Monday, July 16, 2007

Where Is Dick Vitale When You Need Him?

If you hate Duke basketball, you probably love the football team. The Blue Devils have only one bowl appearance in the past 17 seasons and have lost 20 in a row, tops in the nation. But Blue Devils coach Ted Roof is trying to turn it around and has enlisted Duke's business school — one of the best business schools in the land — to help resurrect the program.

Roof has dispatched director of football relations B.J. Naedele, a 2007 Fuqua School of Business graduate, and Travis Pearson, a Bayne consultant and former player, as well as two interns, one Fuqua student and one undergraduate economics student, to 30 universities to gather data on the best way to lead Duke out of the doldrums.

Their mission, according to Michael Moore of the Raleigh News & Observer, is to create a comprehensive strategic business plan for Duke football.

The Blue Devils need the help. The program operated at a loss of nearly $1.7 million during the 2005-06 school year, according to the university's report under the federal Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

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