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Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy's decision to prohibit quarterback Wes Lunt from transferring to the SEC, the Big 12 or Southern Miss is being justifiably panned.

It's petty and hypocritical for coaches, many of whom flirt with other jobs, to restrict players from pursuing their careers at their desired programs. That Tennessee is on Gundy's no-go list -- the same Tennessee that nearly pried Gundy away from his alma mater in December -- underscores the hypocrisy. The Pac-12 and Central Michigan, a future Oklahoma State opponent, also reportedly are off the table for Lunt.

But all of this is good news for Illinois.

Now that potential transfer targets Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Southern Miss are off the table, Lunt likely will decide between Illinois and Louisville. Lunt, a native of Rochester, Ill., wants to play somewhat close to home. Illinois' campus is about 90 minutes from Rochester, while Louisville is approximately a two-and-a-half hour drive.

Lunt started five games for Oklahoma State as a true freshman, passing for 1,108 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions. He competed this spring with Clint Chelf and J.W. Walsh for the top job but opted to transfer after Chelf emerged as the Cowboys' No. 1 option.

The 6-foot-4, 211-pound Lunt wants to play for a coach he knows, and he has familiarity with Illini head coach Tim Beckman, a former Oklahoma State assistant under Gundy. New Illinois offensive coordinator Bill Cubit also pursued Lunt while Cubit was Western Michigan's head coach. Lunt, who will sit out the 2013 season because of NCAA transfer rules, reportedly visited Illinois on Thursday.

Louisville looks like the more stable option for Lunt as the Cardinals come off of a Sugar Bowl championship and awarded coach Charlie Strong a long-term contract. But Lunt wants to play and could see the field earlier at Illinois, which loses three-year starter Nathan Scheelhaase after the 2013 season. Although Louisville star quarterback Teddy Bridgewater could depart for the NFL after his junior year, the Cardinals have Will Gardner, who picked Louisville over Alabama, ready to step in. Junior Reilly O'Toole and incoming freshman Aaron Bailey are expected to compete for Illinois' starting job in 2014.

Beckman needs some good news before the 2013 campaign. His team undoubtedly will need to show immediate improvement this fall, but adding a piece like Lunt would raise optimism for the future.

Purdue redshirt junior power forward Sandi Marcius will transfer to DePaul, according to a source.

Marcius, a 6-foot-9, 268-pound forward, also considered transferring to Nevada. He will pursue a graduate degree unavailable at Purdue and will be eligible next season.

Marcius played in 29 games, made five starts and averaged 3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 9.3 minutes for Purdue last season. He led the Boilermakers in blocks in six games and in rebounds once. He had a career-high 13 points against Michigan.

Marcius is the sixth player to be added to DePaul's roster for next season. He joins Morgan Park (Chicago) senior point guard Billy Garrett Jr., IMG Academy (Fla.) senior center Thomas Hamilton Jr., South Plains College (Texas) sophomore center Forrest Robinson, Citrus Junior College (Calif.) sophomore power forward Greg Sequele and Oak Hill Academy (Va.) senior guard R.J. Curington.

DePaul announced in April that junior forward Moses Morgan, sophomore center Derrell Robertson Jr. freshman forward Jodan Price and redshirt freshman forward Montray Clemons were leaving the program.

CHICAGO -- DePaul University doesn't have an arena problem. It has a men's basketball problem.

A long-term deteriorating identity issue borne out of questionable leadership, vision and performance. And yes, the arena by the airport is a major part of it.

If you're into symbolism, playing at Allstate Arena is emblematic of DePaul's stature in the city since moving to the Big East in 2005. Out of sight, out of mind.

The arena story has defined DePaul in the past 10 years as the school has fumbled coaching hires and frittered away any hold it had on the prodigious amount of local basketball talent.

Now seemingly the issue has been resolved thanks to a business-friendly mayor and his agenda.

Read the entire story.

The Big Ten has released its conference schedule for the 2014 season, when new members Maryland and Rutgers join the league and play in the East and West divisions begins. The league hopes to release the 2015 schedule, which will flip the game sites of the 2014 slate, by June 1. There are still some dates of games to be worked out for 2015, as the Big Ten is working out several previously scheduled nonconference contests.

