148 pages of #Huskers football starring @tmag1c @afro_thunder80 & @ameerguapo twitter.com/HailVarsity/st…

— Hail Varsity (@HailVarsity) May 21, 2013

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It’s the sort of thing you’ve got to say when you leave one high-profile football school for another, but Bielema made it pretty clear the real reason he decided to ditch Wisconsin days after winning his third straight Big Ten title for a program that had just finished a disastrous 4-8 season. That reason was money.

Not for Bielema himself — though he, of course, got a nearly half-million dollar bump too — but for his assistants.

“My assistant salary coaches pool almost doubled,” Bielema told the Dan Patrick Show a few days after taking the Arkansas job. “I’ve lost a lot of assistant coaches in the last few years.”

Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez didn’t particularly like that comment, but it underscored one of the hottest topics in college football right now — assistant coaches’ salaries. As money has flowed into the sport at unprecedented rates thanks to mega-TV deals spurred by conference networks, paying your head coach a ton of money is an expectation now if a school wants to win a bunch of football games. Paying the assistants a similarly princely sum is getting there. Big deals for big time head coaches will still grab headlines, yes, but the thing that an expensive head coach really wants these days is a highly competitive salary pool for his assistants. That’s the new front in the ever-changing college football arms race.

The Big Ten is an interesting player in this relatively recent phenomenon because, at the moment, the Big Ten has more money than any other conference. Over the weekend, the Detroit Free Press released a database of the assistant salaries for each team in the conference minus Northwestern and Penn State, which aren’t required to report that data. In total, Big Ten teams are spending about $1.7 million more on assistants in 2013 than in 2012, an increase of more than 7.5 percent.

This has been hailed as good news in Big Ten circles, but how good is it? A December study by USA Today found that assistant coaches’ salaries across all of college football increased by “more than 10 percent” last year. It seems unlikely that salary increases are going to slow down this season but we’ll have to wait until all of the data is compiled. My guess is that the Big Ten’s 7.5 percent increase will probably be below average.

But we don’t have to guess about last year. The chart below utilizes the USA Today database to calculate the average head coach salary and the average salary pool for assistants by BCS conference in 2012. (Note: Private schools are not required to report this data, so they were not used to factor the conference averages below.)

The Big Ten ranked third in average head coach salary in 2012 behind the Big 12 and the SEC, but fell to fifth in the average amount of money it paid to its assistants. What this chart perhaps does a better job of visualizing is the current salary dynamic at work in major college football. The Big Ten was one of two BCS conferences where the average head coach salary was greater than the average amount paid to assistants. The Big 12, which has two of the three highest-paid coaches in the country in Mack Brown and Bob Stoops, was the other.

That’s the old model.

The other four BCS conferences all have an average assistant salary pool that’s more than the average head coach’s salary. Clemson is the biggest spender on assistants, dropping $4.25 million last year. That was more than double head coach Dabo Swiney’s salary in 2012 ($2.04M) and as much as Urban Meyer was paid to coach Ohio State last year.

So maybe Bret Bielema had a point. If you look at coaching salaries as a lump sum, does it make sense to spend more than half of the coaching budget on one guy?

Fewer and fewer coaches are asking schools to do that. Wisconsin got on board. The Badgers’ assistant salary pool increased by 40 percent after Bielema left. Some of that was offset because  head coach Gary Andersen is making $840,000 less than Bielema did, but it doesn’t change the fact that Andersen’s coordinators — guys who were coaching at Utah State and San Diego State last year — are both making more ($480,000) from the very start than anyone on Bielema’s staff did over the last four seasons.

That’s sort of crazy when you consider that Wisconsin won three conference titles over that span. But the Big Ten does appear to be getting the message. With Wisconsin flipping the head coach-assistants ratio, six of the 10 reporting schools in the Big Ten are spending more on assistants than the head coach this year, a percentage that’s in line with where the Pac-12 (60%) and SEC (62%) were last year. This year will be the first for the Big Ten where the assistants are getting more than the head coaches on average for the conference as a whole.

But the average spent on assistants in the Big Ten in 2013 — $2.408 million — is still less than what the SEC, Big 12 and ACC spent in 2012. You can assume all of the numbers in those conferences will go up as well. In the case of the SEC, the schools there would still have more than $400,000 additional dollars to spend on assistants on average if assistant spending doesn’t increase at all this year. That’s nearly $50,000 more per assistant.

