http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2005/News/HarrisPollsters.htm
Interesting list of names me thinks.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Biggest collection of egos I have ever seen....:tongue2:
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Lou Holtz, Gerry DiNardo, and 2 others have resigned from the Harris poll.
sportsline.com
In BCS/Harris voting, Jason, Jason WAS your man ...
Aug. 24, 2005
By Dennis Dodd
In the space of an afternoon, Jason Rash went from celebrity to BCS historical footnote.
Rash, an executive for an Atlanta masonry company, resigned from the Harris Interactive Poll on Wednesday afternoon citing notoriety stemming from his participation.
Rash is the son-in-law of Troy University coach Larry Blakeney, who nominated him to the Harris Poll. The poll will be used to help determine the standings in the lucrative Bowl Championship Series.
Rash is believed to be on one of four voters who resigned Wednesday. Former coaches Lou Holtz and Gerry DiNardo, as well as former Pittsburgh quarterback John Congemi, quit the Harris Poll. Their reasons weren't immediately clear.
"Obviously, it was causing more of a stir than it was worth," said Rash, president of Georgia Masonry Supply.
If he stayed, Rash would have been the only fan involved in the polling process. The 33-year-old never played, coached or covered football, unlike the other 113 voters in the poll. The conference that nominated him for Harris, had a bigger problem with his relationship to Blakeney, also a Harris voter.
"We may not want to admit but it's bigger than the commissioners and the former players," Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters said. "If there is a knowledgeable fan out there, I'm good to go with it. Our criteria (for nominees) was being 'knowledgeable' of I-A. The son-in-law issue we were not aware of."
Rash said he decided to resign to after getting calls from media outlets about his unique -- and for a while historic -- relationship with the poll. Late Wednesday afternoon, he called Blakeney and told him he no longer wanted to participate.
"There's people that really care about college football, then there's the politics of it," Rash said. "It's no big deal to me. I have plenty of other golfing opportunities to take advantage of on Sunday."
The Boston Globe first reported Rash's situation Wednesday. CBS SportsLine.com then reached both Blakeney and Rash for comment in a story that ran on the site Wednesday afternoon.
"I might be wrong to do what I did," Blakeney told SportsLine.com. The Troy coach nominated Rash for the poll through the Sun Belt.
"(But) I did it because I knew he'd be credible and accountable."
In terms of poll history, it was not exactly Dewey beating Truman. It was more like The Truman Show, an everyman becoming a part of the media circus. Joining Hall of Famers, Pro Bowlers and coaching legends in the Harris poll was the president of Georgia Masonry Supply.
Rash is married to Blakeney's daughter Tiffany. He played basketball in high school and attended Suwanee (Ga.) College. Slip a couch under his backside and a beer in his palm on Saturdays, and he's a lot like you and me.
He is just not what you'd expect of a typical poll voter. They all have some sort of formal relationship with the game. There's 65 media (AP), 62 coaches and the Harris mix of 113 media, former coaches, players and administrators.
Plus, for a while, one man of the people.
"I'm a serious football fan, that's all I can tell you," Rash said. "You've got to follow it, you've got to understand what's going on. I've been witness to some of the other coaches' polls. Some of the coaches don't take that very seriously."
Which begged the question of whether Rash could be objective. Not that anyone know if he was voting Troy No. 5 each week. Like the coaches poll, Harris ballots will be kept secret during the season unless released by individual voters themselves.
"I wish my father-in-law's team (were at the top 25 level), so that I could cast a vote for him," Rash said.
The issue was how Rash somehow got into the circus despite not having the qualifications for nomination laid out by the BCS. It asked conferences to submit only Harris nominees who were former players, coaches or administrators.
"This one here, I don't think it fits that criteria," said BCS spokesman Bob Burda. "We did not do background checks, nor did Harris. We asked the conference to provide background information on nominees. We had background on some but not all."
One check of Troy's media guide is all the BCS needed.
"His name is listed in my bio," Blakeney said.
The Harris controversy didn't stop with Rash.
