Alabama's medical tent is an idea popping up all over college football
When Alabama played for the College Football Playoff title last season, its pop-up medical tent on the sideline was a matter of significant curiosity. There had never really been anything like it before in football, allowing an injured player to be examined privately without having to go back to the locker room.
The collapsible tent, which is attached to the base of a trainer’s table and then pulled over the top in a matter of seconds, was a fairly genius invention both in its practicality and design. And Jeff Allen, who conceived the project and debuted it last year as Alabama’s head football trainer and assistant athletics director for sports medicine, knew it would soon be in demand across football at all levels.
Along with two engineering students at Alabama who brought the idea to life, Allen has formed a company called Kinematic Sports to market and sell the “SidelinER” tent. Allen told USA TODAY Sports this week they’ve opened an office in Tuscaloosa and sold 45 tents to college football programs and another 10 to various customers including high schools and hospitals. According to the company’s Web site, a basic unit can be ordered for $5,000.
The story behind the tent on Alabama's football sideline
“It’s been amazing how this thing took off,” Allen said. “Even though I thought it was going to work, I’ll never forget the day I saw the prototype I was like, ‘Wow, this is going to work. I remember saying, once this thing get out there everybody is going to want one of these and that’s really the response that we’ve seen. We did not have to do a whole lot of marketing or advertising. It kind of took care of itself.”
Now Clemson has one, as does Ohio State, Louisville, Arkansas, Marshall, SMU, Troy, West Virginia, Northwestern, Ole Miss, Florida State and on and on and on. It probably won’t be long before nearly every FBS program has one, but it’s not simply a matter of trying to mimic Alabama.
Besides being easy to transport, the opportunity for a medical training staff to examine a player at a moment of distress and potential panic without 100,000 people peering in can be a valuable tool.
“It just makes so much sense in terms of protecting the privacy of the athlete, and the other thing I found medically is it changes the environment of trying to do an evaluation on an injured athlete without the distraction of the crowd,” Allen said. “I tell people the most critical time in evaluating is five-to-10 minutes after the injury, and to have that type of environment makes a difference. I notice a big difference in our athletes in there. They request it like, ‘let’s go.’ So it’s really been amazing.”
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The success of this project could lead to more in the future. In June, Alabama’s board of trustees approved the Integrative Center for Athletic and Sport Technology (I-CAST), which connects athletics with people in engineering, kinesiology and sports medicine and will try to develop new technologies to benefit performance and injury recovery.
“It’s going to benefit our athletic department and the university,” Allen said. “It’s a great example of the collaboration that Alabama has between athletics and academics. It’s not the norm at a lot of places but we’re lucky here with the culture and climate the way it is.”
COACHING CAROUSEL CLIPS
►With the situations at Southern California, Auburn and Texas A&M stabilizing for the moment, there’s less hysteria about the coaching carousel than there was a few weeks ago. Given the major openings at LSU and Baylor and possible openings at Texas and Oregon, there will still be significant movement, according to several people with ties to the coaching industry. But it might not be armageddon many were predicting.
The key, according to one person with knowledge of the industry, is what happens at Texas. If Charlie Strong can’t save his job, Texas is expected to pursue Houston coach Tom Herman. But if that marriage falls apart for whatever reason, it could trigger a series of dominoes that impact multiple top-25 programs. Among the names that could be mentioned in connection with Texas are Florida’s Jim McElwain, Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze, Washington’s Chris Petersen, North Carolina’s Larry Fedora and California’s Sonny Dykes. It’s also likely Florida State's Jimbo Fisher, Fedora and Freeze will be in play at LSU if interim coach Ed Orgeron doesn’t do enough to be elevated permanently.
►If Strong does keep the job at Texas, he will be in the market for a new defensive coordinator. So will Brian Kelly at Notre Dame and possibly Jimbo Fisher at Florida State and Mark Dantonio at Michigan State. That could create a frenzied market for coordinators and big paydays for defensive coaches currently at smaller program.
Arguably the most sought-after name will be Wake Forest’s Mike Elko, who has been with Dave Clawson since Bowling Green. Elko has done a tremendous job all three years at Wake Forest, and his defense is currently allowing just 17.9 points per game. He’s primed to be this year’s Don Brown, who went from Boston College to Michigan. Houston’s Todd Orlando, Louisville’s Todd Grantham and Washington’s Pete Kwiatkowski are among those whose services will be highly coveted.
►Don’t be surprised if the name Bo Pelini starts popping up more and more in coaching searches. Though Pelini didn’t win the right games at Nebraska and rubbed some fans the wrong way with his irascible personality, he is proving again at Youngstown State that he’s a quality football coach. The Penguins are 5-1 and currently ranked in the top 15 of the FCS poll. Pelini could be a natural fit at Purdue or Minnesota, if it opens.
Bowl projections: Clemson barely hanging on to College Football Playoff spot
FAUX PAS OF THE WEEK
Washington State coach Mike Leach is famous for his tangents, rants and conspiracy theories. Sometimes it’s endearing. This week it was not. Leach, for the second consecutive year, targeted Arizona State for allegedly stealing signs and called on the Pac-12 Conference to investigate.
Leach went even further this time, raising “rumors” that Arizona State uses microphones and cameras in an attempt to pick up what plays opponents call from the sideline.
There are two problems here. First, Leach is simply whining. Though some coaches might frown on it, trying to pick up your opponents signs is part of the game. If you’re paranoid about it, change your signs or figure out a way to shield them.
Second, accusing an opponent of not just breaching protocol but breaking rules in a systematic and complex manner — and doing it under the specter of “rumors” without any evidence — is just wrong.
Graham, for the record, stood up for his program this week telling the Arizona Republic “We do everything exactly by the rules. Period.”
Late Thursday night the Pac-12 announced it had reprimanded Leach and fined him $10,000.
“Conference rules prohibit Pac-12 member institutions from disparaging each other and discrediting other institutions,” commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. “Information or accusations relative to rule violations must be handled by institutions filing those concerns with the Conference office through a formal process, and institutions must refrain from discussing those concerns publicly.”
Ray Anderson, Arizona State's vice president for athletics, said Friday, "I fully support the Pacific-12 Conference Office and Commissioner Larry Scott's decision on this matter. Our professional integrity was questioned for two straight years by Mike Leach’s irresponsible comments and we will not allow that to happen. We are pleased with the outcome and for us the matter is closed.”
ASU practice report: Todd Graham responds to Mike Leach accusations
YOUR WEEKLY HARBAUGH
The mid-October heatwave that settled over much of the USA this week brought unseasonably warm temperatures to Ann Arbor, Mich. So, of course, Jim Harbaugh spun it as a potential edge in Michigan recruiting.
“Now we're the new Mediterranean: a lot of coastline and how about that out there today? 80 degrees out there, it is so beautiful here, it's awesome,” Harbaugh said on his radio show this week. “Global warming is good for Michigan, it's good for recruiting.”
Jim Harbaugh: Global warming is good for Michigan football
DUD OF THE WEEK
Illinois has been a disaster in Lovie Smith’s first season — recruiting isn’t going that well either — and it’s questionable at this point whether he is going to be an impact hire for a program that desperately needed a spark. Illinois currently ranks 99th in total offense, which is bad enough.
But that ranking likely won’t be going up this week against Michigan, which sports the No. 1 defense in college football, allowing just 212.8 yards per game. Michigan is a 38-point favorite for good reason: Harbaugh doesn’t let up on anyone. This mismatch could get ugly fast.
TOP 10 GAMES IN WEEK 8