Does that make sense given the Big Ten’s very rosy financial outlook? We talk about the talent gap between the Big Ten and teams in the South all time, but it’s rarely applied to coaches.

Maybe it’s time to start. The Big Ten is making an effort to change the assistant spending gap, I’m just not sure it’s getting there quickly enough.

Pensick made the list despite starting just two games at center last year. Not bad — and I think Pensick will be one of the best centers in the nation this year — but it highlights the nature of these watch lists; they’re necessarily large as they need to cover a lot of ground. On this year’s list, 28 of centers are from the 68 BCS conferences teams.

That’s a pretty wide net and from here on out we’re going to see one of these watch list announcement almost weekly.

Except on defense. It’s hard to see too many Blackshirts outside of Ciante Evans getting too much preseason notice.

SELECTION COMMITTEE >>> Who does Tom Osborne think should be on the College Football Playoff selection committee?

People like him with room for a few ADs and conference administrators, he told the Omaha World Herald:

“Certainly maybe have an athletic director or two on there, a conference commissioner, but my thought is the bulk of it should be people who have extensive backgrounds in football and have some time to study it and are far enough removed from teams.”

The “time to study it” part of it is really the key for me and makes me hesitant to say that this committee needs to have a large former player/coach presence. Remember, the Harris Poll — which is exactly that — is frequently wacky. Simply having time to devote to ranking college football teams has proven to be something different than actually using that time to rank college football teams, even for high-profile former coaches and players.

That’s why I lean towards having a solid media presence on the committee. More specifically, national media guys of the Stewart Mandel, Pat Forde ilk. Those type of people have time to really study it because they are paid to really study it. Make the selection process totally transparent, of course, and that seems like the surest bet to me.

FREAK SHOW >>> CBSSports.com’s Bruce Feldman released his annual “Freaks List” on Tuesday, highlighting the top 20 workout warriors in college football. South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney tops the list.

The Big Ten had three players make it, including one of my All-Big Ten picks for this season, Minnesota defensive end Ra’Shede Hageman:

…Not only does he have the 36-inch vert, but he also has bench-pressed 465 pounds and clocked an electronically timed 10-yard sprint in 1.57 seconds. For comparison sake, no DT at this year’s NFL Combine jumped higher than 33 inches, and Terron Armstead, the offensive tackle who ran the blazing 4.71 40 at the combine, did a 1.64 in his 10.

The other two Big Ten players on the list are Michigan offensive tackle Taylor Lewan and Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland.

Anyone surprised there were no skill position players from the conference on the list? Didn’t think so. This is a growing problem in the Big Ten.

And, if you missed our Big Ten Tournament preview earlier today, get caught up here.

There wasn’t much reason to be pensive after the Wolverines had just hammered the Huskers for 23 hits in the 19-9 win, costing Nebraska a chance at a top two seed and first-round bye in this week’s Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis. If anything good came from that loss, at least Nebraska now knew exactly what it would have to do get an NCAA Tournament bid — win a whole bunch of games.

“Whether you win or lose you have to have a short-term memory,” Erstad said. “That’s the way it is. There’s so many games played in baseball (that) there’s just random craziness within a season.”

Nebraska’s been a test case in randomness this season. Of the five other teams in the Big Ten tournament, Nebraska dropped at least one game to every team in the field and lost regular season series to Michigan, Ohio State, and Indiana. Despite that, the Huskers ended up with the No. 3 seed and will have a chance to avenge one of those series losses right away on Wednesday against No. 6 seed Michigan.

Nebraska will throw Kyle Kubat (4-0, 2.15) in game one against James Bourque (5-6, 5.00). Kubat is making his seventh start of the season, but has failed to get a decision in his last two starts after winning four straight.

If Nebraska beats Michigan, the Huskers will play Ohio State at 3:35 p.m. CT on Thursday. Lose and the Huskers will face the loser of the Illinois-Minnesota game at 12:05 p.m. in an elimination game.

The Big Ten Tournament field:

NO. 1 INDIANA (40-13, 15-6) — The Hoosiers won the Big Ten regular season title outright, the school’s first outright conference title since 1932. Indiana is the only Big Ten team currently ranked (No. 16) in the coaches’ poll, and went just 5-5 over the final 10 games of the regular season. The Hoosiers, who last won the tournament in 2009, will faced the lowest-seeded winner from Wednesday’s games at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday.

