Around The FCS World In 38 Days

NCAA Football Betting Lines

08/09/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On one of my first days last month in the town of Hatboro, Pa, where the offices of The Sportsbook Betting Lines are located, I stumbled into a thrift store, where I spied and bought a book of the collected works of Jules Verne.

The first novel in the collection was "Around The World In 80 Days," a work that I can understand with a little more appreciation after my first month at The Sportsbook Betting Lines.

With all respect to the esteemed Mr. Verne, my story of the past five weeks has been "Around The FCS World In 38 Days."

This tale begins in Boone, N.C., where I had spent the previous 14 years covering football at Appalachian State and writing national columns on what was then called I-AA football for the web sites of CSTV and The College Sporting News and ends back in Hatboro after a grueling road trip to New Haven, CT, for the Ivy League's media day.

Chapter 1 Monday, July 2

It is my final day in Boone and I make the rounds at Appalachian State to say some goodbyes and see you laters to some of the people who had helped during my years as one of three beat writers who regularly cover the Mountaineers. I invite ASU coach Jerry Moore, the winner of the 2006 Eddie Robinson Award as the FCS coach of the year, to come and visit our offices in Hatboro the next time he visits the Philadelphia area.

One of the special things about covering one team over the course of so many years is the relationships you build with players, and I get the chance to share several moments with athletes like running back Kevin Richardson and guard Kerry Brown during my visit to Owens Fieldhouse.

It also happens to be the day that Mountaineer players are arriving back on campus for the second session of summer school. Over 100 Appalachian State football players are filing through and I meet two transfers who are expected to help the Mountaineers begin defense of their back-to-back national championships. Quavian Lewis is an athletic and speedy defensive end/linebacker who has moved from Vanderbilt. Tim Washington is a rather large (270 pounds) and lanky defensive end from LSU. I shake hands with Washington and notice my small hand all but disappear into the palm of this impressive looking athlete.

Before I leave, I stop by to visit with ASU equipment manager John Welch.

"I have something for you to decorate your new office with," says Welch.

He hands me a pair of rather battered football cleats, the shoes that All- American Corey Lynch had worn during the 2005 national championship game against Northern Iowa.

Later that evening, I hit the road with my jam-packed Suzuki Sidekick. On the trip up Interstate 81, I pass near the newly renovated Alumni Memorial Field on the VMI campus in Lexington, VA, and an hour or so later, I catch a glimpse of James Madison's Bridgeforth Stadium as I drive through Harrisonburg, Va.

Chapter 2 Tuesday, July 3

A new phase of my live begins as I walk into the offices of The Sportsbook Betting Lines and begin work as the new FCS Executive Director. On the wall of my office are four framed posters. Two of them are of Walter Payton, highlighting the company's involvement in handing out the highest honor in I-AA/FCS, the Payton Award.

Another poster pays homage to the five Payton Award winners of the Big Sky Conference from 1989-96, quarterbacks John Friesz of Idaho (1989), Jamie Martin of Weber State (1991), Doug Nussmeier of Idaho (1993) and Dave Dickenson of Montana (1995) and tailback Archie Amerson of Northern Arizona (1996).

Next to that poster is another unique piece of memorabilia, a poster of Martin and 1990 Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer of Brigham Young on a mountainside, bearing both players' signatures.

Upstairs, I am awestruck by a wall that contains framed artwork of all of the Buchanan Award winners from Appalachian State linebacker Dexter Coakley (1995-96) to Cal Poly linebacker Kyle Shotwell (2006).

Traveling around Philadelphia one day, on my way to the airport, I notice an ancient stadium near one of the freeways. I quickly exit at the next off-ramp and wind my way through the streets near the University of Pennsylvania campus.

Finally, I discover historic Franklin Field, the home of the Penn Quakers and the site of many significant football moments, both college and pro, over the years. It's like a kid catching sight of a toy store.

Chapter 3 Sunday-Wednesday, July 15-18

The marathon has begun as I board a Delta airplane for a flight from Philadelphia to Salt Lake City, Utah and the first of six conference media events I will attend.

The hospitality of the Big Sky is legendary, and officials from the league do nothing to diminish their reputation over the next three days in Park City, Utah. Among the highlights of the trip is watching the nine athletes representing the different conference schools throw down a massive quantities of the best cuts of steak and prime rib at a local eatery called "The Grub Steak." Beef is definitely what's for dinner.

