Eye on the U

Hot time in MIami: Gators at Canes in football: noon on Sept. 7 on ESPN.

University of Miami tailgaters might want to get to sleep early on Friday, Sept. 6th. That's because the highly anticipated Florida Gators at Miami Hurricanes football game was announced for a noon kickoff at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7 on ESPN -- upsetting fans who would rather have a night game.

A night game would certainly be a great draw and the event to party around at Sun Life. UM would get heavy-duty exposure. And let's face it, night games are always more fun (unless you're on deadline or savor getting broiled outside).

Turns out that ABC has NASCAR from Richmond, Va., that night and ESPN is broadcasting the Notre Dame-Michigan football game in prime time. A game has not yet been announced for the prime-time ESPN2 slot.

"We requested and lobbied ESPN for an evening slot for the game vs #BeatUF.'' tweeted UM athletic director Blake James. "Unfortunately, they were unable to accomodate.'' 

 I just got off the phone with ESPN spokesman Mike Humes, whom I asked about the noon start.

"Essentially, we looked at all the options and this was the best available window for the game,'' Humes said. "We average probably around three million viewers for that time slot. So it wasn’t like, 'Let’s put the worst game on at noon.' The noon window does really well with fans.

"We view this as a great matchup. Scheduling games is like putting together differrent puzzles with different time zones and commitments, and this was the best window.''

 UM AD James also tweeted this: "espn/abc wanted to take game national 3:30 slot is regional coverage."

Humes said the 3:30 p.m. ABC game is Oregon at Virginia.

In other Canes football news, the Aug. 30 season opener at Sun Life Stadium against FAU will kick off at 8 p.m. Aug. 30 -- a Friday -- and will be aired by ESPNU.

SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN 

Larry Scott hired to be Canes new tight ends coach

Former USF assistant Larry Scott has accepted the job to become UM's new tight ends coach. Scott will replace Mario Cristobal's spot on the staff. Cristobal left UM for Alabama last week after just a month on the job.

The news was first reported by The Associated Press.

Scott, who was part of the first recruiting class at USF in 1996, has plenty of experience recruiting in South Florida. He was a big part of USF's highly-touted 2009 signing class. He served as tight ends coach at USF for four seasons, offensive lien coach in 2010 and most recently running backs coach in 2012.

Here is Scott's bio:

A member of USF's original recruiting class in February 1996, Larry Scott returned to USF in 2005 as director of high school operations, before first moving into coaching as a graduate assistant in 2006 and later as the tight ends coach, a position he accepted on Jan. 23, 2007.

Scott coached the tight ends in 2008 before switching to the offensive line in 2009. Scott returned to the tight ends in his sixth year with the program in 2010 and took over as running backs coach in 2012.

In his return to the tight end position, Scott and his group helped USF to its fifth-straight eight-win season, making it one of only 15 programs nationally and one of just 10 in BCS leagues that had accomplished the feat.

The offense saw tremendous improvement in 2011 as USF improved its national ranking in total offense 75 spots from 2010 to 2011, the largest jump of any school in the country. The most dramatic improvement came in the passing game, where USF improved by 85 yards per game. Only two teams saw a greater jump in the passing offense national rankings, as the Bulls improved 59 spots. In addition, the Bulls finished first in the BIG EAST in rushing and sacks allowed.

As the offensive line coach, Scott helped mentor center Sampson Genus to a second-team All-BIG EAST honor in 2009 as voted on by the coaches. Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews called Genus the best center they had seen all season.

In addition, redshirt freshman tackle Mark Popek was named Freshman All-America by both Sporting News and ESPN, while guard Zach Hermann earned third-team honors by Phil Steele.

A unit that had to replace a lot of experience lost from the 2008 team, the 2009 offensive line turned out to be one of the team's strengths after facing question marks across the line coming into fall practice.

In his first full season, USF saw the development of Cedric Hill into one of the most feared tight ends in the BIG EAST. He continued to help the offense and his position group excel in 2008. Hill earned second-team All-BIG EAST honors, while Ben Busbee stepped into a prominent role alongside Hill.

Where Scott has made arguably the biggest impact on USF is in recruiting. His work in Miami and throughout Dade and Broward counties has helped USF reel in a string of highly-regarded classes. In fact, many considered the 2008 class among the best in program history. Then, Scott and the entire coaching staff went out and signed a 2009 class that was ranked as high as No. 21 nationally and was praised again as the best in program history.

Scott first started coaching at Wharton High in Tampa, where he was offensive line coach and run game coordinator from May 2001 to August 2001, when he moved to Freedom High as offensive coordinator and line coach from August 2001 to November 2003.

During the 2004-05 school year, he returned to his high school alma mater - Sebring - where he was an exceptional education teacher and the co-offensive coordinator.

Scott was a three-year letterman (1997-99) as an offensive tackle for the Bulls and a member of the first recruiting class that began practicing in 1996, the year before the first USF football game. Scott arrived at USF after a successful three-sport career at Sebring High School. He was a four-year letterwinner for the football team, playing on Sebring's offensive line, and also earned a pair of varsity letters in baseball his freshman and sophomore years and in wrestling his junior and senior seasons.

Scott and his wife, Shakiera, have three children, sons Larry and Jalen and daughter Jurnee. Scott was born in Sebring, Fla.

If you haven't seen yet: NCAA releases statement supporting president Mark Emmert

For those who didn't see this in the paper today, here it is. The NCAA has put its full support behind president Mark Emmert:

Below is a statement by Lou Anna K. Simon, executive committee chair and Michigan State University president on the NCAA regulatory pathway and Mark Emmert’s leadership:

“The NCAA Executive Committee continues to support the association’s broad-based reform agenda.  This reform agenda must include meaningful change in the regulatory process beyond the changes in enforcement that have already been enacted.

"We, as the Executive Committee, on Friday affirmed our expectation that the association move forward with the next phase of its regulatory review. A thorough examination and subsequent improvement of processes, policies, procedures and investigative tools is necessary. Developing a mechanism for monitoring adherence with policies, while also reviewing the interaction between the legal and regulatory staffs, is key to moving forward. In short, we demand the highest level of integrity and accountability not only from our peers but also from the national office. While progress has been made, additional important work remains.

"Mark Emmert was hired to lead a major transformation of the NCAA.  Much has been accomplished without fanfare, such as academic reforms, enhanced fiscal accountability and organizational transparency. The Executive Committee and President Emmert recognize there is much yet to do and that the road to transformational change is often bumpy and occasionally controversial.  Therefore, on Friday the Executive Committee unanimously affirmed its confidence in Mark’s leadership as president and its support for his ongoing efforts to implement these essential and historic reforms.”

SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN