"Weiss, Paterno missed Rose Bowl invitations but are raking in endorsement, speaking offers." By Dan Benjamin (vol. 8 iss. 37).

Basically, the article is making a big deal out of the fact that Norte Dame's Head football coach Charlie Weiss and Penn State's Joe Paterno are getting more national publicity (endorsement related, anyways) than Texas' Mack Brown whose Longhorns won the national championship. I really don't know why this would be a shocker, granted Brown led his Longhorn team over a favored USC Trojan team for the national championship; however, star-quarterback (and a sure- fire top 5 pick in the upcoming NFL draft) Vince Young is getting all the accocalades for the victory. In addition Brown who is recieving a lot of regional attention (according to the article 126 organizations have inquired about possible deals) had the reputation of not being able to win the "big one" as Texas has been one of the top teams in country since the turn of the century but Brown always faltered against the University of Oklahoma.

There are a few reasons why Weiss is a huge amount of endorsement attention. First and foremost he is the head coach of the University of Norte Dame football team (for some reason this has a lot of clout; not exactly sure why at least, legitimately speaking) and that he had a successful first season (this was Weiss' first head coaching job, he was previously the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots during their three Super Bowl wins). Other tidbits about Weiss that makes him attractive to endoresement and/or book deals is that Weiss is a Norte Dame alumnus and didn't play college football (which as his manager/agent said makes him the "Rudy" of college coaches). In addition, according to the article, Weiss nearly died from complications of gastric bypass surgery and is raising a special needs daughter.

In my opinion, Joe Paterno is recieving more endorsement deals this year, as compared to the previous few seasons is for a couple of reasons. First, Paterno (who is 79- yearls old and has been at Penn State for over 50 years; 39 years as head coach) returned the Nittany Lions to national prominence this past season. In addition, Paterno is one of the one of the two most regonizable coaches in college football, today, (FSU's Bobby Bowden is the other)as a result of his successful record as Paterno stands fourth in career victories (354) in all divisions of play (I-A, I-AA, II, and III).

Besides the three coaches that the article mentioned, I'm sure Florida State's Bowden and USC's Pete Carroll (who's team won the past 1 1/2 national championships) is also getting alot of attention since the NCAA prohibits athletes from engaging in endorsement deals. Personnally, I have problem with that rule but it helps the NCAA control their interests (which is themselves).