COLLEGE FOOTBALL La. Tech’s Dykes Is Cal-bound

Rutgers Suing Big East To Avoid $10 Million Exit Fee

BERKELEY, Calif. — California hired Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes on Wednesday in hopes that the offensive mastermind can revive a program that struggled in recent years under the fired Jeff Tedford.

Athletic director Sandy Barbour made her biggest hire at Cal just more than two weeks after firing Tedford. Dykes will be formally introduced at an on-campus news conference today.

“Sonny Dykes is one of the brightest offensive minds in the country, running a high-octane style of football, one that I’m certain will allow our student-athletes to thrive and that our community will love on game day,” Barbour said.

The 43-year-old Dykes had a 22-15 record with the Bulldogs, improving their win total each year. The Bulldogs averaged 35.9 points and 452.5 yards per game in his tenure.

He takes over a Cal team that went 3-9 this past season and missed a bowl for the second time in three years. Dykes inherits a roster with some talent, most notably heralded quarterback recruit Zach Kline, who did not play as a freshman but is in line to win the starting job next season.

Cal wide receiver Keenan Allen will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft. He finishes as the school’s all-time leader with 205 receptions.

RUTGERS: Rutgers University is suing the Big East Conference, trying to avoid paying an exit fee.

Rutgers is trying to avoid a $10 million hit for leaving en route to the Big Ten. Big East bylaws state a school must give 27 months’ notice and pay a $10 million withdrawal fee. The lawsuit says the Big East selectively enforced the rules. Rutgers claims some schools did and some did not have to give notice or pay the fee on their way out of the embattled conference.

The league voted to increase its exit fee from $5 million to $10 million last month.

COLORADO: University of Cincinnati coach Butch Jones says he hasn’t agreed to become the Buffaloes coach. In a text message to The Associated Press, Jones called a report that he’s accepted the position “absolutely false.” Asked about the hiring, Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn said in the text that “our process is not complete.”

AWARDS: South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney has won the 2012 Ted Hendricks Award, becoming the first sophomore chosen as the nation’s top defensive end.

… Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert has won the John Mackey Award that goes to college football’s best tight end.

PURDUE: Purdue has hired Kent State’s Darrell Hazell as its new coach.

FIU: Coach Mario Cristobal was fired.