NO. 2 OHIO STATE (34-21, 15-9) — The Buckeyes enter the tournament having won just two of the last 10 games, but seven of those losses came to teams (Louisville, Oregon, Indiana) currently ranked in the top-12 by Baseball America. This is Ohio State’s third straight trip to the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes will face the highest-seeded winner from Wednesday at 3:35 p.m. on Thursday.

NO. 3 NEBRASKA (25-28, 15-9) — Nebraska finished the regular season tied with Ohio State for second, but lost the 2-seed due to the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Buckeyes. The Huskers are 7-8 against tournament teams this year and 5-5 over the last 10 games. Nebraska has lost three straight conference tournament openers, dating back to 2007.

NO. 4 MINNESOTA (30-20, 13-8) — The host team for this year’s tournament, Minnesota is 6-6 against tournament teams this season and 4-6 over the last 10 games. The Gophers have yet to announce their starter for game one, but Minnesota has two of the top pitchers in the conference in Tom Windle and D.J. Snelten. Minnesota last won the Big Ten tournament in 2010.

NO. 5 ILLINOIS (33-16, 14-10) — Illinois punched its ticket to the Big Ten Tournament by taking two out of three games from Minnesota last weekend in Minneapolis. The Illini went 5-7 against teams in the tournament this season, but have won seven of their last 10. Illinois last made the tournament in 2011 and has won it five times.

NO. 6 MICHIGAN (29-25, 14-10) — James Bourque will make his 10th start for Michigan this season and picked up the win in relief in the first game of the Nebraska series, holding the Huskers to just two hits and no runs over 3.2 innings while striking out six. The Wolverines are 3-6 against tournament teams this year but have won six of the last 10. Michigan is making its first tournament appearance since 2010.

All of the Big Ten Tournament games will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. (Bracket)

For example, according to BigRedReport.com it’s going to come down to the wire as to whether or not JUCO transfer defensive end Randy Gregory can get academically cleared and enrolled in time to be in Lincoln this June. Gregory is currently finishing up two online classes he needs to enroll at Nebraska, but those won’t be finished until June 3. The deadline for him to enroll is just a week later.

“There is a chance that I won’t be there for the summer classes and conditioning,” Gregory said. “If I miss making it to Lincoln by June 10th then I won’t be reporting to Lincoln until August.”

Assuming that Gregory does eventually enroll, this isn’t terrible news for Nebraska yet but it isn’t great either. Maybe it was a little unfounded given that he was recovering from a major leg injury anyway, but many people were counting on Gregory to come in and provide an immediate spark to a defensive line that needs some star-power.

He could still do that even if he doesn’t get here until August, but missing those two months certainly wouldn’t help his chances.

PAY UP >>> The bidder who won the special Upper Deck playing card featuring Jack Hoffman is refusing to pay for the card according to Mike Schnoor, owner of Prep 2 Pro Sports in Norfolk, Neb. and the man tasked with selling it for the Team Jack Foundation. The card ended up selling for $6,100.

“It’s a pretty sore subject around here,” Schnoor told Beckett Media. “The guy who ended up winning said a guy logged into his account and bid on it as a joke. It goes from a great story to kind of sobering.”

Good joke, guys. Schnoor says he is now looking for alternate ways to put the card back on the market.

ANOTHER SIGNING DAY >>> It’s not often that the best high school receiver in the country hails from Iowa. Having that player verbally commit to Iowa State before even playing his senior year isn’t all that common either. But that was the story of Allen Lazard of Urbandale High. Up until now, that is.

Lazard is planning to visit Notre Dame in June, which has Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads joining a chorus of coaches calling for an early signing period for football:

“I’d even be in favor of it if I was at a school that won a national championship the past three years,” Rhoads said. “The haves don’t want it. It’s more of the have-nots that do.”

…

“I look at it like this,” Rhoads said. “Certain kids make reservations, like you would at a hotel. It’s not a commitment, it’s a reservation.

“They have that room guaranteed until they don’t want it anymore, and then they cancel that reservation and they go someplace else and stay.”

Lazard maintains that he’s still going to Iowa State but he wouldn’t be the first guy to say that and then change his mind. I disagree with Rhoads slightly in that I think more coaches, even those at big time programs, are interested in this idea than he thinks. But it does seem like a very good idea.

I’d put the early signing day in August. There are a couple of reasons why:

1. I think it would actually slow the recruiting process down, rather than speed it up. Right now, schools (Nebraska included) are offering hundreds of kids scholarships in the spring, but there’s little reason not too. If the player doesn’t improve as a senior, gets injured, etc., the schools can always rescind that offer. But, if those players had a chance to sign a letter of intent in August, schools would have to be pretty sure about a guy to offer him without seeing any tape from his senior year.

2. Tons of kids say they tire of the recruiting process. I’m not sure this is always true, but if it is and a kid wants to be done with the recruiting process and just enjoy his senior season, he can do that.

3. The pool of players this early signing day would apply to is probably pretty small for the above two reasons. I’m not sure it helps the “little guys” more than the heavyweights, which should make it more palatable for everyone. Is a three-star kid who only has an offer from, say, Texas-San Antonio going to jump at that opportunity in the summer, or is he going to wait to see if he can improve his options?

People have been touting this idea for years and it does seem to make a lot of sense which is probably why it hasn’t happened yet. College football fiercely resists making sense.

First, the assistant salary pool in the Big Ten as a whole is increasing:

Combined, those 10 schools are investing $1.72 million more this year in football assistant coaches. And though MSU has slipped slightly in the pecking order, it jumped from the bottom of the league in 2011 to fourth in 2012 with a $534,500 increase — $267,000 of it to Narduzzi, bringing him to $500,000 and keeping him in East Lansing despite multiple job offers from other schools.

Second, Nebraska ranks where you’d probably expect the Huskers to rank — third. Ohio State and Michigan lead the conference in total assistant salaries.

Nebraska also has the league’s second-highest paid assistant in 2012 in offensive coordinator Tim Beck ($700,000). Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison leads the Big Ten at $750,000 per year.

The bigger question here is how do these Big Ten salaries compare with other conferences? I’ll have more on that later this week.

SWEET 16 >>> Nebraska softball is now just two wins away from making the Women’s College World Series after beating Stanford on Sunday to win the NCAA Tournament regional in Lincoln.

The 14th-seeded Huskers now advance to face No. 3 Oregon in Super Regionals in Eugene this weekend. Game one is Saturday (May 25) at 7 p.m. CT. Game two is Sunday (May 26) at 2 p.m. If necessary, game three will follow at 5 p.m. on Sunday. All of the Nebraska-Oregon games will be televised live on ESPNU.

Nebraska has made the Women’s College World Series six previous times.

PREVIEW TIME >>> Ready to start preparing for the 2013 football season yet? If so, the Orlando Sentinel has started to roll out its team previews and Nebraska’s first opponent, Wyoming, is available here.

HELMET HELP >>> The Big Ten Network is trying to determine the conference’s best football helmet and Nebraska needs some help in its second round match-up.

As of Monday morning, the 4th-seeded Huskers — No. 4 in the Legends Division that is — were about 15 percentage points behind top-seed Michigan. No. 2 Iowa had a similar lead over No. 3 Michigan State.

In the Leaders Division, Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, and Wisconsin are still alive.

The Huskers allowed season highs in both hits (23) and runs in the final game of the season, using eight different pitchers in the process. The win gave Michigan (29-25, 14-10) the 2-1 series victory and cost Nebraska a shot at either a share of the Big Ten regular season title or a top two seed in next week’s conference tournament.

Dylan Vogt took the loss, his second of the series, to fall to 1-4 on the season. Matt Ogden got the win for Michigan to improve to 8-1 this year.

“Sometimes you’re the bug, sometimes you’re the windshield,” coach Darin Erstad said. “It’s pretty evident what we were today.”

The trouble started early for Nebraska (25-28, 15-9). Tyler Niederklein, forced into starting duty due to Christian DeLeon’s shoulder soreness, faced just 14 batters and was lifted in the third after allowing four earned runs on six hits and a walk.

Nebraska survived that, battling back to tie it in the bottom of the third, thanks to consecutive two-out singles from Pat Kelly, Michael Pritchard and Chad Christensen.

In the fourth, reliever Ryan Hander gave up a single and a walk to start the inning, forcing Erstad to go to closer Dylan Vogt. After a sacrifice bunt that put runners at second and third, Vogt battled Michigan center fielder Michael O’Neill for 11 pitches before earning a big strikeout followed by a Travis Maezes groundout to get the Huskers out of the jam.

Then an uncharacteristic error opened the floodgates.

With one out in the top of the fifth, Vogt hit Michigan left fielder Zach Zott with a pitch followed by a Kevin White single that put runners on first and second. Vogt coaxed a perfect double play ball to short out of the next batter, but Bryan Peters’ throw to second was off the mark, allowing Zott to score. The Wolverines then pounded out five straight singles to open a 10-4 lead.