The 114 Harris participants were chosen from among 300 nominees submitted by the 11 I-A conferences and Notre Dame. The first Harris poll will be released on Sept. 25. The first BCS standings debut on Oct. 17.
"I wish they'd go to a playoff system, then all would be right with the world," Rash said.
sportsline.com
In BCS/Harris voting, Jason, Jason WAS your man ...
Aug. 24, 2005
By Dennis Dodd
In the space of an afternoon, Jason Rash went from celebrity to BCS historical footnote.
Rash, an executive for an Atlanta masonry company, resigned from the Harris Interactive Poll on Wednesday afternoon citing notoriety stemming from his participation.
Rash is the son-in-law of Troy University coach Larry Blakeney, who nominated him to the Harris Poll. The poll will be used to help determine the standings in the lucrative Bowl Championship Series.
Rash is believed to be on one of four voters who resigned Wednesday. Former coaches Lou Holtz and Gerry DiNardo, as well as former Pittsburgh quarterback John Congemi, quit the Harris Poll. Their reasons weren't immediately clear.
"Obviously, it was causing more of a stir than it was worth," said Rash, president of Georgia Masonry Supply.
If he stayed, Rash would have been the only fan involved in the polling process. The 33-year-old never played, coached or covered football, unlike the other 113 voters in the poll. The conference that nominated him for Harris, had a bigger problem with his relationship to Blakeney, also a Harris voter.
"We may not want to admit but it's bigger than the commissioners and the former players," Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters said. "If there is a knowledgeable fan out there, I'm good to go with it. Our criteria (for nominees) was being 'knowledgeable' of I-A. The son-in-law issue we were not aware of."
Rash said he decided to resign to after getting calls from media outlets about his unique -- and for a while historic -- relationship with the poll. Late Wednesday afternoon, he called Blakeney and told him he no longer wanted to participate.
"There's people that really care about college football, then there's the politics of it," Rash said. "It's no big deal to me. I have plenty of other golfing opportunities to take advantage of on Sunday."
The Boston Globe first reported Rash's situation Wednesday. CBS SportsLine.com then reached both Blakeney and Rash for comment in a story that ran on the site Wednesday afternoon.
"I might be wrong to do what I did," Blakeney told SportsLine.com. The Troy coach nominated Rash for the poll through the Sun Belt.
"(But) I did it because I knew he'd be credible and accountable."
In terms of poll history, it was not exactly Dewey beating Truman. It was more like The Truman Show, an everyman becoming a part of the media circus. Joining Hall of Famers, Pro Bowlers and coaching legends in the Harris poll was the president of Georgia Masonry Supply.
Rash is married to Blakeney's daughter Tiffany. He played basketball in high school and attended Suwanee (Ga.) College. Slip a couch under his backside and a beer in his palm on Saturdays, and he's a lot like you and me.
He is just not what you'd expect of a typical poll voter. They all have some sort of formal relationship with the game. There's 65 media (AP), 62 coaches and the Harris mix of 113 media, former coaches, players and administrators.
Plus, for a while, one man of the people.
"I'm a serious football fan, that's all I can tell you," Rash said. "You've got to follow it, you've got to understand what's going on. I've been witness to some of the other coaches' polls. Some of the coaches don't take that very seriously."
Which begged the question of whether Rash could be objective. Not that anyone know if he was voting Troy No. 5 each week. Like the coaches poll, Harris ballots will be kept secret during the season unless released by individual voters themselves.
"I wish my father-in-law's team (were at the top 25 level), so that I could cast a vote for him," Rash said.
The issue was how Rash somehow got into the circus despite not having the qualifications for nomination laid out by the BCS. It asked conferences to submit only Harris nominees who were former players, coaches or administrators.
"This one here, I don't think it fits that criteria," said BCS spokesman Bob Burda. "We did not do background checks, nor did Harris. We asked the conference to provide background information on nominees. We had background on some but not all."
One check of Troy's media guide is all the BCS needed.
"His name is listed in my bio," Blakeney said.
The Harris controversy didn't stop with Rash.
- There are no women among the 114, although some were nominated according to a Harris spokesman. Harris' selection process was random.
