Sylvester Croom resigned from Mississippi State yesterday, five years after becoming the Southeastern Conference's first black head football coach.
Croom's decision came less than 24 hours after an embarrassing 45-0 loss to No. 25 Mississippi in the most lopsided Egg Bowl in 37 years. He announced the decision after meeting with athletic director Greg Byrne.
Croom, who took over the team while it was under NCAA sanctions, won 2007 SEC coach of the year honors after leading the Bulldogs to an 8-5 finish and the Liberty Bowl. He signed a contract extension in the offseason that paid him $1.7 million this year.
But he came under immediate pressure from fans after a season-opening loss to Louisiana Tech of the Western Athletic Conference, and the heat only intensified as the offensively inept Bulldogs stumbled to a 4-8 finish.
His record at Mississippi State was 21-38.
Calls for Croom to make changes to his coaching staff and run-first offensive philosophy dogged the Bulldogs. The team continued to have trouble at quarterback and Croom switched starters midway through the season.
The Bulldogs were 11th in the SEC in scoring offense (16.6 points per game) and 10th in total offense (297.7 yards per game) through 11 games and lost badly at Georgia Tech (38-7) and Tennessee (34-3).
Miami University coach Shane Montgomery has resigned after a 2-10 season.
Athletic director Brad Bates announced the resignation, saying the team had not achieved the level of success the university expects.
The news came the day after Ohio piled up 516 yards of total offense to beat Miami 41-26 at home. Miami was 17-31 during Montgomery's four seasons as coach.
Bowling Green has fired Gregg Brandon as football coach after six years.
Brandon was 44-30 in his six years in charge of the Falcons, including 31-17 in the Mid-American Conference. The Falcons were 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the MAC this season. They closed their season with a 38-10 win at Toledo on Friday night.
Nate Kmic is the Division III leader in career rushing after he gained 235 yards in Mount Union's 42-7 win over Hobart in the second round of the playoffs in Alliance, Ohio.
Kmic has 7,449 yards, surpassing the 7,353 set by R.J. Bowers of Grove City College in Pennsylvania (1997-2000).