LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Mike Riley has a five-year contract at Nebraska paying him $2.7 million a year.
The terms were announced Friday before Riley was introduced at a news conference at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska hired the 61-year-old Riley away from Oregon State on Thursday.
Riley will receive automatic $100,000 increases in each of the five years of a contract that runs through Feb. 28, 2020. Riley had been the lowest-paid coach in the Pac-12, making a reported $1.5 million this year.
Former Nebraska coach Bo Pelini was paid $3.1 million this year.
Riley was 93-80, with wins in six of eight bowl games during two stints totaling 14 years at Oregon State. The Beavers were 5-7 this season.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — The Big Ten has informed its schools that one of its bowl-eligible teams could be left out of the postseason.
Illinois sports information director Kent Brown says the school received a memo from the league office notifying it of the potential bowl shortage. The league has 10 eligible teams.
ESPN first reported Thursday an email was sent from a Big Ten official to conference members on Wednesday.
Illinois (6-6, 3-5 Big Ten), which became bowl eligible Saturday by beating Northwestern, is one of the teams most likely to get left out. Penn State is also 6-6 and bowl eligible for the first time in three years after NCAA sanctions. Conference newcomers Rutgers and Maryland each finished 7-5.
Conference officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators from both parties are urging the National Football League to get rid of a rule that bars home games from being televised in a local market if they have not sold out.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal and John McCain say the NFL’s “blackout” rule is unfair to fans who have helped the league reap billions of dollars in revenue from broadcast rights to games that are among the most-watched programs on TV.
The Federal Communications Commission voted this fall to stop enforcing the NFL’s blackout policy, but the action did not end blackouts, which are written into the NFL’s private contracts with broadcast and cable companies.
Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, and McCain, an Arizona Republican, warned that if the league does not repeal the rule, Congress may step in.
Lincoln, NE—The University of Nebraska has hired Mike Riley as its new Head Football Coach, Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst announced today. Riley will be formally introduced at a news conference on Friday, December 5th at 9:00 a.m. in the West Memorial Stadium – 3rd Floor Club.
Riley comes to Nebraska after 14 seasons as the head coach at Oregon State University, spanning two different tenures in Corvallis. Riley has led OSU to 93 wins and a 6-2 record in postseason bowl games. In addition to his time at Oregon State, Riley has served as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, with whom he won two Grey Cup Championships, and the San Antonio Riders in the World Football League. He has served as an assistant coach at California, USC, Linfield College, Whitworth and Northern Colorado as well as with the New Orleans Saints and in the Canadian Football League.
Riley is a native of Idaho and a graduate of the University of Alabama, where he played for Paul “Bear” Bryant and won three SEC titles and one National Championship.
Mike and his wife, Dee, have two children, Matthew and Kate, and one grandchild, Eli.
Mike will assume his duties immediately but will not coach the Huskers in the upcoming bowl game as Interim Head Coach Barney Cotton will coach the team through the bowl.
Statement from Chancellor Harvey Perlman
“We have high expectations of the men and women who teach and coach our students and Mike Riley is an outstanding addition to our family. I want to welcome Mike and his family to Nebraska and thank Shawn Eichorst for his great efforts in bringing Mike to Lincoln.”
Statement from Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst:
“There was one coach who fit all the characteristics that I was seeking to lead our tradition rich football program. Mike Riley has a proven record of success, a sound approach to football and teaching, an understanding of the educational mission of our university and the integrity and values that we cherish at Nebraska. I have no doubt that Mike will assemble a tremendous staff and lead our student-athletes to win Big Ten titles and compete for national championships in the years ahead.”
Statement from Mike Riley:
“It is truly an honor to join the University of Nebraska family. Though we love Corvallis and Oregon State, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to coach at one of the nation’s most storied football programs and I can’t wait to get started. My sincere thanks to Chancellor Perlman and Shawn Eichorst for their confidence in me and I look forward to becoming a part of the Nebraska family and building upon the great history and tradition.”
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A high school staffer who let fired Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini use the Lincoln school’s auditorium to meet with his former players will be billed $262.50.
The unnamed staffer is acquainted with Pelini and let him and the players gather Tuesday night at Lincoln North Star High School. Pelini was fired Sunday, and several of his players have since declared their support for the fiery coach and their disappointment at the decision to dismiss him. His replacement has not been named yet.
School district spokeswoman Mary Kay Roth says the staffer didn’t go through the appropriate channels and didn’t inform his principal.
The bill for the four hours of use covers custodial and utilities cost of keeping the room open.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Fired head coach Bo Pelini has held one last meeting with his former players at Nebraska.
They met off the university campus, gathering Tuesday night in the auditorium of a local high school.
Pelini was fired Sunday after finishing the season 9-3. His Huskers never won a conference championship and his teams lost four games in every season he completed. Pelini’s successor hasn’t yet been named.