- While participants in the coaches poll might vote their team at unethically high levels, there is a different objectivity question in the Harris. Will the likes of former coach Larry Smith dismiss the teams that fired him -- USC and Missouri?
- Voter Gene Bartow is best known as a basketball coach (at UCLA, among others). He is the former athletic director at UAB.
- Kevin Duhe currently is territory manager for Blue Bell Ice Cream. He played at Northeast Louisiana.
- Brenston Buckner is on the Carolina Panthers active roster. That might have an impact on his ability to vote -- or his playing time if Buckner spends too much time considering his ballot. NFL teams typically travel to road games on Saturday and play on Sundays.
- Former SMU quarterback Lance McIlhenny was quoted in the Dallas Morning News as saying: "Any given weekend, if I'm fly-fishing, how am I going to make sure by 1 o'clock on Sunday that this Harris group will have my input?"
- AARP and Bob Evans' waitresses should be happy. The average age of the former coaches and ADs seems to be "walker." Voter John Mackovic, a former coach at Texas and Illinois, was quoted in a Palm Springs, Calif. newspaper saying, "To tell the truth I did not know a couple of them were still alive."
The 114 Harris participants were chosen from among 300 nominees submitted by the 11 I-A conferences and Notre Dame. The first Harris poll will be released on Sept. 25. The first BCS standings debut on Oct. 17.
"I wish they'd go to a playoff system, then all would be right with the world," Rash said.
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Since when do you have to have played football to know what a good team looks like?
Should I have to resign from the BP Poll because I was in marching band instead? (I apologize for not disclosing that at the time I was invited, but screw you guys, I'm staying!)
Should I have to resign from the BP Poll because I was in marching band instead? (I apologize for not disclosing that at the time I was invited, but screw you guys, I'm staying!)
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You're a bandie? My gawd, who was in charge of background checks of you peop... wait.. don't answer that....jlb1705 said:
Personally, I think they oughta pick a group of people (and this group would include me) who are paid to watch college football. During the offseason, these people would be required to research college football. Paid handsomely, I might add.
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Does Dodd vote in the AP Poll? It's interesting to see how much sour grapes there is now that guys like Rash are (were) stealing their Kool-Aid. Mr. Dodd, how does it feel to be even more irrelevant than you already were?
Haha! Yep, I was. I'm not exactly a big guy - I have no business on a football field. I played drums - it could've been worse.Buckeyeskickbuttocks said:
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tibor75
Banned
Aren't Boomer and Largent busy enough with their "real jobs" that would keep them from knowing anything about college football?
My bad, Largent needs a job:
Despite this, Largent decided to run for Governor of Oklahoma in 2002. He easily won the Republican nomination, and resigned his House seat to devote all his energy to the race. Initially seen as an overwhelming favorite against Democratic state senator Brad Henry, his campaign lost ground since most Oklahomans outside of the Tulsa area didn't know where he stood on issues. It didn't help matters that an independent conservative was also in the race and siphoned off much of Largent's base. Perhaps his biggest misstep occurred when he swore at an Oklahoma City television reporter who wanted to know where he was at the time of the September 11 attacks. Largent lost to Henry by just under 7,000 votes.
My bad, Largent needs a job:
Despite this, Largent decided to run for Governor of Oklahoma in 2002. He easily won the Republican nomination, and resigned his House seat to devote all his energy to the race. Initially seen as an overwhelming favorite against Democratic state senator Brad Henry, his campaign lost ground since most Oklahomans outside of the Tulsa area didn't know where he stood on issues. It didn't help matters that an independent conservative was also in the race and siphoned off much of Largent's base. Perhaps his biggest misstep occurred when he swore at an Oklahoma City television reporter who wanted to know where he was at the time of the September 11 attacks. Largent lost to Henry by just under 7,000 votes.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Five voters withdraw from Harris college football poll
NEW YORK -- The new college football poll being used by the Bowl Championship Series will have to replace five voters on its recently unveiled panel, four who work for ESPN and one whose only connection to college football is his father-in-law.
Lou Holtz, Gerry DiNardo, John Congemi and Sam Smith are not permitted by ESPN to vote in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll because it is being used by the BCS to determine which teams play for the national championship.
