Posted June 23, 2010    

•Joel Maturi

•Tim Brewster

•Bryant McKinnie

•Mychal Thompson

•Drew Butera

Big Ten Alignment Might be Known by Sept. 1 

Athletic Director Joel Maturi spoke to Sports Headliners about subjects of interest to Gophers fans including Big Ten Conference expansion and division alignment.  Maturi believes that with Nebraska becoming the league’s 12^th team in 2011 the conference will decide how to group the teams by September 1 of this year. 

No doubt there will be two divisions with six teams each but how will it look?  “I don’t believe it will be solely geographical,” Maturi said.   

School locales will be a factor but so too will be creating overall division and conference competitive balance, according to Maturi.  Figuring out a balance between those factors will mean the Gophers likely won’t have an annual football schedule against all four of these historical and traditional rivals: Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska.   

Maturi said the best the Gophers may hope for is to be in a division with two of those schools and through cross divisional scheduling face an additional rival each season.  “You can’t keep them all,” he said. 

Conference teams are expected to indefinitely continue playing eight league games and four non-nonconference.  Maturi said the number of league games could be expanded some day but he doesn’t see it happening soon.  One reason is that a nine game league schedule means some teams would have five home games, others four in any given year.  

Maturi believes it could be awhile before, or if, the conference adds another team and perhaps moves toward what some have speculated will become a 16 member league.   He and other leaders will want assurances that expansion doesn’t result in less revenue from Big Ten sources such as TV money for each existing member.  Revenues per school are expected to remain the same or even grow for each school despite slicing the pie 12 ways with Nebraska coming into the league.  

Maturi needs the over $20 million received annually from the Big Ten to maintain a 25 sport program of which he is proud.  His athletic department has been able to operate in the black financially despite having less football income than most conference schools but more total sports than several league members.  

Maturi said the Gophers expect to finish among the top 15 to 20 schools for this school year in the Learfield cup standings.  That annual ranking of total sports performance by America’s colleges and universities frequently has the Gophers among the top schools. 

Gopher athletes have been excelling in academics, including higher graduation rates as compared with the general student population, and also volunteering for projects in the community.  Maturi said the school’s 750 athletes put in about 7,500 hours of community volunteer time during the past school year.

 

Maturi Talks Football Wins, Tubby Contract & Trial 

Maturi said that following the Gophers' Insight Bowl loss to Iowa State last December he saw something in the locker room that he hasn’t always witnessed in football and other sports.  There were 115 players crying after the Gophers experienced a 14-13 loss to the Cyclones, a game Minnesota probably should have won.   

“As a former player and coach, that meant a lot to me.  It showed the hurt they felt and that they were buying into the program,” Maturi said.  “They poured their hearts and souls into that game.” 

Coach Tim Brewster’s first three seasons have produced records of 1-11, 7-6 and 6-7.  A common off-season question is how many games does Minnesota need to win this fall to lessen the heat on the coach from the public and media.   

But evaluation of Brewster for Maturi includes factors like the difficulty of the schedule, key injuries, competitiveness, progress of the program and academics.  “It’s not about just wins and losses, and won’t be,” Maturi said.  “In the end he has to win but I am not going to be impatient if the other things are done right.” 

Maturi also said a contract extension for basketball coach Tubby Smith continues to be addressed.  Smith’s existing contract has four more years but additional time and compensation are being negotiated.   “We want to make sure he’s our coach,” Maturi said. 

Smith, who has completed three seasons as Gophers coach and twice led the team to the NCAA tournament, is the fifth highest paid coach in the Big Ten, according to Maturi.  Michigan State’s Tom Izzo is the best paid at $3 million or more while Smith's salary is $1.8 million this year.  Approaching Izzo’s compensation level, though, is “not even an option” for Maturi and his financially challenged department.  

Smith was found liable for damages in the Jimmy Williams trial that ended recently.  The jury ruled in favor of Williams and his claim that Smith and the University hired him and then decided not to employ him as an assistant basketball coach.  The University is expected to appeal that decision.  Maturi said insurance will pay for Smith's financial liability if the trial outcome remains the same.   

 

Worth Noting 

Vikings offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, an eight year veteran, said coach Brad Childress was too serious when he started coaching the team in 2007.  “He’s gotten way better,” McKinnie said.  

Although USC might not look as attractive now because of NCAA imposed football sanctions, incoming 2010 recruits like Cretin-Derham Hall prep All-American tackle Seantrel Henderson are committed to the Trojans unless they can obtain scholarship releases and want to red shirt for a year at another school.  Among the sanctions facing the Trojans are a two-year ban from post-season play and three-year reduction of 30 scholarships.  Interestingly, USC juniors and seniors can transfer and be immediately eligible elsewhere.  

Basketball guard Tyus Jones, who played for Apple Valley High School last season as an eighth grader, has a younger brother, Trey, who is also impressive.  Trey has been playing AAU basketball for a sixth grade team even though he just finished fourth grade.   His coach, John Sherman, told Sports Headliners that Trey shows potential to possibly be better than Tyus who is already a recruiting target for major colleges.  

Sherman, also a sportswriter for Sun Newspapers, coached the Minnesota Transitions high school team to the Class A state title in 2010.  With four of his six players returning, Sherman expects another outstanding team next winter.  

Klay Thompson, the Washington State guard who averaged 19.6 points per game last season as a sophomore, could be chosen on the first or second round of next year’s NBA draft.  His dad, former Gophers All-American Mychal Thompson, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1978 draft.    

Not that it’s expected but if manager Ron Gardenhire left the Twins, Rockies coach Don Baylor’s name might surface as a candidate.  Baylor is a coach with the Rockies, played on the Twins 1987 World Series championship team and once managed the Rockies and Cubs.     

Gardenhire talks about first baseman Justin Morneau “carrying” the team in the following story: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=5311771

Rookie catcher Drew Butera, who pinch hit against the Phillies and hit his first big league home run last Saturday, played five seasons in the minor leagues from 2005-2009.  Known for his catching ability, Butera had these modest hitting totals in 1,419 at bats: .214. batting average, 21 home runs and 154 RBI. 

This Saturday Canterbury Park celebrates 25 years since its opening in 1985.  The Shakopee racetrack, then known as Canterbury Downs, opened on June 26, 1985.  Admission is free all season at Canterbury. 

 

Brad Childress
 

Ron Gardenhire
Photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins