Time For Basketball Teams to Open Practice

As basketball teams around the country get ready to kickoff practice for the 2010-11 season on Oct. 15, here are two stories (a men's and a women's) from the NCAA staff about the seasons getting ready to begin.

Midnight Madness Takes the Court this Weekend Nationwide; Regular Season Set to Begin November 12

David Worlock, Associate Director of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship

INDIANAPOLIS - Some 345 NCAA® Division I men’s basketball teams begin their journey on the road they hope will culminate at the Final Four®, as official practices will be conducted across the country this weekend. Many teams and their fans will gather across the country in arenas late Friday night to celebrate Midnight Madness, the annual celebration that marks the start to the season. Practices are permitted to begin after 5 p.m. Friday.

ESPNU will televise its Midnight Madness special featuring extensive whip-around coverage from top college basketball programs around the nation Friday at 9 p.m. ET. Coverage will focus on several men’s programs including defending national champion Duke, as well as Kentucky, Memphis, Gonzaga, Kansas State and St. John’s. The University of Connecticut women’s program – the two-time defending national champion, which is riding a 78-game winning streak (10 short of the UCLA men's record for consecutive victories in NCAA Division I basketball) – will also be featured.

Coming off a thrilling conclusion to the 2009-10 season that saw the Blue Devils win the men’s title after Butler’s half-court shot caromed off the rim, the upcoming season promises to give college basketball fans around the world more excitement.

However, the Madness is not limited to March.

Non-conference games in November feature contests such as Ohio State-Florida, Texas-Illinois, Kansas State-Gonzaga, Kansas-Arizona, Missouri-Georgetown and Tennessee-Pittsburgh. Blockbuster tilts continue in December with matchups such as Duke-Butler, Syracuse-Michigan State, Kentucky-North Carolina, Washington-Texas A&M and Temple-Villanova. And that’s just a small sampling.

In addition to the dozens of individual non-conference games, there will be several multi-team events that promise to feature matchups between the nation’s top programs. The NCAA has historically identified these events as ideal opportunities to use experimental rules, and this year is no exception. In May, the Men’s Basketball Rules Committee approved the experimental use of an expanded arc at two feet from the center of the basket. This identifies an area on the floor where a secondary defender is not able to establish legal guarding position. The committee felt the rule change made last year reduced the number of collisions at the goal; this year’s experimental rule calls for the area to be slightly expanded.

The men’s championship also enters a new era, with the announcement earlier this year that the tournament field will expand to 68 teams beginning with the 2011 championship. Under the new format, there will be four first-round games, to be played in Dayton March 15 and 16 and known as the First Four®. It will feature two games involving teams playing for the right to advance as No. 16 seeds that will play top-seeded teams in the second round, and two other games featuring the final four at-large teams selected to the field. Second- and third-round games will be played March 17-20. Host cities are Denver, Colorado; Tampa, Florida; Tucson, Arizona; Washington D.C.; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Regional sites will conduct games March 24-27 and include Anaheim, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Newark, New Jersey; and San Antonio, Texas. The 2011 Men’s Final Four will be held April 2 and 4 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Tournament tickets can be purchased by visiting www.ncaa.com/mbbtickets.

The NCAA reached a deal in April with Turner Sports and CBS worth $10.8 billion over 14 years for the television, Internet and wireless rights to the tournament. As part of the agreement, all 67 games of the championship will be shown live across four national networks—CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Previously, fewer than 10 tournament games were guaranteed to have a full national audience.

The bracket, which will be revealed Sunday, March 13 on CBS, is constructed by using the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee’s principles and procedures, which can be located at www.ncaa.com/media. This year’s committee is chaired by Gene Smith of Ohio State. He is joined on the committee by Stan Morrison of University of California, Riverside; Jeff Hathaway of Connecticut, Lynn Hickey of University of Texas at San Antonio, Mike Bobinski of Xavier University, Doug Fullerton of the Big Sky Conference, Dan Beebe of the Big 12 Conference, Ron Wellman of Wake Forest University, Scott Barnes of Utah State, and Steve Orsini of Southern Methodist University.

But before teams start dancing their way through NCAA March Madness®, they will have a little fun with Midnight Madness and the practices this week. The journey on the Road to the Final Four® actually begins in October with this tradition that started nearly 40 years ago when Lefty Driesell had his University of Maryland team go for a run on the campus’ track minutes after midnight on the first day of allowable practices. Approximately 3,000 fans attended the event and it became a tradition that spread across the country and now features a variety of activities to entertain thousands of fans. Many of the practices are televised live locally and carried live via video streaming across the Internet.



Start of Practice and Midnight Madness Celebrations Signal Beginning of 2010-11 Women's College Basketball Season; Regular Season to Begin November 12

Rick Nixon, Associate Director of the Division I Women's Basketball Championship

INDIANAPOLIS - The journey down a road that hundreds of women’s basketball teams hope will culminate with a trip to the Women’s Final Four® has begun, as official practices are being conducted across the country this week. Many women’s programs have started their preparations thanks to a new NCAA rule this year that permits women’s teams to begin practicing 40 days before their first game. Several other teams will gather in arenas late Friday night to celebrate Midnight Madness, the annual celebration that marks the unofficial start to the season.

ESPNU will televise a four-hour ESPNU Midnight Madness special featuring extensive whip-around coverage from top college basketball programs around the nation on October 15 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU HD. The University of Connecticut women’s program – the two-time defending national champion, which is riding a 78-game winning streak (10 short of the UCLA men's record for consecutive victories in NCAA Division I basketball) – will be featured along with several men’s programs including defending national champion Duke University as well as Kentucky, Memphis, Gonzaga and Kansas State. The Huskies will be the first women’s team to be showcased during Midnight Madness programming since the show debuted on ESPN platforms in 1993.

The question entering the 2010-11 women’s season centers on Connecticut’s winning streak and which teams will stand between the Huskies and a run at a third straight national championship. Non-conference play will provide an early indication as Connecticut faces Baylor on Nov. 16 in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic in a rematch of a 2010 national semifinal contest. A rematch of the 2010 national championship game will occur when Connecticut plays Stanford on Dec. 30.

Additional non-conference women’s matchups will take place across the country in November and December with key and important games featuring Rutgers-Stanford (Nov. 14), Texas-Stanford (Nov. 28), Oklahoma-Duke (Dec. 5), Tennessee-Baylor (Dec. 14), Stanford-Tennessee (Dec. 19), Xavier-Duke (Dec. 21), Xavier-Stanford (Dec. 28) and Rutgers-Tennessee (Dec. 30) to name just a few.

An experimental rule to be applied during exhibition play will involve the continued effort to examine the distance of the three-point line. The Women’s Basketball Rules Committee has requested institutions to record shooting percentages from both the men’s and women’s lines from one home exhibition game. This information will provide the committee with significant data on how many three-pointers are actually being taken from behind both the men’s and women’s line.

