The Nashville Sports Council is close to finalizing a deal that will bring more college football to Nashville.
Louisville coach Bobby Petrino argues an official’s call during the second quarter of their game against Texas A&M at the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium Wednesday Dec. 30, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn.
Officials at Louisville and Western Kentucky are working with the Sports Council on a contract for a game that would be played at Nissan Stadium early in the 2019 season.
An official announcement is expected in the next two weeks.
“That’s certainly a game that we think would deliver a lot of fans and a lot of excitement to the city as well as a very significant economic impact and a national television audience,” said Nashville Sports Council president and CEO Scott Ramsey. “We’ve had lots of success with games like that in the past and it’s certainly something we’re very interested in possibly hosting.”
Since its inception in 1992 the Sports Council has brought five regular-season college football games to Nashville, all of which were played at Nissan Stadium.
The last was in 2015 when Tennessee played Bowling Green. The others: Western Kentucky vs. Kentucky (2011 and 2013), Louisville vs. Middle Tennessee State (2006) and Tennessee vs. Wyoming (2002).
The Sports Council also serves as host for the Franklin American Music City Bowl, which has been played annually since 1998.
Predators photographer shoots SI KIDS cover
Predators team photographer John Russell shot P.K. Subban for the October issue of Sports Illustrated KIDS.
Predators team photographer John Russell landed the cover for Sports Illustrated KIDS this month for the NHL Preview issue.
Russell shot Predators defenseman P.K. Subbanback on July 25 on the ice at Bridgestone Arena, right after Subban was traded from Montreal.
The headline on the cover: “GOT HIM! Forget Pikochu. P.K. Subban was hockey’s biggest off-season prize — and Nashville snagged the star defenseman.”
One of Russell’s photos made SI’s 2007 “Pictures of the Year” issue cover when he shot celebration of the NAIA football championship in Savannah, Tenn., for The Associated Press.
Former JPII linebacker leads FCS in tackles
Former Pope John Paul II linebacker Gunnar Scholato, a sophomore who walked on at Austin Peay in 2015 and is now on scholarship, had 73 tackles after six games, which was the most in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Gunnar Scholato
Scholato averages 12.2 tackles per game, which is second behind South Carolina State’s Darius Leonard (13.6).
“I’m just going out there and playing — there’s not really a number (of tackles) I’m trying to get every game,” Scholato said. “I’m just trying to run to the ball and trying to make plays.”
Scholato said is was “very humbling,” to be the nation’s leading tackler.
“I’m doing everything coach (Will Healy) is asking me to do,” he said.
Scholato’s younger brother Hunter, a linebacker and tight end at Station Camp, has committed to play at Austin Peay.
Coaches on the rise have local ties
USports “10 coaches on the rise in college basketball in 2016-17,” included several with ties to Middle Tennessee.
Jon Rothstein compiled the list in no particular order.
Those with local ties: Western Kentucky’s Rick Stansbury, who was an assistant at Austin Peay (1984-90), Monmouth’s King Rice, who was an assistant at Vanderbilt (2006-11), VCU’s Will Wade, a graduate of Franklin Road Academy and former Chattanooga coach, and East Tennessee State’s Steve Forbes, who was an assistant at Tennessee (2006-11).
Kornet, Bradds on national awards watch lists
Vanderbilt senior Luke Kornet is among the 20 players on the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Center of the Year watch list, and Belmont senior Evan Bradds is on the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year list.
Both awards are presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kornet and Bradds will square off against each other on Nov. 15 when Belmont visits Vanderbilt for the Commodores’ home opener.
In February both watch lists will be narrowed to 10 and in March to five. Winners be announced on April 7 at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show in Los Angeles.
Major is new Middle Tennessee Football Foundation president
Former Middle Tennessee State football standout John Major is the new president of the National Football Foundation & College Sports Hall of Fame Middle Tennessee Chapter.
Major, who played football and baseball at Lebanon High, is a Murfreesboro resident and has served on the MTFF board for 10 years.
He played center at MTSU (1965-67) under coach Bubber Murphy.
Major replaced Bob Hyde, former Titans director of alumni relations and military outreach who served as president this past year.
The new vice presidents are former Tennessee defensive back Al Dorsey (external affairs) and former longtime sports talk radio show host George Plaster(internal affairs), who is now associate athletics director at Belmont.
TSU recruiting Cam Newton’s brother
Tennessee State is recruiting Cam Newton’s younger brother Caylin, who also plays quarterback, according to 247Sports.