Another highlight is the reception at the hotel that night when I meet new Portland State coach Jerry Glanville for the first time. Dressed completely in his trademark black, Glanville walks into the reception tent, pulls out his sunglasses and places them on his face. Over the course of the next three days, I learn what a delightful man that Glanville is and I witness first-hand how this veteran coach has gotten the Portland community excited about Viking football.

The next morning, I find myself seated at the breakfast table next to Rob Ash, who has gone from 18 years at Drake to a new start at Montana State. We talk about the challenges facing him as he takes over a program that has been shadowed by the controversy of ex-players being arrested and academic concerns throughout the off-season.

As I spend time with Ash over the rest of day, I come away convinced that this personable and dignified coach is the perfect man to restore Montana State's football reputation.

After a round of player interviews later in the morning (What, no quarterbacks?), we head to the Jeremy, an impressive private golf club with picturesque backdrops and some stunning homes on the hillsides above us. I marvel at how my normally pedestrian tee shots soar off the practice tees at the over-7,000-foot elevation. Unfortunately, those same tee shots don't do as much soaring over the course of our 18 holes of golf.

I find myself in a foursome that includes Ash and Idaho State athletic director Paul Bubb, long considered a football coach's best friend as an AD.

"Paul Bubb is the best athletic director I've ever had," Maine coach Jack Cosgrove would say later during my month-long journey.

After a challenging round of golf, we raise our eyebrows when we find an ambulance back at the clubhouse. It seems that Utah coach Ron McBride began to feel ill while playing golf on a warm day and was rushed to the hospital.

McBride's obligations at the media event are finished, but fortunately, the veteran coach is okay. A stint in one of McBride's arteries takes care of the problem.

That night at a dinner reception, where the Big Sky personnel again out-do themselves with a spread of fabulous food, I find myself sitting with the gang from Northern Arizona. When I win a drawing for a new Wilson golf bag, NAU coach Jerome Souers donates a sleeve of new balls to help fill my bag.

The next day it is time to grill the Big Sky coaches. With three new coaches (Ash, Idaho State's Jon Zamberlin and Sacramento State's Marshall Sperbeck) among the nine teams, one second-year coach (Northern Colorado's Scott Downing) and former Weber State coach and current athletic director Jerry Graybeal taking McBride's place, it is a good thing that they have helmets and name placards on each of the tables.

Montana coach Bobby Hauck fields plenty of questions about the high expectations of his Grizzly program, where anything short of a trip to the national championship game will be considered a failure by those rabid UM fans.

"The expectations from our fan base is out of whack," Hauck states. "But that is not necessarily a bad thing."

While most coaches avoid talk about stuff like national championships, Hauck doesn't evade such topics. Instead he brings up the subject of meeting Appalachian State in a potential title clash.

"I think both teams would just as soon meet in December," Hauck says.

As the media events wind down, with coaches and players racing to catch flights at the airport, I settled down for lunch with Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton, who addresses the subject of expanding the FCS playoff field.

Fullerton proposes a play-in game that would increase the size of the playoff field to 18 teams and would make room for the Northeast Conference to receive an automatic bid and envisions a day when the size of the playoff field increases to 24 teams.

With my flight not leaving Salt Lake City until the next day, I search for a recommended sushi restaurant for dinner. I know I'm in trouble when the menu arrives without prices.

After a fine dinner and a fat check, I am left to wonder why the price for sushi is twice as expensive in Park City as it would be back in North Carolina for the same quality of food? Did the sushi chef go fishing for my meal?

When I arrive back in Philly, I try to remember just where I parked my car. Eventually I find it, just in time to experience my first traffic jam on Interstate 95 as I head home.

Chapter 4 Friday-Tuesday, July 20-24

After one day to catch up on mass quantities of e-mail back in the office, it is back to the airport for a trip from Philadelphia to Charlotte, NC. en route to the Southern Conference football rouser. I arrive at the airport just in time to learn that my 8 a.m. flight to Cincinnati (still trying to figure out the geography of Delta Airlines and why seemingly EVERY connection seems to go through the Queen City) has been cancelled.

The good news is that I'm rescheduled for a flight to Atlanta. The bad news is that there is a hydraulic leak, caused by a faulty O-Ring. Several hours and several missed connections later, they find a new part for the plane and I finally arrive in Atlanta.

Finally, I make it to Charlotte, where I am greeted by my family at the airport. It's nice to see my wife and two daughters for the first time in nearly three weeks before the SoCon begins activity on Sunday night in Greenville, S.C.

