From UConn:

STORRS, Conn. – Fundraising for a memorial in honor of Jasper Howard, the University of Connecticut football student-athlete who tragically lost his life five years ago, has been successfully completed. The memorial will be officially dedicated on Saturday, November 1, 2014 at halftime of UConn’s Homecoming game vs. UCF at Rentschler Field.

Funds for the statue were raised in a grassroots fashion with the efforts spearheaded by UConn supporters Dan and Lisa Lowry of Prospect, Conn. The lead gift for the memorial came from former UConn head football coach Randy Edsall, who was Howard’s coach with the Huskies. Donations also came from former Husky student-athletes and fans from around the country.

“I want to thank everyone in the UConn family who made this memorial to the life of Jasper a reality,” said UConn Director of Athletics Warde Manuel. “I especially want to recognize our friends Dan and Lisa Lowry, who came up with the concept for the memorial and worked tirelessly to raise the funds that will make it possible. In addition, we are very grateful to Randy Edsall and his family for their generosity towards this project.”

“The support shown by the UConn community has been heartening,” says Joshua Newton, president and CEO of the University of Connecticut Foundation. “People often turn to philanthropy to remember and honor those we lose too early.”

Howard lost his life on October 18, 2009 – hours after UConn had defeated Louisville at Rentschler Field on Homecoming. Howard recorded a career-high 11 tackles in the contest and a fumble recovery.

“Jasper Howard represented everything that is good about college athletics,” said Edsall. “He loved being a student-athlete at UConn. His tragic death had a bonding reaction with the entire UConn community that none of us will ever forget for the rest of our lives.”

Funds will continued to be raised for the Jasper T. Howard Endowed Scholarship Fund at UConn, which is presented annually to a cornerback on the Husky football team who best embodies the qualities of Howard.

For information on how to contribute to that fund, please visit http://s.uconn.edu/howardscholarship.

photo credit: getty images

ESPN will tip off the 2014-15 college basketball season with Midnight Madness coverage from 11 campuses, including seven men’s programs in ESPN.com’s early top 25, on Friday, Oct. 17. ESPNU Midnight Madness (6 p.m. ET) will combine studio and remote coverage to bring fans a three-hour start of the season celebration which involves six schools, including the 2014 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Division I National Champion UConn Huskies. The ESPNU special will also involve five more teams from the 2014 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship: Arizona, Florida, Gonzaga, Kentucky, and San Diego State. This is the ninth year ESPNU Midnight Madness has provided coverage of the annual college basketball tradition.

ESPN3 will also provide Midnight Madness coverage on Friday, Oct. 17, carrying six college basketball programs’ Midnight Madness celebrations in their entirety. In addition to UConn’s “First Night” at 7 p.m., ESPN3 will have Harvard’s “Crimson Madness” (6 p.m.), Mercer’s “Mercer Madness” (6:10 p.m.), Kentucky’s “Big Blue Madness” (7 p.m.), NC State’s “Throwback with the Pack” (8 p.m.) and Florida Gulf Coast’s “Dunk City after Dark” (9 p.m.). A week prior, ESPN3 will also carry Kansas’ “Late Night in the Phog” on Friday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m.

SEC Network’s SEC Now (9 p.m.) will show portions of Kentucky’s “Big Blue Madness”. ESPNU Midnight Madness will re-air at midnight on Friday, Oct. 17, and all of ESPN3’s content is available on-demand.

Additional schools Midnight Madness programs may be added at a later date

ESPNU Midnight Madness Highlights:

Studio Coverage: Andy Katz, host of Katz Korner, will anchor studio coverage along with college basketball analysts Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams. The studio team will preview the 2014-15 season and interview various head coaches throughout the telecast.

Head Coach Perspective: Katz, Greenberg and Williams will be joined in-studio by Villanova head coach Jay Wright, who has led the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament in nine of the last 10 seasons.

All-Access: ESPN commentators and analysts will be on-location, providing viewers a first-hand insight into the various Midnight Madness activities:

• Arizona: Miles Simon (analyst), won the 1997 National Championship at Arizona and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player
• Kentucky: Sean Farnham, former UCLA basketball player, Kara Lawson, former Tennessee standout, WNBA Champion and 2008 Olympic gold medalist (analysts), along with Dave O’Brien (host)
• UConn: Rebecca Lobo, won the 1995 National Championship at UConn, 1996 Olympic gold medalist and was a standout player in the WNBA, Tim Welsh, earned more than 200 wins as a head coach (analysts) along with Kevin Connors (host) and Jeff Goodman (reporter)
• Florida, Gonzaga and San Diego State: Coach Donovan (Florida), Coach Few (Gonzaga) and Coach Fisher (San Diego State) will be wired for sound

Social Media: Fans can join the conversation throughout the night by tagging tweets with #MidnightMadness.