Conference play will feature key matchups as teams vie to win a conference championship and continue to build a resume worthy of earning their way into the championship field. The 64-team women’s tournament field will be announced Monday, March 14 on ESPN. First- and second-round sites include Albuquerque, New Mexico; Columbus, Ohio; Durham, North Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee; Salt Lake City, Utah; Spokane, Washington; Stanford, California; University Park, Pennsylvania; Auburn, Alabama; Charlottesville, Virginia; Cincinnati, Ohio; College Park, Maryland; Shreveport, Louisiana; Storrs, Connecticut; Waco, Texas; and Wichita, Kansas, with games set for March 19-22. The four regional sites will be Dayton, Ohio; Spokane, Washington; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Dallas, Texas on March 26-29. The Women’s Final Four will be April 3 and 5, 2011 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Tickets for all sites can be purchased by going to www.ncaa.com/tickets.

The women’s bracket is constructed by using the committee’s principles and procedures, which are located at www.ncaa.com/finalfour. Members of the 2010-11 Division I Women’s Basketball Committee include chair Marilyn McNeil of Monmouth University. She is joined on the committee by Sybil Blalock of Mercer University, Greg Christopher of Bowling Green State University, Leslie Claybrook of Rice University, Rich Ensor of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Heather Gores of Gonzaga University, Dru Hancock of the Big 12 Conference, Carolayne Henry of the Mountain West Conference, Chris Massaro of Middle Tennessee State and Kathy Meehan of St. John’s University (New York).

For the ninth consecutive year, ESPN and ESPN2 will broadcast all 63 games of the 2011 Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. The network will offer whip-around-style coverage in high definition. This marks the 16th straight year (since 1996) that ESPN will serve as the championship’s exclusive television home.

Before teams start dancing their way through NCAA March Madness®, they will have a little fun with Midnight Madness and the practices this week. The journey down the Road to the Women’s Final Four® begins in October with this tradition that started nearly 40 years ago when Lefty Driesell had his University of Maryland men’s team go for a run on the campus’ track minutes after midnight on the first day of allowable practices. Approximately 3,000 fans attended the event and it became a tradition that spread across the country and now features a variety of activities to entertain thousands of men’s and women’s basketball fans. In addition to ESPNU coverage, many of the practices are televised live locally and carried live via video streaming across the Internet.

Sporting News Magazine Ranks Murray State Men's Hoops 35th in Preseason Ranking

It is never too early to think about basketball season as preseason basketball magazines are already hitting the bookstore shelves.

The Sporting News recently came out and magazine ranked the Top 50 teams entering the 2010-11 season. The Murray State Racers were tabbed the 35th-best team in the country.

Here are the complete rankings from The Sporting News.

1. Michigan State
2. Duke
3. Purdue
4. Kansas
5. Ohio State
6. Kansas State
7. Syracuse
8. Kentucky
9. North Carolina
10. Pittsburgh
11. Villanova
12. Memphis
13. Missouri
14. Gonzaga
15. Illinois
16. Baylor
17. Georgetown
18. Wisconsin
19. Butler
20. Florida
21. Virginia Tech
22. Tennessee
23. Washington
24. Wichita State
25. Florida State
26. Texas
27. Temple
28. San Diego State
29. Texas A&M
30. Xavier
31. BYU
32. Mississippi State
33. N.C. State
34. Minnesota
35. Murray State
36. West Virginia
37. Dayton
38. Marquette
39. UCLA
40. Clemson
41. Northwestern
42. Maryland
43. Arizona
44. Oklahoma State
45. New Mexico
46. Richmond
47. Georgia
48. Cincinnati
49. UNLV
50. Wofford

JSU's Coty Blanchard on ESPN2's First Take

Jacksonville State freshman quarterback Coty Blanchard appeared on ESPN2's First Take on Monday, Sept. 6. Below is the video. Blanchard was named OVC Co-Offensive Player of the Week (along with teammate Marques Ivory) for his part in the Gamecocks upset of Ole Miss on Sept. 4. Blanchard and Ivory later were named National Players of the Week by College Sporting News.

If the video embed does not, try this link: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5539270

Jacksonville State Wins One For the "Little Guy"

Sometimes the underdog pulls one out. That was certainly the case today in Oxford, Miss. as the Jacksonville State Gamecocks topped Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent Ole Miss 49-48 in double overtime.

Fans were treated to an exciting game that saw Jax State score and convert a 2-point conversion to force overtime and then after a stallmate in the first overtime, score and get a 2-point conversion in the second overtime to pull out the win.

It was the first win for an OVC team against an FBS opponent since 2004, snapping a string of 50-straight losses to the higher-division foes. It was also the first time since the Conference was formed in 1948 that an OVC team topped a team from the Southeastern Conference.

Here is a video of the JSU postgame from today ...





What is great about the situation is that nobody expected JSU to win today. Even though the Gamecocks are nationally-ranked in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) at No. 17 and Ole Miss was picked last in the highly-competitive SEC West, most people thought this would be a win for the Rebels who were playing with transfer quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, a Heisman hopeful at Oregon last season.

What is even better is that Jacksonville State received a big financial guarantee to play the Rebels. So not only did the Gamecocks go home with a victory, but also a check!

What is also great about the victory is the recognition that Jacksonville State and the OVC will receive today, the coming week and all year. It is no secret that the league has struggled in football over the past decade. No OVC team had won a game against an FBS foe since 2004 and the league has not won a FCS Playoff game since 2000 (and that was by Western Kentucky, a team that isn't even in the league anymore). With that lack of success comes very little national respect; but one win over a FBS school, a SEC school nonetheless, will help establish the league this season.

It is not the only big win for the OVC over the past six months. Still on a lot of peoples' minds is Murray State's victory over another SEC foe, this time Vanderbilt, in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. That win was the first for the league in the tournament's first round since 1989 and was the first over an SEC team since the 2000-01 season, snapping a string of 71-straight losses to the SEC. In case you did forget, here is a look at some of those highlights:



So in summary sometimes it is tough when the "little guy" goes out and plays hard but comes up just short. A great season for one team in the league leads to a dream trip to the NCAA Tournament only to see that squad get manhandled by a bigger conference school.

But as I've shown you that is not always the case. The past six months have shown that OVC teams can compete with any team out there. So enjoy the victory over an FBS team. See below for more coverage from today's victory,

Other Coverage of the Jacksonville State Victory:
JSUGamecockSports.com - Coverage from JSU's official site
Jacksonville State revels in upset of of Rebels - Sports Network
Ole Miss goes down Hard - ESPN.com
Jacksonville State Rallies in Fourth Quarter, Stuns Ole Miss in Double OT - FanHouse.com
Jacksonville State stuns Ole Miss, 49-48, in double overtime - Memphis Commercial Appeal
Gosh almighty JSU rallies from 3 touchdown deficit to upset Ole Miss - Anniston Star
Upset of Ole Miss is JSU's 'game changer' - Anniston Star
Crowe's gamble pays off as JSU upsets Ole Miss - Birmingham News
Publicity, fan buzz, early ticket sales follow JSU's football victory - Anniston Star

FCS Bracket Projections - Week 1

The selection of the 20-team field for the 2010 Division I Football Championship will not occur until Sunday, Nov. 20 but the Sports Network is already looking towards the newly expanded bracket.

FCS Executive Director Craig Haley will be doing his own version of "bracketology" each week during the season in predicting the field.