Remember, the Big Ten will play an eight-game league schedule in 2014 and 2015 before going to nine games in 2016. As is the case this fall, the 2014 season features an extra week, so each team has two open dates.

OK, let's dive in ...

DIVISION CROSSOVERS

East Division


Indiana: Purdue (home, protected game), Iowa (road)
Maryland: Iowa (home), Wisconsin (road)
Michigan: Minnesota (home), Northwestern (road)
Michigan State: Nebraska (home), Purdue (road)
Ohio State: Illinois (home), Minnesota (road)
Penn State: Northwestern (home), Illinois (road)
Rutgers: Nebraska (road), Wisconsin (home)

West Division


Illinois: Ohio State (road), Penn State (home)
Iowa: Indiana (home), Maryland (road)
Minnesota: Michigan (road), Ohio State (home)
Nebraska: Michigan State (road), Rutgers (home)
Northwestern: Penn State (road), Michigan (home)
Purdue: Indiana (road, protected), Michigan State (home)
Wisconsin: Maryland (home), Rutgers (road)

Well, Nebraska can't say the Big Ten was picking on Big Red with its initial crossovers in 2011 and 2012. The league has Rutgers hosting the Huskers and visiting Wisconsin. Maryland also must visit Madison, Wis., in its initial Big Ten go-round.

Minnesota gets the toughest 2014 crossover with Michigan and Ohio State, and Northwestern and Illinois also both will be challenged with their crossover games. Wisconsin is the only West Division team to play both new members, a pretty favorable draw for Gary Andersen's crew. Iowa also has a seemingly easier path than others with Indiana and Maryland.

NO PLAYS


Here's who each Big Ten team skips on its 2014 schedule ...

Illinois: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers
Indiana: Illinois, Minnesota Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin
Iowa: Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers
Maryland: Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue
Michigan: Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Purdue, Wisconsin
Michigan State: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin
Minnesota: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Penn State, Rutgers
Nebraska: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State
Northwestern: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Rutgers
Ohio State: Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin
Penn State: Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Wisconsin
Purdue: Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers
Rutgers: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue
Wisconsin: Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State

Parity-based scheduling doesn't start until 2016, and it's pretty obvious here as the Big Ten is losing most of its exciting crossover games. We won't see Ohio State, Michigan or Penn State playing Nebraska or Wisconsin in 2014 and 2015. Wisconsin and Michigan State, the pairing in the inaugural Big Ten title game, also won't play. That's too bad. I understand the need to build the brand in new markets with the new members, but those are a lot of good games to give up.

Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue and Maryland don't play either of the new members in 2014 (and 2015).

Rivalry weekend

As expected, the final weekend of the regular season will feature rivalries like Ohio State-Michigan and Indiana-Purdue, the only protected crossover game. The Wisconsin-Minnesota game moves back to this date, which I like a lot (battle for the frozen Axe), and Illinois will visit Northwestern on Nov. 29. The Heroes Game between Iowa and Nebraska will remain on its traditional Friday spot at Kinnick Stadium.

The only question here was what to do with East Division teams Michigan, Penn State, Maryland and Rutgers. The Big Ten opted to pair the two new members with a Nov. 29 game at Maryland's Byrd Stadium. That means ... drum roll, please ... the Land Grant series is back. Michigan State at Penn State, Nov. 29, with this on the line, in all its glory. Fired up.

