Massachusetts has announced a slew of future non-conference games versus Boston College, Colorado, Florida, Kansas State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Wisconsin in the coming seasons. . . . Houston and Rice have extended the Bayou Bucket series through 2013. . . . Ohio has announced home-and-home games with Kansas in 2016-17 and Cincinnati in 2018 and 2020.
Miami (Fla.) and Florida Atlantic have announced a three-game series in 2013, 2015-16. . . . The Chick-fil-A Bowl will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 31. . . . The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl will begin at 11:45 a.m. ET on Dec. 29.
ESPN's College GameDay is conducting a social media contest beginning Monday through May 2 to have the show shoot a commercial on the campus of the winning school this summer. . . . Baylor at Louisiana - Monroe will kickoff at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 21 and be shown by either ESPN or ESPN2.
SMU at Baylor will be broadcast by FSN at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 2. . . . Kansas State has reached an agreement with KMAN-AM and KMKF-FM to retain exclusive flagship rights to the Wildcats' radio broadcasts. . . . ESPN personality Chris Berman spoke to students, alumni, faculty and staff at Brown last week.
Tops Friendly Markets, in conjunction with Syracuse football and Nestle USA, recently presented the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York with a $2,300 donation. . . . Nevada has announced that its third annual Blue Tie Ball has attracted its attendance yet, raising $100,000 to fund student-athlete scholarships. . . . Bowling Green football will host "Get in the Game, Save a Life" on Monday to boost the numbers of potential bone marrow donors.
Vanderbilt has proposed a multipurpose facility that will include an indoor practice field. . . . Boise State has broken ground on its $22 million football complex. . . . LSU will present a proposal to install 60 suites, 3,000 club seats and 1,500 general public seats in the south end of Tiger Stadium at the LSU Board of Supervisors meeting on Thursday.
North Texas has christened a meeting room at Apogee Stadium as the Bill Mercer Press Club. Mercer called North Texas games on radio from 1959-1994 and taught broadcasting at the school for more than 30 years.
Buffalo has announced that the Murchie family has provided a $1 million gift toward projects in UB Stadium and Alumni Arena. The school will name its football center as the Murchie Family Football Center. . . . Syracuse has begun renovations on its locker room, student-athlete lounge, cafeteria, Hall of Fame lobby and team auditorium. . . . C.W. Post (N.Y.) has begun an $8 million renovation of Hickox Field.
The Air Force football seniors and coaches visited the White House to receive the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy from President Barack Obama on Monday. . . . The Reynolds Foundation and chairman Fred Smith have donated $1.25 million to Arkansas. . . . Alabama head coach Nick Saban will be the guest speaker at the Team Focus Fund Raiser hosted by the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Monday.
Duke head coach David Cutcliffe threw out the first pitch at Thursday's Carolina Mudcats game. . . . North Dakota State athletics director Gene Taylor accepted the Blue Key Society's Doctor of Service Award, one of the highest an NDSU faculty member can receive, last week.
Former football player Kevin Thomas and the 1984 California Bowl championship team were selected to the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame last week. . . . Former Penn State football players Derek Bochna and Robert "Red" Worrell have been chosen to the WPIAL Hall of Fame. . . . Arkansas painted the hashtag #GoHogs on Razorback Field for its spring game on Saturday.
Notre Dame will celebrate the 125th year of Fighting Irish football with a series of "Strong and True" events throughout the fall. The Sept. 22 game versus Michigan will feature special recognition events based on Notre Dame football history, dating back to the program's first game against Michigan in 1887.
Memphis is offering fans the chance to sponsor a locker in the DeAngelo Williams Football Locker Room. . . . Stony Brook athletics director Jim Fiore, Jr. and his wife, Lisa, have pledged a $25,000 gift to establish the Jim Fiore, Sr. Endowment for Academic and Athletic Excellence. . . . Army has combined all its social media and digital assets under the newly formed Black Knights Digital Network.
Nike and Boise State have agreed to an apparel deal that will net the Broncos more than $6.24 million over six years.
Former Richmond player Ray Easterling passed away Thursday, April 19. He was 62.
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