway.
From farming to football
The Oliver Wendell Douglas Award goes to new West Texas A&M coach Don Carthel.
After coaching Eastern New Mexico to a Lone Star Conference title in 1991, Carthel quit to spend more time with his kids. He got into farming and learned how to plant crops, plow fields and raise cattle.
With the kids grown, Carthel wanted to get back into coaching. To prove he still had it, he coached an arena team, the Amarillo Dusters, to a league title.
Now he’s back on the sidelines as a college coach. One thing’s for sure, West Texas A&M should have a green practice field.
Best new/old thing about '05 season
Forget instant replay, which will only add more time to games that are already too long.
The best “new” thing about the 2005 college season? BYU is dumping those Nike-ized uniforms and going back to its traditional look.