In his first attempt at the projection (it is a PDF file), Haley has two OVC teams in the field of 20. He has Jacksonville State as one of the eight teams playing in the first round, taking on James Madison with the right to advance and play national-power Appalachian State (a team he predicts will be the No. 2 national seed). Haley also has Eastern Illinois in the field, giving the Panthers a buy into the second round for a matchup with No. 5 national seed William & Mary.

Haley predicts the other national seeds as Villanova (No. 1), Montana (No. 3) and Southern Illinois (No. 4). Other teams he has in the field now include Elon, Stephen F. Austin, Richmond, Eastern Washington, Delaware, South Carolina State, Liberty, Montana state, Central Connecticut State, New Hampshire, Colgate and South Dakota State.

This year the FCS Championship will be held for the first time at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. This year's game date is later than normal, as it will be played on Friday, Jan. 7.

Division I Football Championship Subdivision: It's More Than a Game

Take a look at the new commercial promoting the Football Championship Subdivision. The theme of this year's video is "It's More Than a Game."

With the football season just a few days away, there are some important things to remember about the FCS. The FCS is the only Division I group of teams who compete in a football playoff, meaning the champion is determined on the field and not by polls and power rankings.

And whether you like the new venacular of FCS (vs. the previous I-AA), it is all Division I football. Too often I hear people refer to Bowl Subdivision Teams (FBS) as Division I and leave everything else to be lower.

OVC Players in the NFL; DRC Returns to Nashville

At the opening of training camps earlier this month there were 19 former OVC players on NFL rosters. Once training camp ends and the season begins we will do a complete feature on the former OVCers who have made NFL rosters in 2010.

Last night former Tennessee State Tiger Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie came back to Nashville to play in the same stadium he did in college. DRC, now a member of the Arizona Cardinals, played in a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans (Arizona also played a regular season game with Tennessee last season at LP Field).

Below is a photo of DRC with Titans superstar Chris Johnson before last night's game (photo by Don McQuistion).

TTU Men's Basketball Adds 7-Foot Transfer

The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles have added a big man in the middle in 7-foot transfer Liam McMorrow. McMorrow was recently granted a waiver from the NCAA to play immediatly this season.

McMorrow played the 2007-08 season at Durham College in Canada, then transferred to Marquette and sat out the 2008-09 season due to NCAA requirements. He sat out the entire 2009-10 season for medical reasons, so Tennessee Tech submitted a request to the NCAA for a waiver on the requirement that would have forced him to sit out an additional year.

Read the full story at TTUSports.com.

Here is a video interview of McMorrow from the 2008 Marquette Media Day:

First FCS Top 25 Poll is Out

The Sports Network released its preseason FCS Top 25 poll today. The poll saw Jacksonville State land at No. 17 and Eastern Illinois come in at No. 18. Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee Tech and Austin Peay were among those receiving votes.

The other major FCS poll, the FCS Coaches Poll, will be released next Monday.

The OVC had some relative success and earned some respect in the national poll a year ago. During the season the OVC had a stretch were five weeks were three league teams were ranked in the Top 25 at the same time.

On Oct. 12 and 19 Jacksonville State was ranked 12th, the highest ranking the school had received since joining the FCS/I-AA ranks. It was the highest an OVC team had been ranked since Eastern Kentucky was No. 9 in the Nov. 19, 2007 Sports Network poll.

So what do you all think? What can we expect out of OVC teams in the national rankings this season?

Vote for Former APSU Pitcher Rowdy Hardy in "Minors Moniker Madness"

Former Austin Peay pitcher Rowdy Hardy needs your votes. The Governor is in the finals of the fourth annual "Minors Moniker Madness" held by MILB.com.

From Austin Peay State University Sports Information ...

After five rounds of voting spread out over nearly four weeks, the field of Minors Moniker Madness contestants has been reduced to two: Hardy and Seth Schwindenhammer. Hardy reached the final in come-from-behind fashion, defeating Mark Hamburger with just 50.08 percent of the vote inthe semifinal.

Hardy has reached the semfinals each of the last of the last two seasons, losing to the eventual champion. He reached the semifinals last year and was knocked out by eventual winner Dusty Napoleon. Hardy also reached the semifinals in 2008 and lost to eventual champion Will Startup. In 2007, Hardy lost to eventual champion Houston Summers in what would have been the regional championship.

Voting continues through midnight, Tuesday, at MILB.com. Each time you vote, you can enter to win a great prize. The more you vote, the better chance you have to win the prize and the better chance that your favored name will take the crown.

Click here to vote for Rowdy.

OVC Teams Starting to Release 2010-11 Basketball Schedules

I know the fall sports seasons have not started yet, but OVC schools are already releasing their 2010-11 basketball schedules. Teams will hit the practice court for the first time on Friday, Oct. 15 with the season getting underway in early November.

Don't forget this season the OVC Tournament is switching formats, by bringing all 8 men's and all 8 women's teams to one site instead of having first round tournament games on campus sites. The event will also now move to a merit-based format, with the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds getting a bye and the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds getting two byes (into the semifinals).

With the switch the OVC Championship has moved to Municipal Auditorium in Nashville as its new home. This year's tournament runs March 2-5.

The OVC will hold its annual Media Day on Monday, Oct. 25 and there will show off the new court at Municipal as well as unveil a new tournament logo.

Below is a list of the OVC men's and women's basketball team's who have officially released their schedules. Click on the links to see that team's 2010-11 schedule.

Men's Teams
Austin Peay

Eastern Illinois
Murray State
Tennessee State

Women's Teams
Austin Peay
Eastern Illinois
Tennessee State
UT Martin

Fall Camp Begins Around the OVC

First off we apoligize for the blog being slow this summer. With not as much news happening there just were not a lot of stories that needed to be told. But as the fall gets ready to gear up and teams are now back on campus practicing, we promise to have some news, notes and opinion in this space more often.

All around the OVC there are football, soccer and volleyball teams hitting the practice field/court to prepare for the 2010 season.

I had the pleasure of attending the Tennessee Tech Media Day event in Cookeville today and got this video of TTU head coach Watson Brown.

The video was shot with our new Flip HD cam, which we hope to use this year to get ever better video than we did last season.

So check out the video and don't forget the first football contest of the year is Sept. 2 (just 24 days away).

A Summer Check-In & A.J. Ellis Has Walk-Off Hit for the Dodgers

Sorry for the delay between blog posts. May is a busy time around the OVC with several championship events (track and field, softball, baseball) and the OVC Spring Meetings, which concluded on Friday in Nashville.


Now that we are into "summer" (I know the calendar says that is June 21, but as far as college athletics go, it is now summer) we are hoping to bring you some creative content this summer. So stay tuned.

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I did want to post this article about former Austin Peay standout A.J. Ellis, who had a walk-off hit for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. Ellis is a rookie catcher with the Dodgers.

So make sure you check out the article by the L.A. Times Dylan Hernandez.