Other notes

• The Big Ten season will kick off much earlier than normal as Rutgers makes its league debut against Penn State on Sept. 13. The game had been previously scheduled between the teams, and the league decided not to move it. The Scarlet Knights and Nittany Lions will kick off league play a full two weeks before any other squads. Three Big Ten teams -- Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin -- won't kick off league play until Oct. 4. Blame the double bye.
• The Little Brown Jug rivalry between Michigan and Minnesota won't be an annual thing as the teams are in opposite divisions without a protected crossover, but the Wolverines and Gophers will kick off Big Ten play on Sept. 27 at the Big House. The Illibuck rivalry also resumes in 2014 as Ohio State hosts Illinois on Nov. 1.
• Not surprisingly, the Big Ten is splitting the Ohio State-Michigan trips to Maryland and Rutgers. Maryland hosts Ohio State on Oct. 4 in its Big Ten home debut, while Rutgers hosts Michigan the same day. The Big Ten wants to get its most visible members into the new markets.
• Wisconsin's and Iowa's overall schedules are very favorable. The Badgers miss the East Division powers and host Nebraska on Nov. 15 (night game, perhaps?). Iowa hosts Wisconsin, Nebraska and Northwestern and makes road trips to Purdue, Maryland, Minnesota and Illinois.
• Nebraska fans likely won't be thrilled with the schedule. Not only do they miss Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, but the Huskers' Big Ten home schedule -- Illinois, Rutgers, Purdue and Minnesota -- isn't too appealing.
• One plus of the schedule is that most November games will take place in the division. The current setup had way too many crossovers down the stretch. Five teams -- Maryland, Michigan State, Iowa, Nebraska and Northwestern -- will play only division games in November. Ohio State and Illinois have two crossovers, while all other teams have one crossover in November.
• Michigan will play its three biggest rivals -- Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State -- all on the road in 2014. The Wolverines no longer will have a home/road split with Michigan State and Ohio State.
• Illinois and Iowa are back in the same division and will play their first game since 2008 on Nov. 15, when the Hawkeyes visit Champaign.

That's enough for now, but we'll have more on the schedule in the coming days.

Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips talks about future games at Wrigley Field, the progress on the team's lakefront practice facility and more at the Big Ten spring meetings.

Illinois' search for playmakers to spark its sputtering offense in 2013 won't include wide receiver Darius Millines.

Head coach Tim Beckman confirmed to The (Champaign) News-Gazette that Millines and defensive lineman Darrius Caldwell are no longer members of the Illini program because of an unspecified violation of team policy. Millines was suspended in March for violating team policy and missed spring practice, and Caldwell also sat out the spring because of academic issues.

"We gave them both opportunities," Beckman told The News-Gazette.

Millines, a senior, started three games as a true freshman in 2010 and had been pegged to be a major contributor, but injuries limited his production the past two seasons. He still finished second on the team last season with 319 receiving yards on 32 catches despite being hobbled.

Caldwell appeared in all 12 games last season in a defensive end/linebacker hybrid role, and showed some promise with 2.5 sacks and five tackles for loss. He could have been in the mix to start at the "Leo" position, but that job likely will go to Houston Bates this season.

Beckman didn't specify why Millines and Caldwell aren't playing this season, and didn't say where they could transfer.

Illinois made Miles Osei and Steve Hull full-time receivers this spring, and both players should be part of a rotation that will include Ryan Lankford, last season's leading receiver, junior-college transfer Martize Barr, and Spencer Harris.

Adam Rittenberg wraps up Big Ten spring meetings from Chicago, where league commissioner Jim Delany talked bowl lineups, scheduling and a little bit of expansion.

CHICAGO -- Indiana athletic director Fred Glass oversees a football program that has made one bowl appearance in the past 19 seasons.

The Hoosiers soon will take up residence in the Big Ten's East Division, which includes traditional powers Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, as well as Michigan State. Like every other Big Ten team, Indiana also will begin playing nine conference games instead of eight beginning in 2016.

Although Indiana took a step last fall in Year 2 under coach Kevin Wilson, it has won six or more games just 11 times since 1967, when it shared the Big Ten championship and went to the Rose Bowl.

If given the choice between keeping the minimum wins requirement for bowls at six versus increasing it to seven, Glass seemingly has an easy decision.

"Perhaps the surprising answer is I'd probably favor going to seven [wins]," Glass told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "We're a program that's trying to build, and you might say it's in our best interest to stay at six, but there's something about enthusing your fan base with a winning season, being 7-5. Maybe that might help limit the number of bowls out there, too, so it's a real positive experience."

At last year's spring meetings, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany came out in strong support of increasing the bowl requirement from six wins to seven.

"For us, it means redefining a successful year at 7-5 from the standpoint of a bowl season," Delany said last May. "We argued for 6-6. We've experienced 6-6. Now we're suggesting that it's in our best interest, the bowls' best interest as well as the other conferences that might benefit by these open slots to look at a 7-5 standard."

Ultimately, other major conferences weren't on board with the push to increase the requirement. The Big Ten had three 6-6 teams -- Michigan State, Purdue and Minnesota -- make bowl games in 2012 and four 6-6 teams (Ohio State, Illinois, Purdue and Northwestern) go in 2011.

"We think the bowl system would be better off with a 7-5 situation," Delany said Wednesday. "We thought for a while we were heading in that direction, but it's obvious that we're not."

The Big Ten's move to nine league games means a team would have to win at least three conference contests to reach the six-win minimum, giving it a little more credibility. Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague said many coaches, especially "those building programs," are in favor of keeping the requirement at six victories.

But ADs still hope that seven can be the magic number some day.

"Seven wins is what you should have; always felt that," Ohio State AD Gene Smith said. "I still think we have too many bowls. I just think 6-6 is not the level, but I know that's not something that appears to be reversing at this time. I just don't want to be there again."

CHICAGO -- Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and the league's athletic directors are trying to strike a balance with their future bowl partners.

They don't want to tell bowl committees which teams they'll be hosting each winter, but they also don't want committees making selections without some clear guidelines in place. There have been too many bad matchups, too many repeat trips, too many empty seats and too many poor TV ratings numbers in recent years.

A shake-up to the process is coming for the next bowl agreement cycle, which will go from 2014-19, but how dramatic will be it be?

"We'll probably be somewhere in between selection and a conference placement," Delany said Wednesday. "So what we'll do is give a lot of conditions to each bowl, and they will have to get conference approval for the selection that they choose. The goal is going to be that we keep these games fresh and also that the bowls create the best possible lineup. I think there's been some fatigue as there's a lot of competition for discretionary spending. I don't think fans are going to be interested in going to the same region over and over and over again."

To prevent this, the Big Ten will require its bowl partners (except the Rose Bowl) to select at least five different teams during the six-year cycle. They'll be afforded only one repeat participant.

The Big Ten looked back at the last 18 bowl seasons, created six-year segments and looked at how the distribution would have worked if certain rules had been in place. The models estimated an average of nine bowl-eligible teams per season with two going to one of the bowls in the Playoff rotation (Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Cotton and Chick-fil-A Peach).

If the new policies had been in place, Wisconsin wouldn't have gone to Florida bowls (Capital One, Outback or Champs Sports) in six consecutive seasons, as it did from 2004-09.

"Obviously, you can go to the Rose Bowl as many times as you want," Delany said. "But other than that, we want to get different bowls, different teams into different environments as much as we can and still give them some control over the quality of team they're getting."

Delany said the Big Ten's full bowl agreement should be announced in the next two weeks after the league's presidents see what the ADs are recommending. Other than the tie-ins with the Rose Bowl and, in some years, the Orange Bowl, the Big Ten will have "at least six other relationships, maybe more."

Although Big Ten teams always have appealed to bowls because of their large, traveling fan bases, the league found itself in a stronger position for the upcoming cycle because of its newer members.

"I think our fans and our coaches and our players are in for a good treat," Delany said.

Michigan coach Brady Hoke took issue Monday with the way Notre Dame pulled out of its annual football rivalry game with the Wolverines.

Read the entire story.

Northwestern's most important game comes in the Big Ten opener against Ohio State, as Kain Colter, Venric Mark and the Wildcats face a Buckeyes team they have beaten just once since 1971.

Morgan Park senior forward Xzavier Taylor committed to Bradley on Sunday, according to his club coach.

Taylor, a 6-foot-9 power forward, chose the Braves over Kansas State and Wake Forest, among others. He is ranked the No. 63 power forward in the Class of 2013 by ESPN.

Taylor averaged 8.5 points while helping Morgan Park to an Illinois Class 3A state title last season. He had 11 points and 12 rebounds in the Mustangs’ state championship win.

“We think Xzavier is only going to get better,” Mac Irvin Fire coach Mike Irvin said. “He was a big important piece on that state championship run for Morgan Park. He had to match up with some of the city and state’s best big men. We think him going to Bradley definitely is a good sign for them."

Bradley assistant coach Ronald Coleman was the lead recruiter on Taylor.

Taylor is the sixth player in Bradley’s 2013 recruit class. He joins high school seniors Jordan Swopshire and Stefan Zecevic, junior college players Chris Blake and Auston Barnes and transfer Mike Shaw, who previous played at Illinois.

Iowa and Northern Illinois will meet in a season opener for the second consecutive season Aug. 31 at Kinnick Stadium and for the fourth time since the 2006 season.

