No. 9 Oklahoma beats UTEP 45-13 in Venables’ coaching debut

Associated PressSep 5, 2022, 1:33 PM EDT

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NORMAN, Okla. – New Oklahoma coach Brent Venables got emotional when athletic director Joe Castiglione presented him with the game ball and the players loudly celebrated his first career victory as a head coach.

Dillon Gabriel passed for two touchdowns and ran for another and No. 9 Oklahoma rolled past UTEP 45-13 on Saturday.

Venables was a full-time assistant for the previous 26 years in stints at Kansas State, Oklahoma and Clemson. He took over for the Sooners after Lincoln Riley left to take the Southern California job last December and brought energy and hope to a stunned fanbase.

Then came the waiting.

“In some ways, it went by really fast in that last nine months, and then in many ways, it seemed like dog years,” he said. “It’s like `When are we going to get to play a game?’ But everything has its time.”

Now, the Sooners have taken a significant step forward.

“At the end of the day, it was going to be about Oklahoma re-establishing the soul and the spirit of this program,” he said.

Gabriel, a transfer from Central Florida, connected on 15 of 23 passes for 233 yards. Eric Gray rushed for 102 yards, Brayden Willis caught two touchdown passes and Marcus Major rushed for two scores.

Oklahoma held UTEP to 316 total yards.

“For the most part, we played a really clean game on both sides of the ball,” Venables said.

Gavin Hardison passed for 244 yards, Tyrin Smith caught eight passes for 71 yards and Reynaldo Flores caught seven passes for 76 yards for the Miners (0-2).

Oklahoma jumped out to a 21-0 lead just over eight minutes into the game. The Sooners gained 301 yards to take a 28-10 halftime lead. Gabriel passed for 164 yards and two touchdowns before the break. Reggie Grimes led the Oklahoma defense with 2 1/2 sacks in the first half, including one on the final play of the second quarter to snuff out a scoring threat.

“I thought after we handled the first onslaught, the 21-0 run, I thought we played better,” UTEP coach Dana Dimel said. “From that point on, it was 24-13. We executed and did some things better.”

Oklahoma then held UTEP to 99 yards and three points in the second half.

Dimel said it wasn’t all bad.

“I really feel like we’re a better team leaving the field,” he said. “We played a really good football team today. They executed at a high level and they did some really good things. But I feel really comfortable about our football team and what we gained.”

Venables appreciated the win but won’t be celebrating for long.

“I want them to enjoy this one,” he said. “But on Monday, we’re going to strip this thing down to the studs and start over again.”

THE TAKEAWAY

UTEP: The Miners couldn’t get anything going. They had just 28 yards rushing on 31 attempts, and the Sooners finished with six sacks and 10 quarterback hurries.

Oklahoma: The Sooners rushed for 259 yards and passed for 233. Oklahoma averaged 8.1 yards per play and 6.8 yards per carry and did not commit a turnover. The Sooners were balanced offensively and protected Gabriel relatively well.

GRAY SHINES

In his first game as the clear No. 1 back, Gray turned in his first 100-yard rushing performance for the Sooners.

Gray transferred from Tennessee before last season, then split time with Kennedy Brooks. With Brooks gone, Gray finally got the kind of work he wanted. The senior had 16 carries and caught two passes, including a 35-yard run and a 24-yard reception.

WHAT A START

Oklahoma true freshman receiver Gavin Freeman took a reverse 46 yards for touchdown on his first collegiate touch.

Freeman attended Heritage Hall School in Oklahoma City, the same place that produced NFL great Wes Welker.

LAUFENBERG TRIBUTE

Hardison will wear former Miners tight end Luke Laufenberg‘s No. 2 jersey throughout this season. Laufenberg died of cancer in 2019. Hardison is the second Miners player to wear Laufenberg’s jersey. Players also have worn black stickers on their helmets in his honor since the start of the 2019 season.

QUOTABLE

Dimel, on playing in a hostile environment: “It was a fun experience. It was a good game for us. It’s what you want to get out of a non-conference game if you’re not going to win.”

UP NEXT

UTEP: Hosts New Mexico State on Sept. 10

Oklahoma: Hosts Kent State on Sept. 10.

Georgia extends contract for AD Josh Brooks, plans two new football practice fields

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 9:14 PM EDT

Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

ATHENS, Ga. – On the heels of a second straight national football championship, Georgia has rewarded athletic director Josh Brooks a contract extension that ties him to the Bulldogs through at least 2029.