Jason Rash, the son-in-law of Troy coach Larry Blakeney, has withdrawn from the 114-member Harris voter panel after the BCS informed the Sun Belt Conference that he did not meet its voter criteria.
Congemi, the former Pittsburgh quarterback, is a game analyst for ESPN's regional college football coverage. Holtz, who retired as South Carolina coach last year, recently signed on as a studio analyst. DiNardo, fired as Indiana coach after last season, will work for ESPN Radio.
Smith, who does play-by-play for ESPN's regional coverage of Sun Belt Conference games, was asked by the network on Thursday to give up his spot on the Harris poll and agreed, according to ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz.
"When the Harris poll was announced, we went on record saying our commentators wouldn't participate for journalistic reasons," Krulewitz said. "That decision is consistent given our decision to pull out of the coaches' poll."
ESPN said it removed its name from the USA Today coaches' poll earlier this year because all ballots are not being made public. The coaches agreed this season to release only their final ballots for the first time.
The Harris poll is being used by the BCS to replace The Associated Press media poll after the AP asked college football officials to stop using the Top 25 in their formula for picking teams to play in the four major bowls.
Nancy Wong, a spokeswoman for Harris Interactive Inc., said Congemi has confirmed his withdrawal, but Holtz, DiNardo and Smith had not yet informed Harris by Thursday afternoon that they will not be participating.
The 11 Division I-A conferences and Notre Dame provided Harris with a pool of about 300 possible poll voters. The panel was randomly selected with the only consideration being equal representation for all conferences.
Wong said Harris will randomly select replacements for Harris and Rash out of the remaining pool of voters, and is prepared to do the same for Holtz and DiNardo when their withdrawals are confirmed.
There were no women among the 114 original voters. Wong said there are female candidates in the voter pool, so the possibility exists that a woman could be selected as a replacement. But no special accommodation will be made to put a woman on the panel, she said.
NEW YORK -- The new college football poll being used by the Bowl Championship Series will have to replace five voters on its recently unveiled panel, four who work for ESPN and one whose only connection to college football is his father-in-law.
Lou Holtz, Gerry DiNardo, John Congemi and Sam Smith are not permitted by ESPN to vote in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll because it is being used by the BCS to determine which teams play for the national championship.
Jason Rash, the son-in-law of Troy coach Larry Blakeney, has withdrawn from the 114-member Harris voter panel after the BCS informed the Sun Belt Conference that he did not meet its voter criteria.
Congemi, the former Pittsburgh quarterback, is a game analyst for ESPN's regional college football coverage. Holtz, who retired as South Carolina coach last year, recently signed on as a studio analyst. DiNardo, fired as Indiana coach after last season, will work for ESPN Radio.
Smith, who does play-by-play for ESPN's regional coverage of Sun Belt Conference games, was asked by the network on Thursday to give up his spot on the Harris poll and agreed, according to ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz.
"When the Harris poll was announced, we went on record saying our commentators wouldn't participate for journalistic reasons," Krulewitz said. "That decision is consistent given our decision to pull out of the coaches' poll."
ESPN said it removed its name from the USA Today coaches' poll earlier this year because all ballots are not being made public. The coaches agreed this season to release only their final ballots for the first time.
The Harris poll is being used by the BCS to replace The Associated Press media poll after the AP asked college football officials to stop using the Top 25 in their formula for picking teams to play in the four major bowls.
Nancy Wong, a spokeswoman for Harris Interactive Inc., said Congemi has confirmed his withdrawal, but Holtz, DiNardo and Smith had not yet informed Harris by Thursday afternoon that they will not be participating.
The 11 Division I-A conferences and Notre Dame provided Harris with a pool of about 300 possible poll voters. The panel was randomly selected with the only consideration being equal representation for all conferences.
Wong said Harris will randomly select replacements for Harris and Rash out of the remaining pool of voters, and is prepared to do the same for Holtz and DiNardo when their withdrawals are confirmed.
There were no women among the 114 original voters. Wong said there are female candidates in the voter pool, so the possibility exists that a woman could be selected as a replacement. But no special accommodation will be made to put a woman on the panel, she said.
