Bowden Bound for Clemson

Tommy Bowden, who turned Tulane from a football laughingstock into the No. 9 team in the nation with an 11-0 record, held an emotional last meeting with his players before heading for his new job at Clemson.

Tulane Athletic Director Sandy Barbour selected offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez as interim coach.

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Promising a long-term stay, David Cutcliffe became coach at Mississippi, a job he will take on full time after serving one more game as an assistant at No. 1 Tennessee. . . . Florida assistant Carl Franks is getting the coaching job at Duke, his alma mater, according to sources close to the Blue Devil program. . . . Baltimore Raven assistant Kirk Ferentz, who worked under Hayden Fry at Iowa from 1981 to 1989, is returning as Fry’s successor. . . . Utah Coach Ron McBride has discussed the Hawaii coaching vacancy with Athletic Director Hugh Yoshida, according to published reports. . . . Cal State Northridge Coach Ron Ponciano was chosen the Big Sky Conference coach of the year after leading the Matadors (7-4 overall, 5-3 in conference) to a surprisingly strong season.

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Every University of North Carolina student is entitled to a free ticket to the Las Vegas Bowl, where the Tar Heels face San Diego State on Dec. 19, school officials said in Chapel Hill, N.C. Athletic Director Dick Baddour said students must come to the campus ticket office to sign up for a free ticket. They pick up their free tickets in Las Vegas at Sam Boyd Stadium on game day, he said. When they claim their tickets, students also will have the opportunity to buy tickets in seats next to theirs for $45 each, Baddour said. . . . About 300 Wisconsin students rose early Wednesday in Madison, Wis., to pay $110 for vouchers that will guarantee them tickets to the Rose Bowl, where the Badgers will play Jan. 1. About 60 students arrived at the Kohl Center box office before dawn, disregarding the university ticket office’s requests for them not to line up before 7:30 a.m.