C-USA Clipboard

Welcome to the C-USA Clipboard, the official web log of Conference USA. We plan to bring you blogs from C-USA staff, and occasionally guests, to provide a look behind-the-scenes of a conference office and the people that are part of Team C-USA.

September 6, 2006

Russell Anderson, Assistant Commissioner for Football & Baseball Operations

This past weekend marked one of my favorite times of the entire year. That's because it was the opening weekend of the college football season. An off-season of preparing and a summer of counting the days is over at long last and it is finally time to renew the splendid pageantry that is college football.

I have a great job. As the Assistant Commissioner for Football & Baseball Operations for Conference USA, I get to work with the two sports that I enjoy the most year round for a living. Sure, there are some long hours and weekend hours involved, but those rarely seem to faze me, for I have a career that I truly enjoy.

In this position, I work a great deal with the media that cover Conference USA. This includes writers, radio broadcasters and television personnel that report on our 12 teams. I work with them to provide materials and information that they require for their coverage, answer any questions they may have about our league and our teams and discuss the great storylines that develop around our league throughout the year. These are the people that tell the story of Conference USA and it is the league office's responsibility to provide them with all of the tools that they need to present it.

On opening weekend, I picked a pair of nationally-televised games to attend. After all, after a long summer's wait, one game would not be enough to satisfy me.

On Saturday afternoon, I hopped into my car in the north suburbs of Dallas and headed up Interstate 35 to Norman, Oklahoma to watch UAB battle the fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. The drive up was filled with scanning the radio dial to keep up with scores around the country - oh, how I've missed the feeling of trying to follow 119 schools in one day.

I reached the press box and made the rounds to see the media that had come to cover UAB head coach Watson Brown's return to Norman, where he served as offensive coordinator prior to guiding the Blazers move to Division I-A in 1996. Included were TBS announcers Ron Thulin and Charles Davis, a pair of real pros that have called C-USA football, men's basketball and women's basketball during our league's 12-year history.

UAB started off slow, falling behind 7-0 and failing to move the ball much of offense in its first two series. Then, Coach Brown sent transfer quarterback Sam Hunt into the game for his first action as a Blazer. He seemed to ignite the UAB offense for the next three quarters.

The game went to halftime tied and after UAB took a 17-14 lead late in the third, a growing feeling of optimism was brewing on the Blazer sideline. That optimism came draped in front of a crowd of 82,000 crimson-clad Sooner fans that were getting quieter and quieter as the game went on.

Unfortunately, for UAB and for C-USA, Oklahoma would prevail in the end, 24-17. But, the Blazers had gained a great deal of confidence with the way that they played in a very difficult environment. And, at least on this night, UAB answered the question of how they would replace all-C-USA quarterback Darrell Hackney. Sam Hunt turned in a gritty, gutty performance and nearly pulled off a major upset.

After a visit to the postgame press conference and a short visit with Coach Brown, it was time to get back on the road to Dallas - I had another game to get ready for.

On Sunday morning, I caught a flight to head to the Memphis-Ole Miss game in Oxford, Miss. For the second straight year, ESPN would be there to televise the mid-south rivalry.

I was impressed by the large contingent of blue-clad Tiger fans in attendance. Memphis football is enjoying a tremendous resurgence under head coach Tommy West and it was great to see so many Tiger fans make the trip down from the Bluff City to cheer their team on.

In the pre-game I visited with the many members of the Memphis media that were in attendance at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. I also spent some time with Steve Ehrhart and Harold Graeter of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. They have been tremendous supporters of this league since even before it kicked off in 1995. They are great friends of the league and we value an outstanding relationship with them.

The GMAC Bowl was there, too. David Collins of the bowl's selection committee was on hand to take in the Tigers opener. In addition to being a great guy, David holds the distinction of being one of the few people that attends more football games than I do in a given season. In fact, Sunday was David's fourth game of opening weekend. Now, there's a die-hard football fan.

Back to the game at hand.

A lot was made in the off-season about how Memphis could replace DeAngelo Williams, arguably the best player that C-USA has seen. Well, you don't. But, I'll tell you this. These Tigers are going to be just fine. Joseph Doss is a good running back. And Martin Hankins had a terrific debut and will do a great job of leading this offense and throwing to a deep, talented group of receivers.

True, on this day, the Tigers fell just short, 28-25. But they showed me a lot signs that they will continue to be force in Conference USA. Prior to Tommy West's arrival they had played in two bowl games in their history. Now, they're gunning for a fourth straight. I'd say that is pretty good progress.

After getting back to Dallas on Monday morning, I was far from finished with C-USA Football. Labor Day for me meant that it was time to go to work on recapping the weekend of action in Conference USA.

I spent most of Monday updating the league's weekly football press release. With some great assistance from sports information people at our schools, I compile news, notes and numbers that tell the story of what just happened on the field.

On Tuesday, I hosted the weekly teleconference with all 12 of our football coaches. Each coach comes on the call for about seven minutes and answers a myriad of questions from media members across our league, and sometimes across the country, discussing their past game and looking ahead to the next week.

After that, I make several phone calls to people affiliated with our television partner, CSTV. I was curious to hear more in-depth about the great Houston-Rice game that they aired on Saturday night and get the insight from play-by-play voice Carter Blackburn and producer Rick Angelo. It sounds like I missed a great show at Rice Stadium on Saturday night.

That's OK, though. I'll see Houston and Rice later in the season. Just like I will all 12 of our teams. I've been a part of every Conference USA football season and I can't wait to watch the rest of this one unfold. I hope you feel the same way, too.