The Southern Conference is known for its hospitality suite at big events, with stories to0 numerous to tell in this forum. The best story from this rouser comes from Citadel athletic director Les Robinson.

Seems that The Citadel's McAlister Gym had been scheduled as the site for a national Democratic presidential debate, hosted by YouTube, on July 23 and Robinson had to give up his office on the previous Thursday. Robinson's normal digs become the domain of Sen. Hillary Clinton for the next several days, because Robinson's office is the only one in the building with its own bathroom.

On Monday, we hit the golf course on a hot and humid afternoon. I am paired with a trio of athletic directors and friends, Furman's Gary Clark, Wofford's Richard Johnson and Elon's Dave Blank.

Much to my surprise, we finish tied for second place in the SoCon tourney, largely due to the Sports Center-type highlight shots that "Tiger" Blank keeps hitting. But it is up to me to finish off the round. With Appalachian State athletic director Charlie Cobb heckling me from the gallery on the 18th hole, I calmly drop in a 15-foot putt.

At dinner that night, Elon coach Pete Lembo - the former Lehigh coach - gives me advice on finding a house in the Philadelphia real estate market.

The next day, coaches and players are available for interviews. Over breakfast, Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore complains that everyone that interviews him will ask him the same question:

Can the Mountaineers win a third consecutive national championship?

Look at it this way, Jerry. No other FCS coach is being asked that question.

I race from Greenville to Charlotte to catch another plane. Funny how Delta airlines thinks the only way to get from Charlotte to Baltimore is with a side trip to Cincinnati.

After a delayed flight, I arrive in Cincinnati with just enough time to be bussed from one terminal to another to catch my connection to Baltimore. When we finally land in Baltimore, we spend an extra 45 minutes at the gate when the air tram malfunctions and is unable to be connected to the airplane.

Finally, they locate a set of stairs to get us off the craft. But the next problem is that the lights in the lower level of the terminal had been shut off. After more delays, they finally turn on some lights and escort us across the tarmac and into the terminal.

Then it is on to luggage claim, where I discover that my set of left-handed golf clubs didn't make the flight. Fortunately, the Colonial Athletic Association doesn't have golf on its schedule the next day.

I get a hotel recommendation from a guy at the car rental office for a reasonably-priced room. Not only does the price remind me of buying sushi in Park City, the neighborhood where it is located would have made Tony Soprano nervous.

Chapter 5 Wednesday, July 25

Me and my rental car both survive a night in Baltimore and I actually find the ESPN Zone in Baltimore's Inter Harbor without too much trouble. The restaurant is a flurry of activity as the CAA attempts to pack FCS's largest media contingent into extremely tight quarters and an even tighter four-hour time block.

The challenge of interviewing all 12 CAA coaches and a group of players from the teams like New Hampshire's Payton Award-winning quarterback Ricky Santos and other All-Americans is virtually impossible.

The task almost becomes a complicated game of hide-and-seek as coaches and players disappear for various broadcast obligations and then re-emerge.

The common conclusion of the day is that the teams with the best quarterbacks will be the ones on top of the standings at the end of the season.

Massachusetts coach Don Brown, fortified by a mass of transfers, is practically salivating for another shot at the national championship. Santos and UNH coach Sean McDonnell try to convince anyone who will listen that there is life after record-breaking receiver David Ball.

Jack Cosgrove of Maine is busy on his cell phone. Cosgrove is getting play-by- play updates as his 12-year-old son plays in the state's Little League baseball tournament. With a win, Cosgrove will get to watch his boy play for the state championship.

In the final inning, the young Cosgrove is at the plate with the bases loaded and a chance to win the game. He smashes a vicious line drive up the middle (at least that's what Jack is telling everybody) that is flagged by the pitcher to save the game.

On arriving back at the airport that afternoon for another Baltimore-to- Cincinnati-to-Charlotte adventure, I find that my golf clubs had finally showed up, just in time for another trip back to Charlotte. There is another harrowing connection in Cincinnati, where I arrive at the gate just as the flight to Charlotte is finishing with boarding. I am the last passenger to board the plane.

After picking up another rental car, I learn that nearly every room between Concord, N.C. and the South Carolina border is booked for the night. Fortunately, I manage to find the last room available in Concord and am set for a nice night of sleep.

Chapter 6 Thursday-Friday, July 26-27

If it's Thursday, it must be time for the Big South Conference media event. By now, I am noticing that it takes some serious concentration to determine what day and what city I am in when I awake in the morning.

