The sports world, including college football, has essentially screeched to a halt as countries around the world battle the coronavirus pandemic. As such, there’s a dearth of college football news as spring practices have all but been canceled at every level of the sport. And there’s even some concern that the health issue could have an impact on the 2020 college football campaign.
In that vein, we thought it might be fun to go back through the CollegeFootballTalk archives and take a peek at what transpired in the sport on this date.
So, without further ado -- ok, one further ado -- here’s what happened in college football on March 25, by way of our team of CFT writers both past and present.
(P.S.: If any of our readers have ideas on posts they’d like to read during this hiatus, leave your suggestions in the comments section. Mailbag, maybe?)
2019
THE HEADLINE: Tyler Simmons now makes three Georgia players arrested for bar-related incidents in last month
THE SYNOPSIS: The wide receiver was arrested along with teammate and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson in the same incident after allegedly fighting with employees of an Athens drinking establishment. Simmons was actually the fourth Bulldog football player arrested in a month as linebacker Jaden Hunter (driving on a suspended license) and defensive back Latavious Brini (simple battery) also found themselves on the wrong side of the law last month.
2018
THE HEADLINE: Four Texas Tech players arrested early Sunday morning
THE SYNOPSIS: Showing they were Georgia before Georgia, a quartet of Red Raiders found themselves in hot water following a disturbance outside of a Lubbock nightclub. The four players were quarterback Jett Duffey, wide receiver Quan Shorts, defensive back Desmond Smith and linebacker Christian Taylor. Duffey and Taylor were booked on criminal mischief charges, Shorts and Smith on disorderly conduct charges.
THE HEADLINE: Report: Alabama, USC to open 2020 season in Dallas
THE SYNOPSIS: There was a flurry of Alabama-related scheduling news around this time two years ago, as we noted in part yesterday. Two months later, it was confirmed that Alabama and USC will open the 2020 season at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex. Provided there is a season to open, of course.
2017
THE HEADLINE: Former Michigan TE Jake Butt says college players should be able to cash in on likenesses
THE SYNOPSIS: Butt was very prescient as, more than two years later, the NCAA Board of Governors gave the unanimous go-ahead for athletes to profit off of their names, images and likenesses (NIL). The Association is now looking to federal legislators to implement one-size-fits-all legislation that would trump state-by-state laws that vary in size and scope.
2016
THE HEADLINE: With raise, Florida’s Jim McElwain now SEC East’s highest-paid coach
THE SYNOPSIS: McElwain received a $750,000 raise that pushed his 2016 salary to $4.25 million, ahead of the $4.1 million paid to Tennessee’s Butch Jones. In October of 2017, McElwain was given the boot by the Gators. Two weeks after McElwain’s firing, Jones suffered the same fate. And, for those who are curious, the highest-paid SEC East head coach in 2019 was Georgia’s Kirby Smart at $6.7 million. At $8.7 million, Alabama’s Nick Saban was the highest-paid coach in the conference last year.
2015
THE HEADLINE: OSU looking into potential NCAA violation involving Braxton Miller
THE SYNOPSIS: Ohio State confirmed it was looking into the quarterback’s apparent endorsement of a weight loss and nutrition firm, which would’ve been a violation of NCAA bylaws. After very briefly being ruled ineligible, the Buckeyes announced Miller’s eligibility had been restored as the NCAA closed the case.
2014
THE HEADLINE: Dr Pepper to serve as title sponsor of new CFP trophy
THE SYNOPSIS: The College Football Playoff officially replaced the BCS in 2014 as the system to determine a national champion. In January of 2018, it was announced that Dr Pepper had extended its arrangement for six more years, running through the 2026 playoffs.
2013
THE HEADLINE: Sandusky: I don’t know if Paterno had suspicions
THE SYNOPSIS: You know the whole Jerry Sandusky-Joe Paterno-Penn State controversy, so no need to delve much further into it. We’ll just leave this quote here. For posterity. “If he (Paterno) absolutely thought I was (a pedophile), I’d say no,’’ the convicted creep said. “If he had a suspicion, I don’t know the answer to that.”
2011
THE HEADLINE: Get your creep on: 14-year-old QB phenom talks USC offer
THE SYNOPSIS: Lane Kiffin, then the head coach at USC, made waves a year earlier by offering a 13-year-old quarterback a scholarship. In March of 2011, that prospect, David Sills, stated in an interview that, among other things, he had attended meetings involving Trojan quarterbacks. In 2015, Sills decommitted from USC and ultimately landed at West Virginia, where he starred as a record-breaking... wide receiver.
THE HEADLINE: Report: Tressel forwarded emails to Pryor’s mentor
THE SYNOPSIS: Two months and five days after this report surfaced, and amidst the Tat-gate controversy involving multiple Buckeyes players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, Jim Tressel “resigned” as Ohio State’s head coach on Memorial Day.
2010
THE HEADLINE: FIU player stabbed to death
THE SYNOPSIS: Tragedy again struck the college football world as Florida International running back Kendall Berry was stabbed to death following an on-campus dispute. Berry was stabbed following a verbal dispute turned violent and he died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
2009
THE HEADLINE: TERPS COACH-IN-WAITING GETS SUCCESSOR INSURANCE*
THE SYNOPSIS: It had been expected that James Franklin would take over as the head coach at Maryland when Ralph Friedgen stepped down. Instead, Franklin accepted the head-coaching job at Vanderbilt in December of 2010, which was followed three days later by Friedgen being fired.
(*Yes, back in the day, we used to scream out our headlines at our readers in all-caps. The move to NBC a couple of months later mercifully ended that practice.)