“We talk about, in those situations, not compounding the problem, finding a way out of it, taking pride in getting out of those situations,” Erstad said. “It’s safe to say we didn’t get out of that situation. Dylan got his ground ball, we had a play to win to make a double play, and we didn’t do it. Plain and simple.”

That was just the beginning of Nebraska’s problems on Saturday. Michigan went on to record multiple hits again in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, scoring nine more runs to claim a 19-5 lead. Most surprisingly, the Wolverines did it without recording an extra base hit until third baseman Jacob Cronenworth doubled in the top of the eighth. It was Michigan’s 22nd hit of the day.

With the clock ticking closer to an on-time departure for the Wolverines, Nebraska delayed things slightly, scratching across four runs on just one hit in the bottom of the ninth before Jake Placzek flew out to end the game. Michigan hustled out of Haymarket Park and on to the airport having qualified for the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2010.

Nebraska may have wished that it had someplace else to be. The Huskers won’t depart for Minneapolis until Monday, but they will have a clear idea of what they need to do while there.

“At the end of the day, whether you lose by one or you lose by 14, it doesn’t matter,” Erstad said. “A loss is a loss and wins are wins and we need a lot of them in the tournament.”

The loss assured Indiana and Ohio State of the top two seeds in the Big Ten tournament next week, though the order depended on the outcome of the Hoosiers-Buckeyes game Saturday evening.

Nebraska claimed the 3-seed and will face No. 6 Michigan again on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CT at Target Field in Minneapolis. No. 4 Minnesota and No. 5 Illinois, another rematch from this weekend, will face off in the first game at 12:05 p.m.

All of the Big Ten Tournament games can bee seen on the Big Ten Network.

[Show as slideshow]

Hahaha you can’t break it if you do it right @idrake36 vine.co/v/bEHggdxvvaJ

— Taylor Martinez (@TMAG1C) May 17, 2013

Vine is really an amazing thing. After all, it has given the Nebraska football team another outlet to share their crazy antics. This week’s best Vine? Quarterback Taylor Martinez tried to crush an egg with his fist. It gets funnier as it sits on a loop, especially when you see Martinez’s smile and head tilt for the 30th time watching. It looks like a difficult task though. Maybe this is something Bo Pelini should add to practice as a challenge.

@rbrex2022 Thanks for the jersey!It was the most pumped I think I’ve ever seen Jack. Keep rocking Cincy! #Whodey twitter.com/TeamJackHoffma…

— Team Jack (@TeamJackHoffman) May 11, 2013

Jack Hoffman is officially a Bengal. Former Nebraska I-back Rex Burkhead provided his new jersey to his friend who proudly showed it off for the camera. While we think red looks best on Jack, there is no denying he’ll look good in orange and black too.

Season tix sales for @huskerswbb up almost 25% from 2012-13. Get yours now at Huskers.com/arena. #huskers #gbr #LNK

— Jeff Griesch (@JeffGriesch) May 17, 2013

Now that the men’s basketball season tickets have sold out, it’s time to turn our attention to the women’s basketball team. While ticket sales are up almost 25% from last season, it would still be nice to get the arena packed for the lady Huskers. The team has been doing well in the last few seasons and has proven to be fun to watch for fans. Did you miss out on men’s season tickets? Consider buying women’s season tickets then. You won’t be disappointed.

Roeder closes the door with a 1-2-3 9th… #Huskers win 12-9, see you Thursday at Hawks Field for a 3-game series with Michigan!

— Nebraska Baseball (@Husker_Baseball) May 15, 2013

It was a warm day Tuesday as the Huskers faced Creighton in Omaha at TD Ameritrade. The Nebraska baseball team ended up winning the game 12-9 when it was all said and done. It was a long game but the Huskers were happy to head home with the win. They face Michigan this weekend in hopes of landing a top two seed in the Big Ten tournament.

IT’S GAME DAY AT NEBRASKA!

— Nebraska Softball (@HuskerSoftball) May 17, 2013

The NCAA Softball Regional is being held at Bowlin Stadium this weekend, which is extremely exciting for the softball team. If you’re in Lincoln, head to Haymarket and check out a game. And good luck to the Nebraska softball team this weekend!

