NCAA
Cutcliffe on eliminating and replacing kickoffs
Tom Shanahan Apr 16 2018Duke coach David Cutcliffe is prepared to accept eliminating kickoffs. After the Blue Devils’ Saturday spring game, he said if the NCAA Football Rules Committee’s intent is to do away with the injury-prone play in phases, let’s be done with it now.“I’ve been around a long time,...
History Loyola Chicago and Michigan State share
Tom Shanahan Mar 28 2018Loyola Chicago's run to the NCAA Final Four is a good time to relate overlooked pioneering histories shared by Michigan State football and the Ramblers' basketball program. Two watershed moments that changed the color of college athletics belong to the Ramblers and the Spartans....
A time to lean on respect Magic helped build
Tom Shanahan Feb 4 2018Five-star high school basketball recruit Zion Williamson’s surprise decision last month to join the crowd at Duke was yet another appreciation of Earvin “Magic” Johnson's Michigan State legacy. Johnson's own path established a long-lasting respect for the Spartans' basketball...
Florida wins NCAA title with pitching depth
Tom Shanahan Jun 28 2017To reach the eight-team College World Series requires a staff with dominant starting pitchers. Florida and LSU each possessed three topped by an ace taken in the first round of the recent Major League Baseball draft.But to win the NCAA national title, someone from an exhausted...
Baseball draft example for NBA to study
Tom Shanahan Jun 26 2017Maybe NBA commissioner Adam Silver should pay attention to how the NCAA baseball tournament has played out now that Florida and LSU are set to open a best-of-three College World Series final Monday night in Omaha, Neb.The national powers from the SEC both have rosters of high...
NCAA must continue focus on football safety
Tom Shanahan Jun 22 2017Jim Proebstle, a Michigan State tight end on the Spartans' 1965 UPI national championship team, is the author of "Unintended Impact." He is uniquely qualified to comment on football concussions and CTE dimentia. He not only played the game, his brother, Dick Proebstle, a...
Notre Dame and troubling response to NCAA pledge
Tom Shanahan May 30 2017Responses to the NCAA’s diversity pledge circulated in September was recently examined by the Washington Post. Notre Dame’s failure to sign it raises some troubling questions.The article followed NCAA inclusion officer Bernard Franklin’s appearance on May 1 at the...
South Carolina taps ACC roots at Final Four
Tom Shanahan Mar 31 2017You probably thought South Carolina’s upset of Duke spoiled the romance of a Tobacco Road showdown. Up in smoke went the anticipated North Carolina-Duke meeting in the NCAA championship game.If so, you have overlooked South Carolina’s Tobacco Road history. ... Click here for...
Thornwell leaves South Carolina legacy
Tom Shanahan Mar 29 2017South Carolina coach Frank Martin looked back last weekend at a crossroads for the player who has carried the Gamecocks to their first Final Four as a rising phoenix in the Valley of the Sun.It was the moment he viewed the person behind Sindarius Thornwell the athlete. Here was...
KeVaughn Allen beats the clock in New York
Tom Shanahan Mar 26 2017Florida’s clock never struck midnight, thanks to KeVaughn Allen’s scoring outburst. Allen introduced himself to March Madness with a 35-point performance Friday night and Saturday morning in the basketball palace of Madison Square Garden.Florida’s Chris Chiozza made the highlight...