Around the Ohio Valley: May 17

The conference just wrapped up the OVC softball tournament hosted at UT Martin this past weekend. Great weekend of competitive softball, and if you missed it, Jacksonville State came away as champions! Here is a link to the article:

Jacksonville State wins 2010 OVC Softball Tournament

Here are some more headlines from around the league in this weekend's Around the Ohio Valley:

• Austin Peay Women's Tennis lost 4-0 to 13th Ranked Georgia Tech in the NCAA regional, in the Gov's first ever NCAA Championship appearance.
• Eastern Illinois senior Erin O’Grady turned in the best performance of her career setting the school record in the steeplechase with a time of 10:44.45 at the Louisville Cardinal Twilight for the Panters' last meet of the season.
• In the program’s first ever appearance in the NCAA men’s tennis championships, Eastern Kentucky fell to nationally-ranked Louisville Saturday afternoon, 4-0. The OVC champion Colonels had their 11-match winning streak snapped and conclude the year 18-9 overall.
• The Jacksonville State softball will face Georigia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Regional, after beating No. 1 ranked UT Martin in 5 innings in the OVC championship game; With an 11-3 win over Eastern Kentucky Sunday, the baseball team secured a spot in the 2010 OVC baseball tournament.
• Morehead State's Drew Lee broke the career record for doubles and homered, but it wasn't enough as Morehead State dropped game one of Saturday's doubleheader at Murray State 7-5.
• Murray State's Bryan Propst delivered a two-run home run to left field to cap off a four-run seventh inning as the Breds rallied for a 7-5 victory over Morehead State in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Reagan Field. Wes Cunningham had an RBI triple down the right-field line, his sixth of the season tying the single-season record Noonan led the offense with three hits, while Cunningham, Moore, Hodskins and Tiernan each collected two hits each.
• With its win over Austin Peay Sunday, the Southeast Missouri baseball team punched its ticket to the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. This year marks the 16th-straight where the Redhawks have made the OVC Tournament. Jim Klocke tied the school's all-time career RBI record and Kenton Parmley broke the school's single-season record in runs scored in a 10-3 win.
• Tennesee Tech's baseball loss to UT Martin breaks the Golden Eagles 11-game win streak in the Ohio Valley Conference and prevented the fourth straight series sweep for the Golden Eagles, who's domination over EIU, Morehead State and APSU fueled them to second place in the OVC.
• UT Martin's softball team's winningest season in history came to a close much earlier than anticipated when the Skyhawks failed to hear their name called during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show Sunday night. UT Martin finishes the year with a record of 47-11, which is more wins than 60 of the 64 teams in the field. The Skyhawks were upset in the finals of the OVC tournament, losing the championship game 10-1.

Around the Ohio Valley: May 11

Spring sports are winding down for the OVC, as the softball tournament is this weekend and the baseball tournament will be held in two weeks. But there is still plenty to talk about, so here is your Around the Ohio Valley wrap-up for the week.

And as always, don't forget to vote on our poll. Last week we asked you who should be the softball player MVP and these were your results:

Kayla Ashbrook, Morehead State: 6
Megan Williams, UT Martin: 3
Jenny Bain, UT Martin: 1

This week we are asking you who will win the OVC softball tournament? Go vote!

• Austin Peay baseball stands at 22-19, 4-8 in the OVC, two spots out of tournament contention heading into the final games of the season. Here is what they need to do to squeeze into the tournament field.
• Eastern Illinois' Alex Gee’s four home runs and nine RBIs in the weekend series at Jacksonville State has earned the senior Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week honors from Collegiate Baseball.
• Eastern Kentucky junior Noelani Esperas tossed a five inning no-hitter as the Colonel softball team finished off its 2010 season with an 8-0 victory over Austin Peay on Sunday at Gertrude Hood Field. With the win, the Colonels edge the Govs for 7th place in the OVC, but the team just missed the field for the OVC softball tournament.
• The Jacksonville State softball team swept the Ohio Valley Conference’s weekly awards as Chrissy O’Neal and Ashley Eliasson were this week’s Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively as they helped guide their team to a weekend sweep of TSU. The sweep gave them the No. 2 seed at this weekend's OVC championships.
• Morehead State's Kenneth Faried waited until the Mother's Day deadline to announce he will be returning to MSU for his senior season. Others joined the OVC as well.
• The Murray State softball team clinched a spot in the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Championship in its inaugural season with a split of its weekend series with Eastern Illinois; MSU men's golf learned they will be the 12th seed in the Notre Dame Regional of the NCAA golf championships May 20-22.
• Michael Adamson of SEMO baseball has been selected to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list today by the College Baseball Foundation. He is one of 25 players nationally rewarded for players that make a difference at the plate and on the mound. The OVC has the second most players from its conference on the list, as the SEC leads with 4; Sophomore Kenton Parmley has named to the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop Award, which has been narrowed down to the top 25 shortstops in the nation.
• SIUE Track and Field signs three area standouts. Emily Conlon (Ballwin, Mo.), Renee Goodenough (University City, Mo.) and Hilary Conrad (O'Fallon, Ill.) will join the Cougar track and field team next season. Conlon and Goodenough will also compete for the SIUE cross country team.
• Tennessee State University Tigerbelle Martinique Guice will look to strengthen her chances of qualifying for the NCAA East Regional Track and Field Championship when she competes in the Georgia Tech Invitational. Guice is currently ranked 41st in the East region in the long jump with the top 48 in each event qualifying automatically for the regional meet later this month.
• The Tennessee Tech baseball team extended its Ohio Valley Conference winning streak to nine games Sunday, completing a three-game series sweep over Austin Peay with a 10-2 victory in Bush Stadium. The win put the Golden Eagles at second place in the OVC; the Golden Eagles softball team lost its final game of the season to SEMO, but two wins in the series the day before secured Tech a spot in the OVC softball championships. The team earned the sixth and final spot.
• UT Martin junior first baseman Wes Patterson connected on his 33rd career home run to become the all-time Martin home run leader today; the 2010 OVC softball tournament field is set, as UT Martin prepares to host the championships this weekend. The team has the No. 1 overall seed, and has a first round bye.

Have a story we missed? Comment and tell us, and we will post it!

Around the Ohio Valley: May 7

Here is your weekly rundown of headlines from around the Ohio Valley. We've got lots about softball. With the championships coming up next weekend, don't forget to vote on our poll for who you think is this year's MVP.

Got a story we missed? Send it to us, and we'll post it!

• APSU's Carrie Burggraf was awarded one of just 174 Postgraduate Scholarships awarded by the NCAA. The senior Pole Vaulter is one of the most decorated athletes at Austin Peay; Designated Hitter Matt Kole was named CoSida Academic All-District First Team; Catie Cozart, sophomore shortstop was named to the CoSida Academic All-District Second Team.
  