The Big South is like an extended family, with the lunch, golf and dinner agenda drawing not only head coaches, athletic directors and sports information directors, but also assistant coaches.

I end up playing golf with Coastal Carolina defensive coordinator Curtis Walker. The question of the day is how to stop Appalachian State's no-huddle spread offense?

"We're still working on it," says Walker, who watched the Mountaineers dissect the Chanticleers twice in the past seasons - something few other teams have been able to do. "There is a lot of work to do in the tape room."

After a round of golf, we retire to the dining room to learn of the shocking news of the death of Wake Forest basketball coach Skip Prosser. For those of us who had encountered the well-liked coach through the years, we sit and watch news reports in stunned silence.

The evening ends with a conversation between me, VMI athletic director donned White and Big South commissioner Kyle Kallander. The subject quickly moves to playoff expansion and Kallander acts like a proud papa as he describes how his league has itself into the debate in just five years as a football-playing conference.

A long-time proponent of expansion, Kallander is quick to explain that the Big South had a better power rating than several established auto-bid conferences in 2006.

With the day's activities complete and Friday's program not scheduled to begin until noon, I go back to my hotel room and partake of something that has been in short supply in the previous days - sleep.

As I return for the next day's events, I am met by VMI coach Jim Reid, one of the most well-liked and respected coaches in FCS. With his thick New England accent, Reid begins to prod me about my golf game. Reid and I had played golf together at the previous year's Big South media event and had become fast friends.

Reid has one of the toughest coaching jobs in America, Not only does he have to recruit players to a military school at a time when the country is at war, he also must deal with the limitations of a program that hasn't produced a winning season since 1981.

But the former UMass and Richmond coach is confident that facility improvements and other upgrades to the program will make a difference.

"Jim Reid may have done the best job of coaching of anyone in this conference last season," says Coastal Carolina coach David Bennett.

Bennett knows the progress that the Keydets made in the midst of a 1-10 season, where they lost four conference games by just 19 points.

One of the great things about the Big South is that it is a league that craves and cultivates media attention.

Bennett and Gardner-Webb's Steve Patton always entertain the crowd with their home-spun stories and sense of humor.

Jay Mills of Charleston Southern always impresses with his passion for football, as he has taken one of the worst programs in FCS and turned it into a winner.

Our conversation, at some point, turns to discussing the Ivy League. Mills served as Tim Murphy's offensive coordinator at Harvard and we usually end up talking about whether the Ivy League with ever open the doors for its teams to compete in the playoffs.

I also meet CSU senior defensive end Dennis Justiniani, who is living his football dream after serving as a Marine in Iraq.

Bobby Bentley of Presbyterian, which officially joins the league in 2008, tries to fit into a new club. One of the most successful high school coaches in South Carolina, Bentley has answered his alma mater's call to build the Blue Hose into a Division I program.

Liberty coach Danny Rocco, who guided his team to the biggest turnaround in FCS in 2006, taking the Flames from 1-10 to 6-5, stays long after everyone else has left to spend time with me. He speaks about how much he looks forward to a season where the Flames are picked as the league's favorite.

After Rocco and I complete our talk, I start a two-hour journey back home to carve out another weekend with my family before starting my travels again in a few days.

Chapter 7 Wednesday, Aug. 1

I wake up on Wednesday morning knowing that I can actually drive to my next media stop. The Patriot League is conducting its media day an hour away from Hatboro in Bethlehem, PA. I oversleep and have to stumble around to find my directions, but still manage to get to the PL event on time.

Greeting me at the door is Matt Dougherty, my predecessor at The Sportsbook Betting Lines and a colleague who has become a good friend over the years as we have covered FCS nationally. Dougherty has taken on the challenge as the new media relations director for the PL and his relaxed disposition is perfect for his new job.

Dougherty introduces the league's offensive player of the year, Lehigh quarterback Sedale Threatt. Threatt proceeds to wow the crowd with a speech about the family aspects of football.

Next up is the defensive player of the year, linebacker Mike Gallihugh of Colgate. Gallihugh is efficient in getting his thoughts out in two sentences. Gallihugh explains his speech to me later.

"Sedale took the pressure off me," says Gallihugh. "I prefer to let my play on the field speak for me."

During the interview sessions, Threatt plays the role of a politician, going around to personally shake the hand of anyone and everyone he encounters. If there had been babies in the room, the personable passer probably would have kissed them.

