10 Summer Events to Help College Football Fans Through the Offseason
College football's hot, long offseason summer months are here. Spring practices are in the books, and it's the time of year when no news is good news.
You're wandering aimlessly through a metaphorical desert—or, maybe a real desert, for all we know; people have strange summer plans—with no earthly idea about which way you're headed. We get it, and if we could, we'd give you a hug. But we can't, so here's a list of things to keep you occupied in the meantime.
From conference media days to summer camps and everything in between, here are 10 events to keep you going until college football preseason camps start in August.
The more you can concentrate on other things, the faster the next few months will go.
SEC Media Days
1 of 10
One of college football's greatest treasures is the look Alabama head coach Nick Saban gives when he's clearly annoyed with a reporter's question. Now, magnify that by 1,000, and you have SEC Media Days.
And, in a couple of short months, they'll be here.
SEC Media Days 2015 will take place from July 13-16 in Hoover, Alabama. The full schedule can be seen below. Among the inevitable storylines will be Alabama's quarterback battle, Tennessee's hype machine and Nick Chubb's Heisman chances. Plus, Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema and South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier will be there, so there is bound to be a handful of amazing quotes as well.
SEC Media Days 2015 Schedule:
MONDAY, July 13
SEC Commissioner
Auburn - Gus Malzahn
Florida - Jim McElwain
Vanderbilt - Derek Mason
TUESDAY, July 14
SEC Coordinator of Football Officials Steve Shaw
South Carolina - Steve Spurrier
Texas A&M - Kevin Sumlin
Mississippi State - Dan Mullen
Tennessee - Butch Jones
WEDNESDAY, July 15
Alabama - Nick Saban
Kentucky - Mark Stoops
Arkansas - Bret Bielema
Missouri - Gary Pinkel
THURSDAY, July 16
LSU - Les Miles
Georgia - Mark Richt
Ole Miss - Hugh Freeze
College World Series
2 of 10
The college football season is on hiatus, but there's a chance your school of choice is still playing—in baseball.
The College World Series will take place at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, from June 13-23/24. There are certainly worse ways you can wait out the long summer months before college football starts again. And, if your favorite school is playing, there's reason to have a vested interest in the results.
There's a reasonable debate that baseball is no longer America's favorite pastime. That said, the drama of playoff baseball is as good as any sport. When there's little else going on in the world of sports besides baseball, the CWS is a fun finale.
Pac-12 Media Days
3 of 10
Over the past couple of years, the Pac-12 has stated its case as the second-strongest conference in college football. Some might contend, from top to bottom, the Pac-12 is the best league in college football.
Still, the Pac-12 doesn't have the national championship to show for it. Oregon had a chance in January, but fell to Ohio State. Could the Ducks get back to the national championship in 2015-16 without Marcus Mariota? The quarterback battle between Jeff Lockie and Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams Jr. will be one of the most interesting of the offseason.
Speaking of championships, is USC finally back on track to win one? Second-year coach Steve Sarkisian will have to answer plenty of questions about expectations during Pac-12 media days this summer.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Elite 11 Quarterback Regional Camps
4 of 10
Want the skinny on the best crop of quarterbacks who will be household names in three or four years? Check out the results from the annual Elite 11 regional camps. The product of former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, the camp's official website boasts, "10 of the past 11 quarterbacks to have won the Heisman Trophy attended the Elite 11 finals or an Elite 11 regional."
B/R's recruiting gurus, Damon Sayles and Sanjay Kirpalani, have been all over the regional camps so far. There are a few more regional sites before the The Opening Finals (more on that later) later this summer.
Below are the remaining Elite 11 regional dates, per StudentSports.com:
May 17—San Leandro, California
May 31—Columbus, Ohio
June 14—Eugene, Oregon
Two of the recent names to pass through the Elite 11 camps include Kyler Murray (Texas A&M) and Jarrett Stidham (Baylor)—and that was just in the Dallas regional last year.
Big Ten Media Days
5 of 10
Big Ten Media Days are new and improved in that they are now, in fact, two full days.
According to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com, "Seven teams will appear July 30, other seven July 31." If the Big Ten were smart, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh would appear one day with Ohio State coach Urban Meyer appearing the next. Meyer, of course, will take questions about his team's quarterback battle and what it will take to repeat as national champions.
Harbaugh will be asked about, well, pretty much everything, but satellite camps, transfer rules and quarterback competitions will likely be on the agenda.
Now, if the Big Ten were really smart, it would make conference media days a three-day affair. But, you know, walk before you run and all that.
The Opening Finals
6 of 10
Earlier, we mentioned the Elite 11 regional quarterback camps. Quarterbacks selected from those regional sites filter into the The Opening Finals at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, July 5-10.
But The Opening Finals aren't just for quarterbacks. Some of the best high school products at every position around the country are invited to The Opening Finals. You can check out the updated roster courtesy of Brandon Huffman of Scout.com. StudentSports.com also has a series of watch lists broken down by position.
While there, athletes take part in specific drills, like 7-on-7, linemen drills and national championship competitions. There's definitely a recruiting aspect to this camp as well. Fans of verbally committed prospects can see what they're getting, while top uncommitted players will be closely watched during the recruiting process.
Big 12 Media Days
7 of 10
In this young College Football Playoff era, no conference is more interesting than the Big 12. It's the only Power Five conference without a championship game, and that will remain the case for the immediate future. However, it's no secret that the lack of a 13th game hurt the Big 12 in last year's playoff race. Both Baylor and TCU finished outside the top four at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.
“What we heard is if we don’t go to a championship game we’re at a disadvantage,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said last month (h/t David Ubben, Fox Sports).
The Big 12's plan to get into the playoff going forward will no doubt be a major storyline during conference media days, July 20-21 in Dallas. Grad transfer rules, which Bowlsby has been a vocal opponent of, will also surely be a talking point.
NFL Training Camps/Preseason
8 of 10
We're crossing over into enemy territory here by talking about the NFL, but fans of college football should be fans of the NFL in a way, too. And not just because it's football, but because the players we've come to love over the last three or four years are making lives for themselves at the highest level of the game.
That dream turns into a reality during NFL training camps and transitions into the preseason (August 13-September 4).
For former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, there's a good chance he starts Week 1 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The same goes for former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans. Following the development of two former Heisman winners at the next level should be on every college football fan's list.
Cardale Jones' First Pitch with the Cleveland Indians?
9 of 10
As a college football fan, you're likely aware that Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones has been having the best offseason of anyone in the game. If nothing else, he's mastering his Twitter game, talking smack to Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls and asking to throw out the first pitch in a baseball game.
On the latter category, he may get his wish.
After notifying the Cleveland Indians that he wanted to throw out the first pitch for a game, the organization replied and seemed to oblige the request.
When this will happen officially, we're not sure. But if you're a Buckeyes fan—and there surely are plenty in the greater Cleveland area—keep an eye out for it.
ACC Media Days
10 of 10
Think Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson will, in fact, transfer to Florida State? If he does, the Seminoles will once again be the major draw at ACC Media Days in July. With quarterback Jameis Winston off to the NFL, Sean Maguire looked like he was next in line to start for the Seminoles.
That may still be the case, but Golson could make things interesting in Tallahassee.
Golson's transfer—and grad transfers in general—satellite camps and early signing periods will undoubtedly be on the agenda for ACC coaches.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