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Gosh, I feel so much differently about them because they have such high moral standards...you know, transparency and all that...I'm sure it had nothing to do with trying to force coaches votes to be public so they could really get in there and stir crap!bucknuts44820 said:
I mean, heck, everybody knows that ESPiN has high professional journalistic moral standards...
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To be fair, they only need to keep Holtz away from the poll for 3 years - that's how long South Carolina is on probation. 
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Mandich was a scUM'er that played TE for the undefeated '72 Dolphins.
si.com
Pruett, Goff among Harris poll's six new voters
NEW YORK (AP) -- Recently retired Marshall coach Bob Pruett, former Georgia coach Ray Goff and four others were chosen Wednesday to vote in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, replacing the six panelists who withdrew last week.
Former players Jim Mandich and Joe Jacoby and former college assistant coaches Denny Aldridge and Frank Sadler were also placed on the 114-member panel of former players, coaches and administrators, plus some media members.
Pruett stepped down at Marshall in March.
The Harris poll lost four voters -- John Congemi, Gerry DiNardo, Lou Holtz and Sam Smith -- because they work for ESPN and the network does not allow its employees to take part in polls used by the Bowl Championship Series to determine which teams play for a national title.
Jason Rash, the son-in-law of Troy coach Larry Blakeney, and former coach Ken Shipp also withdrew shortly after the panel was made public last week.
The Harris Poll replaces The Associated Press Top 25 media poll as one of three components in the BCS standings. The USA Today coaches' poll and a compilation of six computer rankings make up the other two-thirds of a team's BCS grade.
The AP poll had been used by the BCS since its inception in 1998, but after last season the AP asked BCS officials to stop using its rankings in their formula.
ESPN pulled its affiliation to the coaches poll after last season.
The Harris poll panel was selected randomly by Harris Interactive Inc., a marketing firm hired by the BCS, out of a group of more than 300 nominations supplied by the Division I-A conferences and Notre Dame.
The voters were chosen to give equal representation to all 11 conferences.
The first Harris poll will be released Sept. 25, four weeks into the college football regular season. Harris poll voters will not be required to make their ballots public until the final poll Dec. 5.
Voters in the coaches' poll agreed for the first time to release their final ballots this season.
The first BCS standings will be released Oct. 17.
si.com
Pruett, Goff among Harris poll's six new voters
NEW YORK (AP) -- Recently retired Marshall coach Bob Pruett, former Georgia coach Ray Goff and four others were chosen Wednesday to vote in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, replacing the six panelists who withdrew last week.
Former players Jim Mandich and Joe Jacoby and former college assistant coaches Denny Aldridge and Frank Sadler were also placed on the 114-member panel of former players, coaches and administrators, plus some media members.
Pruett stepped down at Marshall in March.
The Harris poll lost four voters -- John Congemi, Gerry DiNardo, Lou Holtz and Sam Smith -- because they work for ESPN and the network does not allow its employees to take part in polls used by the Bowl Championship Series to determine which teams play for a national title.
Jason Rash, the son-in-law of Troy coach Larry Blakeney, and former coach Ken Shipp also withdrew shortly after the panel was made public last week.
The Harris Poll replaces The Associated Press Top 25 media poll as one of three components in the BCS standings. The USA Today coaches' poll and a compilation of six computer rankings make up the other two-thirds of a team's BCS grade.
The AP poll had been used by the BCS since its inception in 1998, but after last season the AP asked BCS officials to stop using its rankings in their formula.
ESPN pulled its affiliation to the coaches poll after last season.
The Harris poll panel was selected randomly by Harris Interactive Inc., a marketing firm hired by the BCS, out of a group of more than 300 nominations supplied by the Division I-A conferences and Notre Dame.
The voters were chosen to give equal representation to all 11 conferences.
The first Harris poll will be released Sept. 25, four weeks into the college football regular season. Harris poll voters will not be required to make their ballots public until the final poll Dec. 5.
Voters in the coaches' poll agreed for the first time to release their final ballots this season.
The first BCS standings will be released Oct. 17.
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