• EIU Panthers men's and women's track team head to Billy Hayes Invitational at Indiana University this weekend to try to improve upon times this season before the regional meet in two weeks; EIU baseball travels to Jacksonville State for the first time since 2007 for its final OVC matchup. The team is currently in 6th place, while JSU is in 3rd.
• Eastern Kentucky softball will matchup with Austin Peay this weekend, as the two teams battle for one of two spots remaining in the OVC tournament. The Lady Govs (15-33, 7-12 OVC) are a half-game in front of Eastern in the seventh spot. The Colonels (13-33, 7-13 OVC) are currently in eighth place. EKU will need help from other teams in order to get in.
• JSU's Todd Cunningham tied the Ohio Valley Conference career triples record with 16 earlier in the game and finished with three hits to lead the Gamecocks in a 13-11 loss to Troy. The Gamecocks had a 9-5 lead but the Trojans rallied with four runs in the seventh inning to beat the third place OVC team.
• Coach Donnie Tyndall and the rest of Eagle Nation at Morehead State is anxiously awaiting the decision of Kenneth Faried, who has until May 8 to either turn professional and enter the NBA draft or use his final year of eligibility at MSU. As Faried was a big reason the team made it to the OVC championship game, the decision is a major one for the program.
• Murray Senior Wes Cunningham has been named to the CoSida Academic All-District First Team for the third straight year; The Murray women's golf team is competing in its second round of the NCAA regional in Columbus, Ind. Murray shot a 336 in round one for a spot in 22nd place.
• Southeast Missouri baseball (27-17) will dip out of conference this weekend for a three-game series against Big 12 foe Nebraska (20-24). This weekend marks the first time these two teams have met. SEMO is currently in first place in the OVC; Seniors Jim Klocke and Kyle Gumieny were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Baseball Team Thursday.
• SIU Carbondale swept the SIUe Cougars baseball team, to extend its nine-game losing streak. SIUE scored twice in the top of the fifth inning to get back on top 5-4, but couldn't hold the lead. The teams travels to Bradley for a double header Saturday.
• The Tennessee State softball team will conclude the 2010 regular season on the road at Jacksonville State this weekend. The Tigers' final home games of the season scheduled for this past weekend were cancelled due to the weather conditions in the Nashville area.
• Tennessee Tech softball needs at least two wins this weekend to guarantee themselves a spot in the OVC tournament. The Golden Eagles currently sit in the sixth and final spot, Murray State is in the fifth seed, half a game ahead of Tech. The Golden Eagles are 1.5 games ahead of seventh place Austin Peay and two games ahead of eighth-place Eastern Kentucky.
• UT Martin women's basketball coach Kevin McMillan will take his young Skyhawks, which will include 10 freshman next year, on a summer foreign tour to Ottawa, Canada with the hopes of building team chemistry. With the "youngest team" in the league last year, McMillan was able to guide his team to the NCAA tournament. Coach will face a similar test next season.
  

OVC Insider - Episode 12 Now Available

The webisode companion to our blog, fans can now watch episode No. 12 of "OVC Insider" to catch-up on the latest news and information from around the league.

Below is the 12th episode hosted by OVC interns Grant Finley and Viki Arias.

Please let us know what you think and if you have any topics you would like to see covered in a future episode.

Around the Ohio Valley: May 4

It's a new month, and we wanted to start out with some headlines from around the league to get you started.

• The Austin Peay Lady Gov's tennis team will celebrate its OVC Championship and learn of its NCAA parings today, after beating Eastern Kentucky in the OVC Tennis Championships last week. APSU has The OVC Player of the Year (Vanja Tomic) and Freshman of the Year (Carolin Weikard) on its team.
• The EIU Panthers had a great showing at the track and field championships over the weekend as both men and women swept the titles. Zye Boey won male athlete of the championship, Kandace Arnold won female athlete of the championship.
• The Eastern Kentucky Colonels men's and women's track and field teams finished in third place at the OVC Track and Field Championships. EKU softball and baseball matchups this weekend were rained out. The Colonels won eight individual titles at the meet.
• JSU's Elizabeth Bond won OVC Freshman Track and Field Athlete of the Year. The freshman qualified for the USA Track and Field Junior National Championships in the 400 meter for her performance at the Ole Miss Invite.
• Morehead State signed high school basketball standout Dionte Ferguson to a National Letter of Intent. The Eagles also signed Brianna Athey, Jami Whitcomb, and Kelcey McMurray to its softball program. Softball and baseball matchups were also rained out over the weekend.
• Senior Wes Cunningham set a new single-season home run record at Murray belting his 17th homerun in a 13-9 victory over SEMO over the weekend. Last week, both the Murray men and women won the OVC Golf Championships, becoming only the second school that has ever won both titles in the same year. The women have been named to the NCAA Central Region while the men have yet to find out.
• SEMO track and field teams finished in second place at the OVC Track and Field Championships. Individually the Redhawks captured four individual titles and 15 top-three finishes on Saturday.
• Despite rainy conditions, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville freshman Kaleb Henry qualified for his second event at U.S. Junior Nationals.
• TSU Tigerbells had strong showings in field events at the OVC Track and Field Championships over the weekend. Martinique Guice returned as long jump champion.
• Tennessee Tech's Charles Newton travel to East Asia at the end of the Spring semester to participate in Reach USA- a christian ministry that bridges the gap between basketball and belief.
• Senior pitcher for UT Martin Paij Lintz became the program's all-time strikeouts leader in a 2-0 shutout win over Southeast Missouri that additionally clinched the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title.

Murray State to Participate in 76 Classic

ESPN has announced the Murray State men's basketball team will participate in next season's 76 Classic, an eight-team tournament to be played Thanksgiving weekend in Anaheim, Calif.

From the ESPN release ... "ESPN Regional Television has finalized the complete eight-team field for the fourth annual 76 Classic, to be held on Thanksgiving weekend at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center adjacent to Disneyland. The 2010 76 Classic field includes five teams that played in the 2009-10 postseason: Cal State Northridge, DePaul, Murray State (NCAA Tournament), Oklahoma State (NCAA), Stanford, Tulsa (NIT), UNLV (NCAA) and Virginia Tech (NIT).

The 76 Classic features four games each day through three days, Nov. 25, 26 and 28. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. The two teams that remain undefeated will face off in the championship game Sunday, Nov. 28."

Around the Ohio Valley: April 26

A list of stories from OVC schools for the week of April 26:

• APSU's junior Chelsea Harris won the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference women's golf individual championship after rain washed out the final nine holes of the tournament. She was also named tournament MVP, as well as OVC Player of the Year.
• EIU offensive tackle Otis Hudson was selected with the 21st pick of the fifth round of the NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He was the first Panther selected in 11 years.
• EKU men look for third OVC golf championship in the last five years; have won 11 total, most of any OVC school.
• Jacksonville State’s Ryan Perrilloux and Torrey Davis have both signed free-agent contracts to play professional football; Women's golf team scores single day lowest score in OVC history during the second round Friday en route to a second-place finish.
• Morehead State Eagle football looks for next defensive leaders.
• Murray State women's golf won the OVC championship this weekend for the eighth time in school history; defensive end Austen Lane was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. That makes Lane the highest drafted player in Racer history.
• SEMO baseball (25-14, 10-4) swept Jacksonville State (20-18, 8-6) over the weekend to take over sole possession of the OVC standings.
• SIUe's Erika Taylor matched her career high with 13 strikeouts in the Cougars 5-1 win over Rhode Island.
  
• TSU's softball team scored three runs in the seventh inning to move past Tennessee Tech, 4-3, and pick up a crucial Ohio Valley Conference win Sunday afternoon at Tiger Field.
• Five home runs by Tennessee Tech baseball leads to a 5-3, 12-4 sweep Sunday afternoon over Morehead State, giving the Golden Eagles a tie for third in OVC standings.
• UT Martin softball hit five home runs in last weekend's double header vs. TSU, giving it 56 on the year and breaking the previous program record of 55 set just last year; Roren Thomas, a former UT Martin wide receiver, signed a free agent NFL contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars at the end of Saturday's 2010 NFL Draft.