I can't help but notice that Lehigh's Andy Coen and Lafayette's Frank Tavani are seated across the room from each other and I joke with both if the heated rivals had planned things that way.

"We used to sit at tables beside each other," says Tavani, noting that college football's most-played rivalry is saved for that Saturday in mid-November.

Tavani, as always, is the center of attention in the room. Reporters and broadcasters line up to take turns talking to the witty coach.

When my turn arrives, we talk about Lafayette's sparkling new facilities and Tavani's son, Dan, who is an All-Southern Conference senior safety at Wofford. I learn that Tavani will attend the Wofford-Furman game on Sept. 29.

Tavani remembers sitting in the stands two years earlier at Wofford, watching his son's team get dismantled by Appalachian State.

"Little did I know that we would be playing App State in the playoffs," Tavani says.

Colgate coach Dick Biddle has no trouble exhibiting his lack of interest in the media event as he answers questions about his Raider team. You get the impression that Biddle would have rather scheduled root canal surgery for the morning, a fact that his players confirm later in the afternoon.

Tim Landis of Bucknell takes time to explain some of the nuances of his triple-option offense, while Tom Gilmore of Holy Cross has no trouble showing his enthusiasm about a new season and his improving Crusader squad.

Over lunch, Georgetown's Kevin Kelly talks about the challenges facing the Hoyas and the positive signs that some facility improvements have generated.

Then it's on to the golf course where I learn that my foursome includes Dougherty, Gallihugh and Colgate running back Jordan Scott. I know my team is in trouble as soon I figure out I'm the most experienced golfer of the lot.

Gallihugh drills some big drives down the middle of the fairway with the same flair as he hits ball carriers on Saturdays. Scott, despite his ability to battle for tough yards, goes through the struggles that every beginner does in this maddening sport. But by the end of the day, Scott is named our most improved player.

We finish last in the best-ball tournament, but come in first in terms of fun.

I race back to Hatboro on Highway 309 with my eyes keyed in for state troopers as I try to get back in time to view a house I will eventually buy. As the media day season begins to wind down, I am starting to feel more settled in.

Chapter 8 Sunday-Monday, Aug. 5-6

With the latest start date of any conference, the Ivy League can wait to have its media day. The event is being held, as always (can't buck tradition in the Ivy League) at the Yale golf course in New Haven, CT. That makes for an eventful road trip with a going-away party for my family scheduled with friends in Boone on Sunday.

I leave Boone at 8:30 p.m. and make the long haul to New Haven. I get to experience rush hour traffic in New York City and find out that nearly every road between Baltimore and New Haven requires a toll. I have to stop at an ATM machine as a matter of survival.

I also learn that though the Ivy League is noted for its academic prowess, it is somewhat challenged when writing directions to its media event. It takes me 40 minutes to find the golf course.

Once there, the discussion quickly moves to a familiar topic. Should Ivy League teams be allowed to compete in the playoffs?

Jim Knowles of Cornell notes the paradox that the Ivy League competes in the newly renamed Football Championship Subdivision, but cannot compete in the playoffs.

"It's not logical that we don't participate in the playoffs," says Penn's Al Bagnoli. "Lots of people are beginning to ask why? If you ask the coaches, it should have been done 30 years ago when the playoffs started."

"We would all like to take our best team and see how they would do in the playoffs," adds Jack Siedlecki, whose Yale squad shared the Ivy League crown in 2006 and is favored again this year.

"Eventually it is going to happen," says Brown coach Phil Estes. "As time goes on and we get new people involved in the process, they will say why not?"

The one dissenter among the coaches is Harvard's Tim Murphy.

"I don't think we have anything to prove," explains Murphy. "After we play our final regular season game against Yale, playing another game, whether it be a bowl game, or the playoffs, would be anticlimactic."

One thing that will not be anticlimactic will be the competitiveness of the Ivy League schedule.

"Yale has an unbelievable team returning," says Murphy, who hopes his Crimson can challenge the Bulldogs for the crown. "But there is not a lot of difference between the No. 2 and No. 8 teams in this league."

Rain pours from the sky as we finish the press conference and eat lunch. As we head to one of America's great, old golf courses, the rain subsides and allows Bagnoli, Knowles, Cornell athletic director Andy Noel and myself to enjoy a glorious afternoon of golf.

I drag my weary body back to my car for a four-hour journey back to Hatboro. The preseason media events have ended, but football is right around the corner.

I wonder if Phileas Fogg, or Jean Passepartout would have enjoyed football?