The athletic association board, wrapping up its annual spring meeting Friday at a resort on Lake Oconee, also announced plans for a new track and field facility that will free up space for two more football practice fields.

Brooks’ new contract will increase his salary to $1.025 million a year, with annual raises of $100,000.

The 42-year-old Brooks, who took over the athletic department in 2021 after Greg McGarity retired, called the Georgia job “a dream for me” and said he hopes to spend the rest of his career in Athens.

“I am extremely grateful,” Brooks said. “I got into this business 20-plus years ago as a student equipment manager. My first job at Louisiana-Monroe was making $20,000 a year in football operations.”

The Georgia board approved a fiscal 2024 budget of $175.2 million, a nearly 8% increase from the most recent budget of $162.2 million and the sign of a prosperous program that is flush with money after its success on the gridiron.

The school received approval to move forward with its preliminary plans for a new track and field facility, which will be built across the street from the complex hosting the soccer and and softball teams.

The current track stadium is located adjacent to the Butts-Mehre athletic facility, which hosts the practice fields and training facilities for the football program.

Georgia lost a chunk of its outdoor fields when it built a new indoor practice facility. After the new track and field stadium is completed, the current space will be converted to two full-length, grass football practice fields at the request of coach Kirby Smart.

“He wants to find efficient ways to practice, and there is a lot of truth to the issues we’ve had with our current practice fields,” Brooks said. “There is a lot of strain on our turf facilities staff to keep that field in great shape when half the day it is getting shade, so that has been a challenge as well. For our football program, it is better to practice on grass fields than (artificial) turf, so to be able to have two side-by-side grass fields is huge. It makes for a much more efficient practice.”

The new track and field complex, which will continue to be named Spec Towns Track, will also include an indoor facility, the first of its kind in the state of Georgia.

Iowa AD Gary Barta announces retirement after 17 years at Big Ten school

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 9:11 PM EDT

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa athletic director Gary Barta will retire on August 1 after 17 years at the university, the school announced Friday.

Barta, 59, is one of the longest-tenured athletic directors in a Power Five conference. He was hired by Iowa in 2006 after being the AD at Wyoming.

An interim director will be announced next week, Iowa said.

In September, Iowa hired former Ball State athletic director Beth Goetz to be deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer, putting her in position to possibly succeed Barta.

“It has been an absolute privilege and honor to serve in this role the past 17 years,” Barta said in a statement. “This decision didn’t come suddenly, nor did it come without significant thought, discussion, and prayer.”

“That said, I’m confident this is the right time for me and for my family.”

Iowa won four NCAA national team titles and 27 Big Ten team titles during Barta’s tenure. The women’s basketball team is coming off an appearance in the national championship game and the wrestling team is coming off a second-place finish at the NCAA championships.

Barta served as the chairman of the College Football Playoff committee in 2020 and 2021.

He faced heavy criticism over more than $11 million in settlements for lawsuits in recent years alleging racial and sexual discrimination within the athletic department.

Lawsuits filed by former field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum and associate athletics director Jane Meyer led to a $6.5 million payout.

Iowa had to pay $400,000 as part of a Title IX lawsuit brought by athletes after it cut four sports in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the agreement, Iowa reinstated the women’s swimming and diving program and add another women’s sport.

Iowa added women’s wrestling, the first among Power Five schools to compete this year.

A lawsuit brought by former football players alleging racial discrimination within the program was settled for $4.2 million last March, which prompted state auditor Rob Sand to call for Barta’s ouster.

“Gary Barta’s departure is a long time coming given the four different lawsuits for discrimination that cost Iowa more than $11 million,” Sand posted on Twitter.

The university did not allow taxpayer money to be used for the settlement with the former players.

Barta led Iowa through $380 million of facility upgrades, including renovation of Kinnick Stadium, the construction of a new football facility, a basketball practice facility and a training center for the wrestling teams.

Under Barta, Iowa has had just one head football coach (Kirk Ferentz), women’s basketball coach (Lisa Bluder) and wrestling coach (Tom Brands). All were in place when he arrived.

Barta has also come under scrutiny for allowing Ferentz to employee his son, Brian Ferentz, as offensive coordinator. To comply with the university’s nepotism policy, Brian Ferentz reports to Barta.