Fast Break
College football
BSU testifies before committee
Schools such as Boise State University deserve a crack at the big money involved in football bowl games, the college’s athletic director Friday told a congressional committee in Washington examining how teams are picked to play for the national championship.
The panel also is looking at how money is divvied up by the Bowl Championship Series, which is used to determine the nation’s top team each year. There is no playoff at the top level of college football.
Boise State’s football program has had a better record than any other team in the country the past decade, noted Gene Bleymaier, the school’s athletic director. Yet the Broncos never have had the opportunity to play in a national championship game because there’s no real playoff system.
“How many more years do we need to go undefeated before we get a chance?” he asked.
Swimming
Huskies drop swim teams
As part of a series of budget reduction measures, the University of Washington has discontinued its men’s and women’s swimming programs effective immediately, the school announced.
It is expected to have a budget impact of up to $1.2 million, which would account for roughly 43 percent of the $2.8 million in expense reductions the department is facing.
The department will honor all existing scholarship agreements and grant permission to any institution that seeks to contact those who wish to transfer.
Marshel Lenz, a former University High School student, is on the UW roster listed as a sophomore after transferring from Auburn. NCAA guidelines allow student-athletes who decide to transfer to be immediately eligible.
Football
Canada’s Hall calls Campbell
Former Washington State wide receiver and Whitworth coach Hugh Campbell has been announced as an inductee into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Campbell, who spent more than 20 years with the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimos on the sidelines and in the front office, will be inducted into the Hall’s builders category at a ceremony held Nov. 3 in Toronto.
As head coach of the Eskimos, Campbell guided Edmonton to six consecutive Grey Cup appearances, winning five in a row from 1978-82. Following his coaching stint with the Eskimos, Campbell went on to serve as head coach of both the USFL’s Los Angeles Express and the NFL’s Houston Oilers.
He returned to Edmonton in 1986 as the team’s general manager, and later served as the team’s president and CEO. The Eskimos won four more Grey Cup titles with Campbell in the front office (1987, 1993, 2003 and 2005).
Campbell lettered for WSU from 1960-62, hauling in 176 receptions for 2,452 yards, marks that rank third on each of the Cougars’ all-time lists.