Caylin is a senior at Grady High School in Atlanta and a three-star prospect.
Cam and Caylin’s older brother Cecil Jr. played at TSU. He was a starting center (2006-08), who went on to play in the NFL for Jacksonville (2009-2010).
Lipscomb assistant makes Golf Digest list
Ben Pellicani
Lipscomb associate head coach Ben Pellicani is listed on Golf Digest’s 2016-17 list of “The Best Young Teachers In America.”
Pellicani is 32 and also works as an instructor at Family Golf Center At Hickory Hollow.
He has been on coach Will Brewer’s staff at Lipscomb since 2014.
Hall of fame referee Billy Still dies
Longtime TSSAA football and basketball official Billy Still died last Sunday. He was 81.
Still, who played football, basketball and baseball at Hume-Fogg, officiated football games for 57 years and didn’t retire until three years ago after being injured while calling a scrimmage. He had stopped calling basketball games after suffering a stroke in 1998.
Still served for many years on the board of directors for the Middle Tennessee Football and Basketball Officials Associations.
He was inducted into the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame in 2012 and also received the John Patton Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with youth sports and was awarded the A.F. Bridges Sportsmanship Award for Football Official of the Year.
Tiasha Gray
APSU’s Gray signs pro deal in Sweden
Former Clarksville High and Austin Peay basketball standout Tiasha Gray signed a contract on Monday to play professionally in Sweden.
Gray, a two-time All-OVC performer who is Austin Peay’s all-time steals leader (315) and second-leading scorer (1,911 points), joined the Sweden Mark Basket team, which already has begun its season.
Belmont golfers make holes-in-one
Two Belmont freshman golfers made holes-in-one on consecutive days in the Austin Peay Intercollegiate Tournament at Greystone Golf Club in Dickson.
In his second round on Monday McCullough Pickens made his first career hole-in-one on the 145-yard, No. 11 hole.
Then in Tuesday’s third round Nate Thompson made his first ace on the 200-yard, No. 6.
Influential women in sports speaking at Vandy Sunday
A free round table discussion — Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women in Athletics Leadership — is open to the public Sunday and will feature five influential women in collegiate and professional sports at Vanderbilt’s McGugin Center.
Tiffany Daniels
The panel of speakers includes SEC associate commissioner Tiffany Daniels, TSU athletics director Teresa Phillips, Vanderbilt deputy athletics director Candice Lee, Predators executive vice president, general counsel and chief financial officer Michelle Kennedy and OVC commissioner Beth DeBauche.
The discussion will be from 3:30-4:30 p.m. and moderated by Vanderbilt women’s associate basketball coach and former ESPN broadcaster Carolyn Peck.
There will be a meet-and-greet/reception at 3 p.m.
Then at 7 p.m. ESPN senior vice president Rosalyn Durant, who oversees ESPNU, SEC Network and Longhorn Network, will speak on “Diversity and Leadership in Collegiate Athletics” in the Vanderbilt Student Life Center as part of the Crawford Lecture Series.
That event also is free.
SEMO uses Titans practice facility
Southeast Missouri’s football team stopped in Nashville Friday on its way to play Saturday at Tennessee Tech.
The Redhawks practiced at the Titans indoor bubble.
White welcomes back former Vandy players
New Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach Stephanie White wasted no time connecting with the Commodores former players.
White served as host for an alumni reunion this weekend.
Some who showed up: Sheri Sam, Karen Booker, Mara Cunningham, Cherish Stringfield, Patsy Smith, Teresa Phillips, Nicole Jules, Caroline Williams, Rhonda Blades, Lippy Kimery, Dana Turner and Jessica Mooney.
Cronan presented lifetime achievement award
Tennessee Director of Women’s Athletics Emeritus Joan Cronan received the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators Lifetime Achievement Award last week in Kansas City.
Cronan led the UT women’s athletics department, which was among the nation’s most successful, for 28 years.
She recently published a book, “Sport Is Life with the Volume Turned Up.”
If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
SPORTS ON NASHVILLE TV
The top 5 local sporting events television ratings for Oct. 10-16.
1. College football: Alabama-Tennessee 25.7 rating
2. NFL: Titans-Browns 22.8 rating
3. NFL: Cowboys-Packers 13.5 rating
4. NFL: Broncos-Chargers 12.1 rating
5. NFL: Colts-Texans 11.1 rating
Each rating point is equal to 10,116 Nashville homes.
Source: Mark Binda, WTVF-5 program & research director
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