Programming Details: ESPNU’s Midnight Madness (October 17 at 6 p.m. ET)

ESPN3’s Midnight Madness Program Schedule (shown in its entirety)

 Additional schools may be added at a later date for all networks

2014 College Hoops Tip Off Marathon
Seven teams participating in ESPN’s Midnight Madness coverage – Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky (men and women), San Diego State, and UConn women – will play in ESPN’s seventh annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon – more than 24 hours of consecutive coverage to mark the start of the 2014-15 season over Monday, Nov. 17 and Tuesday, Nov. 18. The marathon will feature 19 men’s and women’s college basketball games across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU and includes 17 men’s games and two top-25 women’s matchups concluding with the fourth annual State Farm Champions Classic from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The neutral-site, early-season men’s doubleheader that matches four of the winningest programs against each other begins with College GameDay Covered by State Farm from inside the arena at 6 p.m. ET, followed by ESPN.com preseason-ranked No. 18 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Duke at 7 p.m. and No. 10 Kansas vs. No. 1 Kentucky at 9 p.m. – all on ESPN.

From UConn:

STORRS, Conn. – The UConn Alumni Association will host “An Evening With Champions” featuring women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma and men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 7:00 p.m. at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, Conn.

The event will be hosted by former women’s basketball All-American and National Player of the Year Rebecca Lobo, who is now a broadcaster for ESPN and a member of the UConn Board of Trustees.

This event will offer a rare glimpse into the Basketball Capital of the World as Ollie and Auriemma will give a behind-the-scenes look at UConn’s historic dual championships and their perspectives into the upcoming season. Attendees will enjoy dinner and a cash bar prior to an “Inside the Actor’s Studio”-style question and answer session moderated by Lobo.

Tickets are $85 per person and table sponsorships are available. Net proceeds will support scholarships for UConn students.

“This is an exciting and unique opportunity for true blue Husky fans,” said Mo Cotton Kelly, executive director of the UConn Alumni Association. “Through the support of loyal Huskies, the UConn Alumni Association continues to provide scholarships to UConn students in need. What better way to celebrate our dual championships than enjoying a night of camaraderie while helping other Huskies? It’s a winning combination.”

For more information, please call the Alumni Association at 860.486.2240, or email Debra Crary at debra.crary@uconn.edu. You can also RSVP at UConnAlumni.com/EveningWithChampions.

The American Athletic Conference and ESPN have announced the kickoff time for the game between the UConn Huskies and Tulane Green Wave on October 11.

The game will be begin at 8 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast on ESPNews.

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a DAILY basis.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

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UConn Football links

Video: Foxx At QB Adds New Wrinkle To UConn Offense [sox & dawgs]

Video: Arkeel Newsome Is a Special Talent [sox & dawgs]

Plenty of highlights for UConn commits over the weekend [jim fuller – new haven register]

Huskies Having Trouble Getting Started [hartford courant]

Deshon Foxx an option at quarterback for Huskies [new haven register]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn’s Nurse, Canada fall to Turkey at FIBA Worlds [jim fuller – new haven register]

U.S. National Team Tops Serbia, 94-74 [uconn huskies]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

UConn men’s basketball commit Jalen Adams his own man [new haven register]

UConn junior guard hopeful that hard work results in more opportunities [nbc sports]

Other UConn related links

Field Hockey. No. 2 UConn Falls to No. 1 UNC, 2-1, on Sunday Afternoon [uconn huskies]

W. Soccer. UConn Falls, 3-0, At Cincinnati [uconn huskies]

M. Tennis. Huskies Host UConn Invitational; Rookie Edwards Advances to Finals [uconn huskies]

M. Golf. UConn Finishes Third At Quechee Club Collegiate Challenge [uconn huskies]

W. Tennis. UConn Women Have Strong Showing in West Point [uconn huskies]

Baseball. UConn Baseball Doles Out 2014 Team Awards [uconn huskies]

W. Volleyball. Anagu Selected as The American’s Offensive Player of the Week [uconn huskies]

M. Ice Hockey. UConn Hockey Ready for New Era in Hockey East [uconn huskies]