2014 Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Schedule – bit.ly/YdqgIi

— FBSchedules.com (@FBSchedules) May 16, 2013

Well, the 2014 Nebraska football schedule is officially out and it’s honestly a little boring. It’s a favorable schedule for the Huskers, who don’t face a lot of roadblocks. However, if you’re looking for games that will score national television time, 2014 doesn’t look to have them. The Miami game could be a fun one though, renewing that sense of rivalry from the 90s. Also, 2014 will be the first time Nebraska faces Rutgers since the 1920s. It may not be the most thrilling, but that won’t stop the excitement of fans come 2014.

In the meantime, we are one week closer to the 2013 football season. Summer is just around the corner and the Huskers aren’t slowing down. What might happen between now and next Friday? Check back next week to see all that’s happening in Husker Nation. Also, as always, make sure to follow Hail Varsity on Twitter if you are not already.

And here’s to hoping we have some more Vines to share by next week.

Then things started to fall apart. Kubat hit a batter to start the sixth, then gave up a pair of singles but got out of the inning only giving up one run. He was in line for his fifth win of the season when closer Dylan Vogt came on in the seventh. Vogt had just thrown 2.1 innings on Tuesday against Creighton and it looked like it last night.

A one-out walk — Vogt’s first walk in 10 outings — spurred a four hit, four run inning that gave Michigan the lead for good as the Wolverines took the 7-5 win.

What’s it mean for rest of the Huskers’ season? Thanks to Minnesota’s loss, Nebraska is alone in third place behind Ohio State and Indiana but the chance for an outright regular season Big Ten title is gone. The Huskers can still get a top two seed for next week’s Big Ten tournament, however.

Here’s what has to happen:

1) Ohio State (15-7) and Indiana (15-7) cannot split the two remaining games in that series. One of them has to lose twice to end up with nine losses.

2) Nebraska needs to take the next two games from Michigan.

3) If Nebraska does take the next two from Michigan, it doesn’t matter what Minnesota does as the Huskers have the first tie breaker over the Gophers.

Drop another one to the Wolverines though and things can get dicey. Nebraska and Michigan play again tonight at 6:35 p.m. CT. The game will be carried statewide on NET.

ANOTHER WALK-ON >>> Nebraska continue to add players to its roster despite the fact that it’s May. First there was Alex Lewis, the Colorado transfer whose status now could be in doubt following an arrest last week for second-degree assault in Boulder. Then Alex Balke, a wide receiver from Iowa, agreed to walk-on at Nebraska. Late Thursday night, South Dakota State defensive tackle Logan Rath told the Omaha World Herald that he’s decided to transfer and walk-on at Nebraska.

“I decided I was going to play where I really wanted to always play without worrying about the money,” said Rath in a phone interview as he drove to Mullen to help a friend brand calves. “I’m going to give it a shot.”

Rath, who was a Class D all-state selection at Giltner in 2012, decided to take a scholarship from SDSU over a walk-on offer from the Huskers that year. Now he’s back, but he’ll have to sit out the 2013 season.

PRESIDENTIAL INTERFERENCE >>> Over the past month or so Michael Weinreb has been writing wonderfully about college football’s various “Game(s) of the Century” for Grantland. First it was Notre Dame-Army in 1946, then Michigan State-Notre Dame in 1966, and now we have the Texas-Arkansas game from 1969 where President Richard Nixon decided to name a national champion in December.

This whole plaque thing was Nixon’s call, and I’m sure it seemed like a clever tactical brainstorm at the time. Many Southerners had cast their votes for Nixon in 1968, but many others had sided with the segregationist George Wallace; further, an October article in the New York Times headlined “In the South, Football Is a Religio-Social Pastime” — which, I suppose, still qualified as news back then — had been making the rounds among the White House staff. This was college football’s centennial season, and the Texas-Arkansas game (which had been moved to the final week of the regular season, largely through the efforts and foresight of a shrewd ABC television executive named Beano Cook)¹ was its marquee matchup: By sitting in the stands, as he often did at sporting events, Nixon could present himself as a “regular guy,” and by serving as the arbiter of college football’s perpetual Argument, Nixon could present himself as a declarative authority on the sport. And in so doing, he could appeal directly to a pair of Southern states² that figured into his overarching strategy.

It’s a really wonderful series of articles so make some time to read them all this offseason. The only Game of the Century, at least around here, could be coming up shortly, though that game doesn’t have the political intrigue that’s marked the other three Weinreb has covered so far.

Still, you’ve got to include Oklahoma-Nebraska, right?