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College football

Franchione leaving 'Bama to take over at Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Dennis Franchione didn't have much to say about becoming the new football coach at Texas A&M.

Franchione landed in a private jet Thursday afternoon and was whisked into an awaiting car for a short ride to the A&M campus.

"I'll talk to all of you tomorrow," he said.

Erle Nye, chairman of the Texas A&M board of regents, confirmed Franchione agreed to a deal with the Aggies to replace R.C. Slocum, who was fired Monday.

"We made great strides under Coach Slocum," Nye said. "R.C. brought us all this and I think Coach Fran will do the same and we will go forward."

Franchione leaves Alabama less than a year after the school was hit this year with harsh NCAA sanctions.

Texas A&M scheduled a news conference for 9:30 a.m. today to announce the hiring. Nye said the school and Franchione agreed to many terms of a contract, including duration and salary.

Franchione was 25-11 at TCU from 1998-2000 and 17-8 in two years at Alabama, including a 10-3 mark this season. The Tide was not eligible to play in a bowl game because of NCAA sanctions.

Army-Navy bid in

The Tampa Bay Sports Commission, with the support of the Bucs and South Florida, has submitted an initial proposal to host the Army-Navy game from 2004-08.

The academies also have received letters from 12 cities, including Miami, Jacksonville, East Rutherford, N.J., the site of this year's game, and Philadelphia, home of the 2003 game. The deadline, however, isn't until mid January.

One of the biggest hurdles for Tampa Bay figures to be monetary. The bid would have to guarantee enough money for Army and Navy to transport and house about 8,000 cadets and midshipmen.

"The corporate community is really excited about it," said commission member Jeff Adams, who is scheduled to attend Saturday's game in the Meadowlands.

Beyond that issue is geography. Between 1945-2001, the game left the Philadelphia area just five times and only once was it played outside the Northeast. The Rose Bowl hosted the 1983 game.

Bulls take day off

TAMPA -- It is down to hours until USF learns its postseason fate, and coach Jim Leavitt gave the team the day off.

USF has a conditional bid to the Dec. 25 Hawaii Bowl awaiting if Cincinnati loses to East Carolina tonight. After Hawaii extended the bid Wednesday, Leavitt said he thought that was USF's only chance to go to a bowl. But he isn't worried about having his team's fate in someone else's hands.

"No, not at all," Leavitt said. "I don't have any control over it, so it doesn't faze me one bit."

Leavitt said the team wasn't planning to watch the game together and that he probably would watch the game at athletic director Lee Roy Selmon's restaurant.

Gator's career over?

GAINESVILLE -- Backup offensive tackle Bobby Williams' football career may be over.

Coach Ron Zook said Williams, who injured his head and neck last month, has stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spine. Williams found out about the condition after testing at Shands at the University of Florida, Gainesville, after the injury.

Williams has recovered from the injury, but might not return.

"He's kind of thinking what's best for him," Zook said. "There's been some suggestions that it might be safer (to stop playing)."

Zook said he would remain on scholarship if he decides not to play, and the scholarship would not count against Florida's limit.

Williams collided with teammate Ray Snell during a scrimmage Nov. 19. He lost feeling in his legs for about 25 seconds and spent a night in the hospital.

ARIZONA: Junior tight end Justin Levasseur was arrested on felony drug trafficking charges after he was stopped in Illinois with 87 pounds of marijuana.

ILLINOIS: Receiver Brandon Lloyd will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft.

KANSAS: Coach Mark Mangino, who finished his first season without a Big 12 victory, was given a one-year contract extension.

LOUISVILLE: Quarterback Dave Ragone was named Conference USA player of the year.

-- Times staff writer Brian Landman and Times correspondents Jill Martin and Anthony Gagliano contributed to this report.

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