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Being unique is an important part of what a university has to offer to its recruits. Each school has its own history, traditions and legends. Part of each school's unique atmosphere is the nickname chosen for its sports teams. Some universities have almost willfully strange nicknames, such as the Banana Slugs of the University of California-Santa Cruz or the Little Johns of Penn State-Albington. Unique nicknames, however, aren't the exclusive domain of small colleges. Even some of the bigger schools have nicknames that may leave you scratching your head. Here are a few whose fabrics we carry.
Labels: college-fabric, college-football-fabric, football-fabric, nicknames, University
How many universities with teams named tigers, warriors or wildcats can you think of? Sometimes it seems as though team names have been selected almost at random, while the more original nicknames leave you scratching your head. Here are the ten most common college team nicknames: 10. Knights: 26 schools 9. Warriors: 28 schools
8. Cougars: 30 universities 7. Pioneers: 31 colleges 6. Wildcats: 32 schools
5. Lions: 33 schools 4. Bull  dogs: 39 universities 3. Tigers: 45 schools
2. Panthers: 50 universities
1. Eagles: 55 colleges
Regardless of the nickname of your favorite college team you can find their fabric here at J&O.
Labels: college-cotton, college-fabric, polar-fleece, University
The major college football conferences are usually listed as the SEC, Pac-10, Big 10, ACC, Big 12, and Big East. Out of all the major conferences this year the Big East finds itself in the unique position of not having a single one of its teams among the top 25 of either the USA Today or Associated Press polls. Nevertheless, the conference has been well represented in prominent bowl games in recent years. Some of the conference's non football factory schools have also become bigger players on the national football scene, especially Rutgers, Cincinnati and Connecticut. Don't sleep on the Big East though, as some of the most exciting players to watch this season will be in the conference. West Virginia's Noel Devine, South Florida's George Selvie and Matt Grothe, and Cincinnati's Tony Pike. Also despite the departure of the conference's most prominent coaches in recent years such as Rich Rodriguez and Bobby Petrino, the conference still has some excellent sideline generals including Rutgers' Greg Schiano and Cincinnati's Brian Kelly.
This is J&O's Big East projection:
3. South Florida
8. Syracuse
So, who do you think is going to win the conference this year? Who do you think this year's sleeper is going to be?
Be prepared for all of the football action of the up-coming college football season with our Big East conference fabrics!
Labels: BCS, Big East, bowls, college-cotton, college-fabric, college-football, NCAA
Who says men don't like soap operas? You may not know many who would admit to watching General Hospital, but most guys tune in as much as possible to the soap opera that is the college football off season. He-said she-said? Relationship troubles? Betrayal? Suspicion? It's not an episode of As the World Turns but the travails of high-school recruits reneging on commitments, coaches jumping ship, and athletic directors on the hot seat.
Where to begin? How about with betrayal? Coaches getting canned always makes for a salacious topic. Just for kicks, let us know how many synonyms for betrayal you spot. (We'll put the over+/under- at 7.5.)
1. Auburn: Tommy Tuberville replaced by Gene Chizik.
2. Boston College: Jeff Jagodzinski replaced by Frank Spaziani.
3. Clemson: Tommy Bowden replaced by Dabo Swinney.
4. Kansas St.: Ron Price replaced by Bill Snyder.
5. Miss. St.: Sylvester Croom replaced by Dan Mullen.
6. Purdue: Joe Tiller replaced by Danny Hope.
7. Syracuse: Greg Robinson replaced by Doug Marrone
8. Tennessee: Phil Fulmer replaced by Lane Kiffin.
9. Washington: Tyrone Willingham replaced by Steve Sarkisian.
Just a few years removed from leading Auburn to an undefeated season in the SEC (for our money the toughest conference in the land) head coach Tommy Tuberville was the victim of a double-cross of sorts when he was pushed out of town.
Former Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski was accused of double-dealing for interviewing for the New York Jets head coaching job while still under contract. In certain circles what Jagodzinski did might be called an attempted sellout. One benefit is that the Eagles now have the felicitously named Dabo Swinney as head coach.
Clemson treacherously fired Tommy Bowden (son of the redoubtable Bobby Bowden) after 9 1/2 disappointing seasons. Under Bowden, the Tiger couldn't take advantage of the currently depressed state of the ACC. 
Phil Fulmer was the victim of Tennessee's perfidy, being let go after returning the Volunteers to prominence in the (much better than the Pac-10) SEC. Even though he led the Volunteers to a national title in the 90's, Tennessee had been noticeably down in recent years.
The performance of the Orangemen under Greg Robinson could be qualified as virtually treasonous by the Syracuse faithful. Under him the Orangemen had a 3-25 record in the Big East and a 10-37 record overall.
(This is either a picture of a dead wombat or of Syracuse under Greg Robinson)
In Joe Tiller's first two seasons at Purdue, the Boilermakers won consecutive bowl games. After that Purdue knew mostly mediocrity. And when it comes to Big Ten football, mediocrity pretty much amounts to treachery.
Washington head coach Ty Willingham may have felt himself the victim of duplicity after receiving a vote of confidence following the 2007 season. Huskies fans may have felt the same way about him as he led the school to a winless season the very next year and finished with the worst winning percentage (.229) in the university's history.