OVC Insider - Episode 11 Now Available

The webisode companion to our blog, fans can now watch episode No. 11 of "OVC Insider" to catch-up on the latest news and information from around the league.

Below is the 11th episode hosted by OVC interns Grant Finley and Viki Arias.

Please let us know what you think and if you have any topics you would like to see covered in a future episode.

Baseball Players Who Are Making Their Mark

We love it when OVC players are able to stand out among all other Division I athletes, and last week several baseball players gave us something to talk about. Here are some news and notes about a few players that are hot right now in the OVC and players you should make sure to keep an eye on during the remainder of the season and postseason.

First off we'd like to congratulate Jacksonville State's Bert Smith, who last weekend set the conference record for career hits and at-bats. On April 17, the senior second baseman set the record for hits registering his 288th mark against Austin Peay and breaking the previous record of 287 held by Jeremy Johnson (Southeast Missouri, 1997-2000). Smith now has 289 career hits.

On April 7 against No. 19 Alabama, Smith became the OVC’s all-time leader in at-bats, passing the mark of 831 career at-bats previously held by Middle Tennessee’s Clay Snellgrove (1994-97). Smith now has 864 career at-bats. Smith has now played in 212 career games, just 12 away from equaling the OVC career mark of 224 held by MTSU’s Snellgrove (1994-97).

Morehead State's Drew Lee is certainly one player to keep an eye on, as he was named Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week on Monday. Lee has 181 career RBI and is moving in on the OVC record of 208 (and has stood since the 1981 season). Lee is currently sixth in the nation in hits with 68 this season. He is also 20th in home runs per game at .38, sixth in RBIs per game with 1.56 a contest, 27th in slugging percentage, third in total bases with 128.
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)­ released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 18 and Lee was named National Hitter of the Week.

Lee hit .550 (11-for-20) with 12 runs scored, three doubles, five home runs, 14 RBIs, two stolen bases and a 1.450 slugging percentage in four Morehead State victories last week. Lee started a weekend sweep of OVC foe Eastern Kentucky by homering three times in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. He drove in two more runs in the second game of the twin bill, bringing Saturday's RBI total to six. Lee concluded the week by adding another homer and driving in five additional runs. During the week Lee broke the Morehead State career RBI record and now has 181 for his career (27 away from the all-time OVC mark).

TTU's A.J. Kirby-Jones has 18 home runs, which leads all of Division I and is hitting .49 home runs a game, also leading the nation. He also has the nation's best slugging percentage at .899, is fifth in OPB at .561 and is third in hits with 69.

Not hitting related but still some other honors for OVC players: EKU’s junior closer Ryne Purcell is one of 45 players named to the NCBWA’s Stopper of the Year Award Watch List. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in college baseball. Purcell has an OVC-best eight saves this season, which is currently ninth in the country. At the conclusion of the regular season, the Division I national saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as finalists and released Wednesday, June 2, prior to start of NCAA regional tournament competition. The NCBWA's All-America Committee then will select the winner, with this year's recipient to be announced on the opening day of the College World Series on June 19.

Southeast Missouri State senior catcher Jim Klocke is 1 of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS award. Klocke, who leads the Redhawks in RBI this season, has been a major reason why the Redhawks have the hottest bats in the Ohio Valley Conference and rank fifth nationally in batting average and sixth in hits.

The award, which stands for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," focuses on the complete student-athlete on and off the field. Each candidate was chosen based on four criteria: classroom, character, community, and competition.

Also, make sure you vote on our poll to the left on who you think is the best hitter in the OVC. Plenty of good candidates! Comment and tell us why you think the player you voted for is the best.

This Weekend's NFL Draft Could Bring Pro Possibilities to OVC Players

Several OVC football players will look to realize their dreams of playing professional football this weekend when the National Football League (NFL) conducts its annual draft. There are some changes to the draft format this year, as the draft is a three-day event spanning Thursday through Saturday (instead of just Saturday and Sunday).

The first round will be held Thursday night (April 22, 7:30 pm ET) with Rounds 2-3 being conducted at 6 p.m. ET on Friday night. The final four rounds will be held on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. ET.

All the action can be seen on ESPN.

That brings us to the question of what the draft brings for Ohio Valley Conference players who have now finished their careers. Last season the OVC had 14 players on NFL rosters, including former Tennessee State running back Javarris Williams, who was the lone OVC player to be drafted last season (7th round by the Kansas City Chiefs).

Since the league formed in 1948, 137 total players have been selected in the Draft, with four players being taken in the first round (lastly Tennessee State's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in 2008). In 1973 an all-time high seven OVC players were selected, including EKU's Wally Chambers, who was the No. 8 overall by the Chicago Bears.

So who will be picked from the OVC this year? Let's take a look at a few of the top candidates who have the best chance of hearing their name called this year.

Austen Lane, DL - Murray State

Lane was the 2009 OVC Defensive Player of the Year after ranking among the national leaders in sacks (11.0) and tackles-for-loss (19.5) and earning multiple All-American honors. A 6'6, 274-pound physical specimen, he still has room to grow.

NFL.com's Gil Brandt said of Lane ... "At the Racers' pro day, he was 6-foot-6 1/8, 274 pounds, but his frame indicates he could very easily go up to 295 pounds and remain effective. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.89 and 4.98 seconds, had a 4.44-second short shuttle and did 20 bench-press repetitions at 225 pounds. He stood on his vertical jump and broad jump from last month's NFL Scouting Combine. In total, six players worked out outdoors on FieldTurf for 10 team representatives."

Look for Lane's name to be called before the end of round four.

Check out this story on Austen from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Lane is a Wisconsin native).

Ryan Perrilloux, QB - Jacksonville State
Perrilloux took home OVC Offensive Player of the Year honors after leading the Gamecocks to the best record in the league. He passed for 2,350 yards and 23 touchdowns (and only two interceptions) while rushing for eight additional scores during the year. With a cannon for an arm, Perrilloux has all the physical tools to be a success. After getting into some trouble and transferring from LSU, the Louisiana native (who was considered the top high school player in the country) put trouble behind him in his last two years with Jax State.

For more on Ryan, take a look at this article by Cecil Lammey (DraftGuys.com) from the New York Times NFL Blog.

Derek Hardman, OL - Eastern Kentucky
Hardman started 46 consecutive games on the offensive line for the Colonels and was selected to the All-OVC team twice. He made the switch from right tackle to left tackle before the start of the 2008 season. As a senior in 2009, Hardman earned first-team Associated Press All-American honors after grading out at over 80 percent for the season.

Anthony Blake of Blitz Nation recently wrote this article on Hardman calling him an under the radar player.

Chris Campbell, OL - Eastern Illinois
Campbell (6'6, 328 pounds) was a second-team All-OVC selection this past season at offensive tackle. After a solid year he started gaining looks when he was selected to play in the Texas vs. the Nation All-Star game in El Paso, Texas in February.

