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College football around the nation

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 21, 2000

UConn starts countdown to a new stadium

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut took another big step on the road to becoming a big-time program Friday as officials broke ground on a 40,000-seat stadium.

"I knew we would get here but I wasn't sure where we'd be on that day," Gov. John G. Rowland said. "I look forward to cutting the ribbon in a very short period of time."

With a dump truck in the background, Rowland and a group of dignitaries, including UConn president Philip Austin and athletic director Lew Perkins, scooped soil in gold-plated shovels near what would be the south entrance of the $90-million stadium.

Also in attendance was Karl Krapek, president and chief operating officer for United Technologies Corp., which donated the 75 acres for the stadium at UTC's Pratt & Whitney complex.

"It would not have happened if it wasn't for UTC," Rowland said.

Rowland said the stadium is just part of the larger picture to move UConn from regional to national prominence.

"I want it to be the best university in the entire country," he said.

Crews began working more than two weeks ago on the vacant Rentschler Field airstrip that sits deep in the heart of the Pratt & Whitney campus.

But Friday was a chance for UConn administrators, politicians and business leaders to begin the official countdown that will culminate in UConn's 2003 opener against Rutgers.

The stadium will be called Rentschler Field for the next 15 years, after that, a sponsor can buy naming rights.

The field is named after Fred Rentschler, who founded Pratt & Whitney in 1929.

Vick says he is returning for junior season

Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick, the subject of growing speculation that he will give up his last two years of eligibility and turn pro, told an Atlanta radio station he will return to the Hokies as a redshirt junior next season.

"I'm coming back to school next year. That's what I'm saying," Vick told WQXI on Wednesday when asked to clarify whether he might change his mind.

Vick is one of the leading contenders for the Heisman Trophy this season after finishing third in the voting a year ago.

Speculation about the sensational left-hander's plans grew after a newspaper reported last week that Vick was struggling academically at Virginia Tech.

In a teleconference with reporters Wednesday, Vick said he didn't know where the report came from, but said his grades were fine and that the report was not accurate.

"The issue of coming out early is something I won't entertain right now. I'm definitely not thinking or considering to come out this season," Vick said.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Running back Dicenzo Miller, hospitalized for two nights with stomach pains, traveled with the team Friday and might play tonight against LSU. Doctors feared appendicitis, but that was ruled out and Miller, the team's leading rusher, was released from the hospital and made the trip to Baton Rouge, La.

MONTANA STATE: Assistant coach John Rushing was reinstated, one day after being suspended because of a bar-room scuffle involving a student and a shot fired from a handgun.

University officials said the reinstatement followed "developments in the investigation" but would not elaborate.

"The university, in cooperation with the police are continuing the investigation, but indications are that John was more a victim than a participant," coach Mike Kramer said.

Rushing, 26, and Joshua Beery, a 24-year-old student, were detained and questioned by police after a disturbance that began in the bathroom of a downtown Bozeman bar about 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

During the argument, a gun was shown, the two men struggled for the weapon and a shot was fired into the wall, but neither man was injured by the shot.

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Gary Shelton