After the meeting, several players expressed gratitude to their fiery coach and wished him well. Pelini has not said publicly what his future plans are.
Miami Lakes, Fla. (www.orangebowl.org) – The Orange Bowl will induct Andre Cooper, Tucker Frederickson, and Ahman Green into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame presented by Deloitte. The induction will take place at the AvMed Orange Bowl Coaches Luncheon at Jungle Island in Miami on December 30, 2014. Cooper is the eighth Florida State Seminole to be inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame presented by Deloitte. Frederickson will be the first Auburn Tiger to receive the honor. Green is the thirteenth honoree from the University of Nebraska, the most of any other school.
Andre Coopercame to Florida State as a two sport athlete – football and basketball – but is remembered for having one of the greatest single season performances in school history and a setting an Orange Bowl record in one of the Classic’s most thrilling matchups. In 1995-96, Cooper set the Florida State record for most receiving touchdowns in a season with 15, a mark that he solely held until 2013-14, when it was equaled by Kelvin Benjamin. In the 31-26 1996 Orange Bowl win over Notre Dame, Cooper caught three touchdown passes including a three yard score in with six minutes left that pulled FSU ahead for good and earned him Most Outstanding Player honors. After leaving Florida State, Cooper spent time in the NFL as a member of the Denver Broncos.
Tucker Fredericksonis a native of Hollywood, Florida and graduate of South Broward H.S. He went to Auburn and became an outstanding two-way player for the Tigers. In 1964 he was named All-American, was the runner-up in the Heisman Race and won the Jacobs Trophy as outstanding blocker in the SEC. Coach Shug Jordan called him “the most complete football player I’ve ever seen.” He was the first player selected in the 1965 NFL Draft, by the New York Giants, and played until 1971 when a knee injury forced his retirement. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994. Tucker played on both offense and defense on Auburn’s 1964 Orange Bowl team against Nebraska.
Ahman Green was a focal point in the dominating and high scoring Nebraska Cornhusker offenses of the mid 1990’s. Green led a ground game that helped the Huskers capture back to back Orange Bowl wins including a national championship title victory over Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl. In that game, Green set the Orange Bowl single game rushing record with 206 yards on 29 carries and two scores. He ranks second in most rushing yards in a single season (1,877) and all-time at Nebraska (3,880). Green left school following his junior season and was drafted in the third round by the Seattle Seahawks in 1998. When he was traded to the Green Bay Packers in 2000 his professional career took off. In eight seasons with the Packers, he became the team’s all-time leading rusher (8,322 yards), all-time leader in yards from scrimmage (11,048), 1,000-yard seasons (six), 100-yard games (33) and rushing attempts (1,851). The four-time Pro Bowler also set the Packer’s single season record in rushing yards (1,883).
In addition to the induction on Dec. 30, the new Hall of Fame members will be introduced to the crowd pre-game at the 2014 Capital One Orange Bowl. The 81st edition of the game will be played on December 31 at Sun Life Stadium in South Florida, is part of the New Year’s Six Bowls and pits the ACC Champion (or highest ranking ACC team if the champion goes to the College Football Playoff) against the highest ranked available non-champion from the Big Ten, SEC, or Notre Dame. Applications are currently being accepted online for media credentials for the 2014 Capital One Orange Bowl. Accredited media can access the application by logging on www.orangebowl.org/pressbox. For additional information about the Orange Bowl Committee or the 2014 Capital One Orange Bowl, please visit www.orangebowl.org or email[email protected].
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon is the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.
Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa took top honors on the defensive side while Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett was selected Freshman of the Year. Minnesota’s Jerry Kill was honored as Coach of the Year by both the conference coaches and media on Tuesday.
Gordon leads the nation with a Big Ten and school-record 2,260 yards rushing and is a big reason why the Badgers will meet Ohio State in the conference championship game.
He also held the FBS single-game record for one week, running for 408 yards against Nebraska last month before Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine put up 427 against Kansas.
TCU moved up to No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, becoming the latest team to jump past undefeated Florida State.
The Seminoles are fourth, still in position to reach the playoff if it can win Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against Georgia Tech.
Alabama is No. 1 and Oregon is No. 2 for the third straight week.
Ohio State is fifth and Baylor, which beat TCU earlier in the season, is sixth.
Boise State is the highest ranked — and only ranked — team from outside the Big Five conferences, which puts the Broncos (10-2) in position to receive a bid to one of the four New Year’s Day bowls.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have signed Richard Gordon and waived Phillip Supernaw in a swap of third-string tight ends heading into Sunday’s game at Arizona.
Gordon played in two games for the Chiefs last season and had appeared in three games for Tennessee this season. The former Miami standout, who has also played for Oakland and Pittsburgh, has only caught four passes for 14 yards while being used primarily as a blocker.
Supernaw began his season in Baltimore and had spent the past three games with the Chiefs, catching his only pass two weeks ago against Oakland.
