Tedford Named California Coach

Jeff Tedford, offensive coordinator at Oregon the past four seasons, was hired Wednesday as the coach at Pacific 10 Conference rival California.

He replaces Tom Holmoe, who resigned at the end of a 1-10 season. Holmoe had a 16-39 record in five years as Bear coach.

“I’ve been wanting to be a head coach for a long time, and I don’t think there’s a better fit,” Tedford said.

Tedford will continue at Oregon through the Fiesta Bowl, where the Ducks will play Colorado. At the same time, he has begun putting together a staff to help recruit.

Cal’s last winning season was 1993 when the Bears finished 9-4 under Keith Gilbertson and were ranked No. 25. The school’s last conference title was in 1975.

“I have a goal and a vision that Cal can get to where we compete for a Pac-10 championship and at the national level,” Tedford said. “The first goal is to have a winning season. I want to set goals high.

“I want to be wide open and balanced. I want to run the football, throw it and protect the quarterback.”

Before joining the Oregon staff, Tedford was offensive coordinator from 1993-97 at Fresno State, his alma mater.

Since Pappy Waldorf left the program in 1956 with a record of 67-32-4, Cal has had two coaches with winning records. Mike White, who later went to the NFL, was 34-31-1 between 1972-77; Bruce Snyder, who left for Arizona State, had a 29-24-1 record between 1987-91.

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Linebacker Lemarcus Rowell, ruled ineligible to play for Auburn this season because a math course didn’t pass muster with the NCAA, has learned belatedly the NCAA made a mistake.

An NCAA official informed Auburn that Rowell’s file was overlooked for weeks and that the math course actually had been approved in time for Rowell to play as a freshman.

The NCAA ruled that a ninth-grade course Rowell passed, Introduction to Algebra, did not meet the NCAA’s core curriculum guidelines. Although Rowell also had passed trigonometry, Algebra 2 and geometry, the NCAA ruled him ineligible because of that ninth-grade course.

Well into the season, Rowell’s mother, Georgia Bass, saw on the NCAA’s web site that the NCAA membership staff had approved the course on Aug. 8, the day before the Tigers’ first practice. She notified Auburn, which checked with the NCAA.

Kevin Lennon, a vice president for membership services with the NCAA, sent a reply letter to Auburn saying Rowell’s file had been overlooked for five weeks on the desk of a staff member who had left the organization.

Lennon said the notification of the course’s approval did not happen “in a timely manner” and the NCAA issued another letter to Rowell’s family saying steps would be taken to prevent a recurrence. Auburn officials said they did not learn until Oct. 18 that Rowell actually should have been eligible.

Rowell, who enrolled at Auburn but couldn’t join the team, will have four years of eligibility left. The NCAA also granted Auburn’s request to reimburse Rowell’s family for his fall semester’s tuition.

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Florida quarterback Brock Berlin has received Coach Steve Spurrier’s permission to transfer to another school.

“I’m all for Brock Berlin, and he needs to play two years of college football somewhere,” Spurrier said.

Both Berlin and Heisman finalist Rex Grossman are sophomores and would graduate at the same time if they each stayed in school and neither took a redshirt year.

Berlin will be with the team through the Orange Bowl, when No. 5 Florida plays No. 6 Maryland. He is expected to make a decision a few days afterward.

Spurrier has told Berlin he will not force him to sit out two years if he transfers to another Southeastern Conference team, which is the custom when players go from one SEC school to another.

All players have to sit out at least one season when they transfer to another Division I-A school.

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ESPN reported that Boston College Coach Tom O’Brien is the No. 1 candidate to become coach at Georgia Tech. The school is looking for a replacement for George O’Leary, who resigned Sunday to become coach at Notre Dame.

O’Brien, 53, reportedly has met with Georgia Tech Athletic Director Dave Braine. O’Brien led the Eagles to a 7-4 record and a berth in the Dec. 28 Music City Bowl. His five-year record is 30-27.

Other candidates reportedly include Maryland offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe and New York Giant assistant Jimmy Robinson.

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Oklahoma City TV station KWTV reported that Oklahoma State Coach Les Miles has a potentially serious medical condition that may require surgery.

Miles reportedly went to a hospital earlier this week after experiencing pressure in his head that caused him to have bad headaches. His condition is not considered life-threatening.

Miles plans to meet with his doctors next week, the station said.

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Pasadena City College quarterback Nathan Chandler plans to continue his college career at Iowa. He selected the Hawkeyes over Mississippi State.... Miami defensive coordinator Randy Shannon received the Frank Broyles award, given annually to the nation’s top assistant coach.... Colorado’s Daniel Graham won the John Mackey award as the nation’s top tight end.... Howard University will not renew Coach Steve Wilson’s contract, ending his 13-year tenure.