The Hawkeyes and Huskies should be seeing more of each in the future.

CBSsports.com reports that Iowa and Northern Illinois are close to finalizing games in 2018 and 2020 at Kinnick Stadium. NIU athletic director Christian Spears tells the website that a 2019 game also is a possibility.

Although some Big Ten fan bases frown upon games against the MAC, Northern Illinois isn't a typical MAC team, as it reached the 2013 Orange Bowl and has won 23 games in the past two seasons. Like every Big Ten team, Iowa is looking to upgrade its non-league schedules and remove games against FCS opponents. It's a very easy trip from DeKalb, Ill., to Iowa City, and if a 2019 game takes place, don't be surprised to see it in Chicago, where Iowa and Northern Illinois played in 2007 and 2012.

Overall, I don't mind seeing more of these games, although at some point, it would be nice to see Iowa spread its wings more in scheduling and mix in some new opponents.

Northern Illinois and Nebraska in December announced a three-game series with the first game (2016) at Chicago's Soldier Field and the other two (2017 and 2019) in Lincoln. Nebraska will have to drop a non-league game from its 2016 slate as the Big Ten moves to a nine-game conference schedule that year.

Tom VanHaaren discusses the ESPN 150 offensive tackle who trimmed his list to four at the Chicago NFTC and the quarterback who stole the show. And Jared Shanker joins via Skype to discuss Ohio State’s recent trio of QB offers, and a weekend addition for Northwestern.

Northwestern's offense has been rooted in the same philosophy -- players, formations, plays -- since coordinator Mick McCall arrived in 2008. McCall shapes his scheme around the players first before choosing formations and plays that maximize their skills.

In the first four seasons under McCall, most of the players ended up being wide receivers and quarterbacks. Most of Northwestern's formations highlighted the wideouts and most of the plays were passes. Northwestern's offense had a clear passing lean, especially in 2009, when the Wildcats ranked 13th nationally in pass offense. The Wildcats didn't neglect the ground game, but when it came time to identify the best players, the running backs didn't make the cut.

"There's been some times in the past at Northwestern in the running back room where there was one guy, and that was it," Matt MacPherson, the team's running backs coach since 2006, told ESPN.com.

MacPherson clearly has his one guy in senior Venric Mark, who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2012 after rushing for 1,366 yards and 12 touchdowns. Mark, who earned All-America honors as a return man, was Northwestern's first 1,000-yard rusher since Tyrell Sutton in 2006.

But MacPherson thinks Northwestern's options in the backfield go beyond Mark.

"I feel like we have four or five guys in my room right now that we can go win Big Ten football games with," MacPherson said. "That gives you a lot of flexibility, and it allows you to do a lot of different things. I came out of spring very pleased with the way they performed."

Mark remains the undisputed starter and will get the lion's share of the carries in the fall. He sat out most live-tackling drills this spring as a precaution, which allowed the other backs -- Mike Trumpy, Treyvon Green, Stephen Buckley and Malin Jones -- to get more reps.

Trumpy racked up 349 yards and three touchdowns on 76 carries as Mark's primary backup in 2012. Green endured a tough season with injuries and personal issues but bounced back and "had a great spring," MacPherson said. Both Buckley and Jones redshirted in 2012 but likely worked their way into the carries rotation with good springs.

"Our running back room has gotten deeper," McCall said. "We've got some guys that can play in a lot of different situations there. We've continually gotten better in that room."

Northwestern made a noticeable shift toward the run last fall behind Mark and dual-threat quarterback Kain Colter. After finishing no better than 45th nationally in rushing in McCall's first four seasons as coordinator, Northwestern surged to 19th nationally last year (225.4 ypg).

The rushing focus should continue as long as more running backs meet the first principle of McCall's philosophy. MacPherson thinks they will, and Northwestern might go with a two-back formation, which it used for 10-12 plays per game in 2012, more often this season.

"In my room, those eyes light up when they know we're going to start running the ball a bunch," MacPherson said, "and we're going to have two running backs on the field at the same time. That's something for them to get excited about. That just gives another aspect of competition, knowing that, OK, Venric may be the guy, but when we get into the two-back set, who's going to be the other guy?"

It's a question MacPherson is glad to be asking.