BIG TEN ANNOUNCES 2014 CONFERENCE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
The 2014 schedule will consist of eight games for each of the Big Ten's 14 teams, feature a new division alignment, include the conference debut of Maryland and Rutgers and culminate with the fourth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game.
The 2014 Big Ten season begins on Sept. 13, with Rutgers making its Big Ten debut by hosting fellow East Division member Penn State. Maryland will take part in its first Big Ten game two weeks later on Sept. 27 with an East Division matchup at Indiana. Four other conference games will be held on Sept. 27, including two West Division matchups with Illinois at Nebraska and Iowa at Purdue and two cross-division contests with Minnesota at Michigan and Northwestern at Penn State. The Oct. 4 schedule will feature the Terrapins' first home Big Ten game against fellow East Division member Ohio State along with an East Division matchup in Michigan at Rutgers and West Division contests in Nebraska at Michigan State, Purdue at Illinois and Wisconsin at Northwestern.
From Sept. 27 to Nov. 29, the 2014 Big Ten schedule will feature 10 consecutive weeks of Big Ten competition, boasting at least five conference games each week. All 14 teams will be in action during the final two weeks of Big Ten Read More
Buckeye Assistants Get Raises
Buckeye athletic director Gene Smith confirmed to the Columbus Dispatch Sunday that three of Urban Meyer's assistants have received raises that place their annual salaries above the $500,000 mark -- and that the similar salary for Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, at $750,000, motivated that decision more than the increase in the national coaching market.
"It wasn't because, ‘We're competing with Alabama.' That wasn't the idea," Smith said. "I had to bite the bullet [after Mattison]. We didn't have anybody near that level, and the Pac-12 started doing the same thing. The reality is, as that changed, we had to change with it."
That change has meant that defensive coordinator Luke Fickell, co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers and offensive coordinator Tom Herman will all make more than a half-million dollars in 2013. Withers and Herman each received a raise of $130,000 over their 2012 salaries, with the pair now earning $580,000 and $550,000, respectively.
Fickell actually saw his salary decrease from 2012 -- when he was pa Read More