Tony Pauline of TFYDraft.com wrote that "Campbell could be the best kept secret in this year's draft." According to reports the Lions and Seahawks have all shown interest in Campbell.

There are some other names to look out for, rather they get drafted or sign free agent contracts, including Tennessee State's Anthony Levine, Austin Peay's Daniel Becker, Eastern Illinois' Otis Hudson and UT Martin's Mike Hicks to name a few.

The OVC and the Harlem Globetrotters

Last Wednesday the Washington Generals, (ya know, that team that always loses to the Harlem Globetrotters?) signed Willie Veasley, Avery Jukes and Nick Rodgers, three members of the Butler Bulldogs, to one-day contracts to play with them as the Generals and Globetrotters faced off at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Generals were hoping to turn around their losing ways by enlisting some players that have experience being successful as underdogs.

The three played about five minutes each and made one shot and two free throws combined as the Generals would go on to lose the game 71-50.

As many players on the Globetrotters once played in college, ESPN.com's Page 2 column compiled a list of schools that have produced the most of these basketball standouts.

And a little bit of OVC trivia for you, the school with the most is Tennessee State with 13.

The complete list:

School: Number of Globetrotters players produced

Tennessee State: 14

Wendell Phillips Academy High School (Illinois): 13

Houston: 11

Michigan State: 8

Temple: 7

Langston (Oklahoma), Fresno State, Florida A&M, Cal State Bakersfield, Savannah State: 6

Detroit Mercy, Arizona State, Arizona, UCLA, Arkansas: 5

North Carolina State, Cincinnati, LSU, Jackson State, Villanova, Long Beach State, Wilberforce, Wayne State (Michigan), Pepperdine, Indiana, Kansas, Grambling, Miller High School (Michigan), Memphis, Texas-El Paso: 4

Pittsburgh, Philander Smith, Louisiana-Lafayette, Illinois, Woodward High School (Ohio), Texas Southern, Kentucky Wesleyan, Southern, Minnesota, Iowa, Cass Tech High School (Michigan), Virginia Union, West Virginia, UNLV, DePaul, New Mexico State, Providence, Bradley, Nebraska, California, Seton Hall, San Diego State, Cal State Fullerton, Virginia State, San Jose State, Louisville, Mississippi State, Niagara: 3

Oklahoma State, Miami (Ohio), Kentucky, Sam Houston State, Washington, Washington State, Ohio State, Kentucky State, East Tennessee State, Long Island, Farragut High School (Illinois), Illinois-Chicago, Texas A&M, Texas, Lemoyne-Owen College (Tennessee), Crispus Attucks High School (Indiana), Portland, Tennessee, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Austin Peay, Winston-Salem State, Missouri, Miami, Oklahoma City, Maryland, New Orleans, Murray State, Lincoln (Missouri), Mississippi, Texas-San Antonio, Auburn, Lamar, Colorado State, Northern High School (Michigan), McNeese State, South Carolina State, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Colorado, Xavier (Louisiana), Indian Hills JC (Iowa), Texas-Pan American, Azusa Pacific, Drake, Georgia Perimeter College, Clark (Georgia), Duquesne, Cal State Northridge, Scott High School (Ohio), Oregon, Huston-Tillotson, North Carolina Central, North Carolina, Cleveland Central High School (Ohio), Illinois State, Libby High School (Ohio), Loyola (Illinois), Western Kentucky, George Washington: 2

Around the Ohio Valley

Due to the OVC Tennis Championships taking place this weekend, we weren't able to film this week's episode of OVC Insider. However, we want to introduce a new feature we will bring you each week called "Around the Ohio Valley," where we share the latest happenings from each of our schools. So, here are some stories to tie you over until next week's episode!

• Austin Peay men's basketball signs JuCo standout Josh Terry, National Junior College Athletic Association all-tournament team.
• EIU junior pitcher Amber May earned a complete game shutout and helped her team sweep SEMO Wednesday to improve the Panther's record to 10-4 in conference.
  
• Eastern Kentucky rolled to a 10-0 rout in a sweep over Marshall to bring its second place conference record to 18-15.
• Jacksonville State's women's tennis team won the regular season OVC championship with a win over Morehead State over the weekend, and head into this weekend's tennis championships with a No. 1 seed.
• Morehead State's women's golf team won the EKU Lady Colonels Classic, beating 4 other OVC teams. Two of their players finished in the top 5 of the event.
• The Murray State football team hosts the Blue and Gold Bowl tonight as an ending to the team's spring practices.
• SEMO catcher Jim Klocke is one of the 10 national finalists for the LOWE'S Senior CLASS Award.
• SIUe baseball pounded 17 hits and took advantage of 6 Saint Louis errors to defeat the Billikens 17-10.
• TSU's men's and women's track and field teams posted top finishes at their only home meet of the season, the Boston-Moon Classic.
• With a 6-1 conference record, Tennessee Tech heads into this weekend's OVC Tennis Championships with a No. 2 seed.
• UT Martin softball used a 6-run second inning to secure an 8-0 win over Murray, to keep its conference record at 11-3 and its standing in first place.
  
  

OVC Insider - Episode 10 Now Available

The webisode companion to our blog, fans can now watch episode No. 10 of "OVC Insider" to catch-up on the latest news and information from around the league.

Below is the 10th episode hosted by OVC interns Grant Finley and Viki Arias.

Please let us know what you think and if you have any topics you would like to see covered in a future episode.

Behind the March to Music City Madness

Allow me to start this post by apologizing for the delay in getting this "behind the behind the scenes" post out to the masses. One of the things I have learned while interning with the OVC is that even when an event as large as our basketball tournament comes to an end and I think I'm finally going to have a little down time to get caught up on tasks for other sports, I still am left with hardly enough time to complete everything and new tasks pop up frequently. That being said, the time has come to dive into our behind the scenes look at the 2010 OVC Basketball Championship.


Kyle came to me with the idea of a behind the scenes look at our basketball tournament over the summer when we first toured Pringles Park for our upcoming baseball championship. I loved the idea and was anxious to get started even though it was still months away. While I was rich in motivation to film a quality documentary, I was lacking in equpiment. We have a mini DV camera which works well by all accounts for the amount we use it but since I tend to think big when it comes to the ideas I have for our videos, I was worried the documentary wouldn't turn out well enough or capture everything to its full extent and while I am pleased with how it turned out, there are definitely things that did not make the final cut that I will discuss in this piece.


A professional film crew would be ideal...and expensive, so it was never really an option. I'm not really into reality tv myself, but I do think following an event like this would make great entertainment.


There were instances throughout the tournament that would have been worthy of making the final cut but we just didn't have the man power to pull it off. For instance, during a friday shoot around session, the power in the arena failed. Evidently, the construction crew working next door cut the power without telling anyone, or maybe they weren't told that we were hosting a tournament there that weekend... Regardless, those practicing were not happy, those of us hosting the event were not happy, and the least happy of all of us was probably Kyle, who now had to deal with power issues all morning. The power at the scorer's table was not re-established until 5 minutes or so before the first tip. I wanted to get footage of Kyle and what he was going through because these are the dramatic things that make for good entertainment but I'm also smart enough to know that I wouldn't be welcome if I was shoving a camera in his face while he was understandably busy.


