New-look AAC releases 2023 slate with 6 new schools

Associated PressFeb 21, 2023, 2:38 PM EST

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

IRVING, Texas — The American Athletic Conference released its 2023 schedule that includes the league’s six incoming teams.

Each of the 14 AAC teams will play eight conference games in a single-division format. The top two teams in the standings will play in the conference championship game on Dec. 2.

Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA all officially join the AAC on July 1. Their move from Conference USA will be completed at the same time that current AAC members Cincinnati, Houston and UCF depart for the Big 12 Conference.

Reigning AAC champion Tulane opens the season with four of its first five games at home. It opens at home on Sept. 2 against South Alabama, then hosts Southeastern Conference team Mississippi the next week.

The Green Wave were ranked ninth in the final AP Top 25 for the 2022 season after going 12-2, a 10-win improvement from the previous season that marked the best in major college football history. They capped it with a 46-45 win in the Cotton Bowl over Southern California after scoring 16 points in the final 4:07 of the New Year’s Six game.

Navy, also among the eight remaining AAC football schools, will open its season on Sept. 26 against Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland.

Among the other highlighted nonconference games for AAC teams, South Florida will host SEC powerhouse Alabama on Sept. 16. That is a week after league newcomer SMU plays at Oklahoma, which will be the final season in the Big 12 for the Sooners before they go to the SEC.

Teams from the American will play six games each from the SEC and Big 12, and four against the Big Ten.

South Carolina gives AD Tanner raise, two-year extension

Associated PressMar 18, 2023, 4:44 PM EDT

Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner received a two-year contract extension that ties him to the school through June 2026.

Tanner, 64, is a two-time College World Series champion as the Gamecocks’ baseball coach who moved to leading the athletic department in July 2012.

The new deal was approved by the school’s board of trustees Friday and replaces Tanner’s old agreement that was set to expire in June 2024. Tanner will receive a raise of more than $153,000 per season, increasing his total compensation to $1.175 million.

Tanner has had his ups and downs leading the department. He took over when football coach Steve Spurrier was in the middle of three straight 11-2 seasons with players like defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney and receiver Alshon Jeffrey.

Tanner’s hire to replace Spurrier, Will Muschamp, lasted less than five seasons before he was let go in the middle of 2020. Muschamp’s replacement, current coach Shane Beamer, has had back-to-back winning seasons and been to a bowl game his first two yeas.

Tanner has also overseen the rise of women’s basketball under coach Dawn Staley, who signed a seven-year contract before the 2021-22 season worth $22.4 million. Staley and the Gamecocks won the national title last April and are favorites to repeat this season.

Michigan RB Blake Corum says he’ll be back by fall camp

Associated PressMar 16, 2023, 1:14 PM EDT

Junfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan All-America running back Blake Corum said his surgically repaired left knee has gotten strong enough that he’s been cleared to run on an anti-gravity treadmill next week.

Corum said that he is “100%” sure he will play in the season-opening game on Sept. 2 against East Carolina

Corum tore a meniscus and sprained a ligament in his left knee against Illinois on Nov. 19. After playing sparingly against Ohio State, he sat out when the Wolverines won the Big Ten title and advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Instead of entering the NFL draft, Corum decided to stay in school for his senior year.

“Feeling great all-around mentally, physically spiritually,” Corum told The Associated Press.

The 5-foot-8, 210-pound Corum ran for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and had 952 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2021.

“I’ll be back definitely by fall camp,” he said. “I plan on doing everything in the summer workouts, depending on on what doctor says. He told me I shouldn’t be cutting until maybe June. I’m taking my time, but I will be ready by the season.”

Corum will be watching when his teammates face each each other in the Maize and Blue spring game on April 1 at Michigan Stadium.