ESPN.com presents Colleges http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges 60 en-us Tue, 21 May 2013 13:31:45 webmaster@espn.go.com http://assets.espn.go.com/i/espn/teamlogos/lrg/trans/espn_dotcom_black.gif 110 110 Northwestern's recruiting wish list and sales pitch hasn't changed much in recent years. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald and his staff still seek a certain fit: an academically oriented player who clicks with the program's culture and recognizes the benefits of playing Big Ten football miles from the city limits of the nation's third largest market. Northwestern's coaches talk about "not only a four-year decision but a 40-year decision, the rest-of-your-life type decision," Matt MacPherson, the team's recruiting coordinator and running backs coach, recently told ESPN.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/9437/recent-success-drives-wildcats-recruiting Tue, 21 May 2013 14:30:44 EDT 9437 A few years ago, most would have called Pat Fitzgerald delusional. Even more would have called his pitch sour grapes for missing out on so many prospects to the rest of the Big Ten. But in the midst of a 2014 recruiting class already considered Northwestern's best ever, Fitzgerald just tries to say it unpretentiously. "I'm not sure if the term 'selling' is right," Fitzgerald said. "I tell our staff this, and I say this humbly: For a young man to get a top-15 education and compete for Big Ten championships in the backyard of Chicago and to be around our players, if I have to sell it that hard, I'm not sure he's a right fit.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/9429/fitzgeralds-new-best-recruiting-tool Tue, 21 May 2013 10:16:29 EDT 9429 The no. 2 recruit in the country, Jabrill Peppers, will be announcing his decision live this Sunday at 5:15pm on ESPNU. Tom VanHaaren stops by the show to break down the latest with Peppers and what the Michigan Wolverines’ chances are. Also, Jared Shanker joins the show to explain what’s behind the recent recruiting success of Northwestern.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/9425/b1g-official-visit-no-1-cb-peppers-ready Tue, 21 May 2013 09:30:16 EDT 9425 Good news: We are just 100 days away from the start of college football. To mark the occasion, we're pulling out a checklist today of things that Big Ten teams need to accomplish between now and the start of the season. It's not quite "The Final Countdown" (cue GOB Bluth), but we are inching ever so close to kickoff. Here's what needs to happen in the next 100 days: 1. Identify a starting quarterback at Iowa, Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin: It seems as if there are an unusually high number of Big Ten teams who don't know for sure who their starting quarterbacks will be in the fall.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/9417/100-days-checklist-big-ten Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:09 EDT 9417 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.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/9412/illinois-chances-improve-for-qb-transfer Mon, 20 May 2013 09:00:35 EDT 9412 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.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/9408/source-marcius-to-transfer-to-depaul Fri, 17 May 2013 15:56:18 EDT 9408 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.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/9406/depaul-clear-winner-in-arena-deal Fri, 17 May 2013 11:02:56 EDT 9406 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.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/9403/big-ten-releases-2014-football-schedule Thu, 16 May 2013 12:36:35 EDT 9403 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. ]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/9402/video-northwestern-ad-jim-phillips Thu, 16 May 2013 12:30:37 EDT 9402 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.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/colleges/post/_/id/9397/millines-caldwell-wont-return-for-illinois Wed, 15 May 2013 20:16:53 EDT 9397