We toured the facility when it was still the Sommet Center to map out where we would set up our hospitality room, training room, interview room, etc and while there we were told that in a move to increase branding efforts of the venue, any entity using their basketball court would no longer be able to cover the logo at mid-court. We were also told that the floor would at least be half way set up when we arrived at 3am Friday morning. Not only was the floor not assembled until literally only minutes before UTM, the first scheduled shoot around, began their practice but it was lacking our biggest branding opportunity at half court. Due to tardiness of the floor, we weren't able to set up the scorer's and media tables until the first game warm ups were underway. Also another worthy segment that we didn't have footage of. Also, there was a little tournament the following week at the same arena hosted by the SEC in which they did, in fact, have a logo at half court...interesting.


I was in charge of the our Youth Media Challenge and as I was seeing to that portion of our tournament, I was faced with a sticky situation that would have been good entertainment as well, but we were not able to get footage of that either. Also, since the program sellers were under my direction, I had to see to them periodically which kept me from my filming duties as well. The Friday segment of the video is missing a few key components to the weekend for sure but it what was in the video, does capture the majority of what friday was like.


Saturday morning we met as a staff at 11:00am, which was another thing I would have liked to have on film, but we weren't able to capture that as well. It was interesting, as most meetings are (at least to a intercollegiate conference sport junkie like me) but again, some things are better left in house. It was determined at our meeting that the only problems we had encountered were the floor assembly and power outage and its domino effect.


The rest of Saturday ran very smoothly which made for a very exciting championship day. My Youth Media portion of the tournament had ended and I spent my Saturday behind the camera.

In all, the tournament was a rousing success. Maybe next year we can spring for a film crew that will follow each of us around so we can truly capture ALL that goes on behind the scenes of our tournament. Plus we'll be at a new venue for a longer time frame, which will surely bring new challenges that will be well worth watching.


P.S. we are now accepting donations for a film crew...

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Men's Basketball Final Four

As everyone knows the Division I Men's Basketball Final Four was held in Indianapolis this past weekend. The event is the culmination of "March Madness" as the 65-team men's field is ultimately whittled down to one national champion. This year featured an exciting title game that came down to a last-second half court shot.



What you may not know is all the other stuff that goes on behind-the-scenes. The Final Four is more than just a basketball game. For example, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) has its national convention in the host city each year and nearly every basketball coach in the country (at all divisions) comes to network, participate in meetings and look for jobs.

You will also find organizations that host awards ceremonies to give away National Player and Coach of the Year awards like the Naismith, USBWA and Rupp Awards. So seeing Ohio State's Evan Turner, Kentucky's John Wall or Syracuse's John Boeheim (some of this year's award winners) - even though they were not participating in the Final Four with their teams - is definitely not out of the ordinary.

With representatives from every conference in town, ESPN holds meetings with leagues to talk about television deals and games that will be broadcast for the upcoming year. Conferences also hold meetings with their administrators and/or basketball coaches, and different groups (like league commissioners) get together to share ideas and go through agenda items.

With so many people in one downtown location, you are bound to bump into some celebrities too, whether it be former players like Magic Johnson, or media "celebrities" like Dick Vitale, Stephen A. Smith, Jim Nantz or CBS College Sports announcer Wally Szczerbiak (pictured).




As a conference media relations director, I was credentialed and helped out with the media operations for the event, including credential distribution as well as numerous activities related to the games. More specifically I helped with player participant seating on Saturday and on Monday I was a band liaison for the post game awards celebration.



It takes a lot of people to run a championship event as big as the Final Four, so being a small part of that is a fulfilling thing, especially since I will need lots of help in 2014 when the Ohio Valley Conference hosts the Division I Women's Final Four in Nashville.



So what were some of the highlights of the weekend? Getting to work and share ideas with fellow conference administrators is always great, as is the chance to talk to a lot of national media members face-to-face, something I rarely get to do during the year. I also got to meet Butler Blue II (right), the real-life Butler University bulldog mascot; what a handsome fellow Blue is and very well-behaved too. Butler Blue II is a busy boy as he has his own Twitter, Blog and Webcam. If you have some time, I suggest you check them out.

Also did you know the Final Four was shot and broadcast (in select movie theaters) in 3-D this year? 3-D seems to be the "next big thing" as it is already in most movies theaters and now TV shows and sports are trying to broadcast things in the technology.

Pictured to the left is one of the 3-D camera used to record the Final Four this year. This camera was behind the basket and weights nearly 75 pounds. It was quite impressive to see in person.


Finally below are just some of the other photos I was able to capture. They were taken with my BlackBerry, so they are high-resolution, but hopefully they give you an idea of some of the things that went on at Lucas Oil Stadium.


A view from the floor (in an empty Lucas Oil) prior to Monday's Championship Game. This was right before the trophy presentation practice. Although it is small, that is former OVC Sr. Associate Commissioner Ron English, who is now the NCAA's Director of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

This is a view from the media overflow seats on Saturday night. This was the first row of permanent seating behind the Duke student section. Notice the huge CBS camera on a crane. These were actually pretty good seats.

Three former OVC players open season on MLB Rosters

Shawn Kelley/Austin Peay/Seattle Mariners -

2007 OVC Pitcher of the Year Shawn Kelley graduated from Austin Peay in 2007 and was drafted in the 13th round of the MLB draft. Beginning in 2009 he was placed on the Mariners 25-man roster after spending the past two seasons in the Mariners' minor league system. He made only 61 appearances in the minors before being promoted. He made his major league debut on April 10, 2009, pitching the 7th inning against the Oakland Athletics, striking out two.


Jon Rauch/Morehead State/Minnesota Twins -

Jon Rauch was drafted in the third round of the 1999 amateur draft by the Chicago White Sox. At 6' 11" he is the tallest player in the history of the major leagues. In 2002, he made his MLB debut for the Sox. He moved in and out of the majors and minors for the next few years and was traded to the Montreal Expos in 2004. In 2006 had his best season posting a 4-5 record, a 3.35 ERA, and appearing in 85 games, second most in the NL. In 2007 Rauch led the Major Leagues in appearances with 88. He finished the year with a 8-4 record, four saves, and a 3.61 ERA.

In 2008 he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks and on August 29, 2009 he was traded to the Minnesota Twins. After Twins closer Joe Nathan was injured to begin the current season, Rauch was named the team's closer. He earned his first save with the Twins on April 6 striking out two in the ninth.

George Sherrill/Austin Peay/Los Angeles Dodgers -

George Sherrill graduated Austin Peay in 2000 was not drafted out of college. He played in Independent leagues from 1999-2003 in Evansville, Winnepeg and Souix Falls among others. In 2003 he was finally given a chance by the Seattle Mariners who signed him to a minor league deal. Sherrill made his MLB debut on July 16, 2004, against the Cleveland Indians and joined the Mariners active roster in 2006. In 2008 he was traded to the Orioles to pitch in the closing role. That year he earned a spot on the American League All-Star team where he pitched an inning in the game and struck out two.

On July 30, 2009 he was traded to the Dodgers and named the team's closer. He appeared in 30 games for the Dodgers, finishing with an 0.65 ERA and 22 strikeouts.