Washington Huskies Fabric: Squares
This is just a brief preview of some of the changes in the coaching landscape for the upcoming season. Come August we'll have more on the preseason rankings. As always, we enjoy hearing your thoughts on NCAA football. Who do you think are the top teams for 2009?In the meantime take a look at the following fabric categories on our web site:
Posts by J&O Fabric Store
Labels: ACC, Big-10, Big-12, Big-East, coaches, college-fabric, football, NCAA, SEC
Our survey of the Top Ten Greatest College Football Games continues with Part 2:
This is the first game on the list in which there no national title aspirations in play. Despite that the game wasn’t just any other. This was the 85th Big Game, the name the annual rivalry game between Stanford and Cal has received. Both teams had struggled through difficult seasons; Cal was out of already contention for a bowl game and Stanford’s bowl aspirations depended on their winning the game. It was also John Elway’s last regular season game at quarterback for Stanford.
The game was low-scoring entering the 4th quarter. Cal was leading 19-17 when John Elway led the Cardinal down the field into field goal range with 8 seconds left. The successful field goal put Stanford up 20-19 and seemingly sealed the win for them. The officials, however, deemed Stanford’s celebration of the field goal to be excessive and penalized them 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff.
To reduce the chances of Cal running the kickoff back, the Stanford special teams coach called for a squib kick. Because of the confusion California only took the field with ten players. The first Cal player to receive the ball was Kevin Moen inside Cal's 45 yard line. He then lateraled the football to Richard Rogers who tossed it to Dwigth Garner. Through all this California had barely gained any yardage and had no time left to run another play.
After Garner received the ball he was surrounded by Stanford players and apparently stopped. At this point the Stanford marching band came onto the field thinking the victory had been secured. They didn't see that at the last moment Garner had pitched the ball back to Rodgers. Rodgers took the ball right and pitched it to Mariet Ford. Ford caught the ball in stride and began to sprint towards the mass of Stanford band members. Soon finding himself surrounded by Stanford defenders, Ford lateraled blindly to Kevin Moen who caught it at about the Stanford 25. Moen breathlessly eluded two more Stanford players and bowled over a hapless trombonist to score the winning touchdown. California spoiled John Elway's last college game by pulling out a miraculous 25-20 win.
Entering the game both team were ranked in the top 12 in the polls, and Miami was the defending national champion. This game featured two prolific quarterbacks: Boston College's Doug Flutie and Miami's Bernie Kosar. The quarterbacks were clearly the stars of the game as Flutie and Kosar combined to go 59-84, for 919 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Boston College struck first and raced out to a 14-0 first quarter lead. By the 4th quarter the tide had turned and the Hurricanes held a 45-41 lead with only 28 seconds remaining.
The Eagles' last drive started on their own 20 yard line with precious few seconds remaining. Nevrtheless, in only three plays Boston College had advanced to the Hurricanes' 48 yard line. With still less time on the clock, Boston College quarterback Flutie called the "55 Flood Tip" play, which called for the receivers to run straight to the end zone and try to tip the ball to another receiver. After the ball was snapped Flutie found himself under heavy pressure and retreated all the way back to the Eagles' 37 yard. After narrowly avoiding a sack he heaved the ball 60 yards into the waiting arms of uncovered receiver Gerard Phelan. The stunning "Hail Mary" play made 47-45 victors of Boston College and became ingrained as one of the greatest sports moments ever captured.
The 1987 Fiesta Bowl provided a study in contrasts. On one side were the flamboyant Miami Hurricanes, a team that had easily handled all comers, including the previous season's national champion Oklahoma Sooners. After beating the top ranked Sooners, Miami retained the #1 ranking for the rest of the regular season. The Hurricanes had a number of top players including quarterback Vinny Testaverde, wide receivers Michael Irvin and Brian Blades, defensive tackle Jerome Brown, and defensive back Bennie Blades.
On the other hand, the Penn State team was about as exciting as its uniforms and ran a more conservative program. Although the Nittany Lions were undefeated, they had struggled against some lesser opponents. By the same token, Penn State had also soundly defeated the 2nd ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
Tensions between the two schools simmered in the days preceding the game. The game itself was a low scoring contest and Penn State took a 14-10 lead in the 4th quarter despite putting up paltry offensive numbers. Miami, however, look poised to sneak out a dramatic, last second victory as they drove to the Nittany Lions' 5 yard line with 18 seconds left. On the last Hurricanes' snap quarterback Testaverde was confused by Penn State's defensive formation and threw an interception in the end zone to lineback Pete Giftopoulous. The Lions preserved their 14-10 victory over the favored Hurricanes.
Miami Hurricanes Fabric: Squares
On Novermber 13th, 1993 the undefeated Florida State Seminoles (ranked #1) and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (ranked #2) met in a classic game in South Bend, Indiana. At stake was a berth in the Orange Bowl and a shot at #3 Nebraska. It pitted one of the all time great programs of college football against the new college football power.
The game itself went mostly the Irish's way as they held a 31-17 lead in the 4th quarter. With only 1:39 left in the game the Seminoles took possession and marched down the field for a quick touchdown. Irish 31, Seminoles 24. The Irish went 3-and-out on their next possession to give the Seminoles one last shot.
With 14 seconds left on the the Seminoles had advanced to the Irish's 14 yard line. On the last play of the game, Seminoles' quarterback got off one last pass but it was batted down. The Irish escaped with a 31-24 victory.
This game is unique in this list in that it would be the last game of the season for both teams. Reaching this point undefeated had left the Trojans and Longhorns as the undisputed titans of college football. Without any doubts as to who deserved to be included in the BCS national title game, the stage was set for an epic battle between two of the most talented teams in recent memory in the most revered of college football venues: the Rose Bowl.
The game pitted two prolific offenses against two talented defenses. USC had the season's Heisman winner in running back Reggie Bush, while Texas had the runner-up in quarterback Vince Young. USC also had the previous season's Heisman winner at quarterback with Matt Leinart.
USC started the game aggresively to take a 7-0 1st quarter lead on a touchdown by running back LenDale White. The 2nd quarter was more active as each team traded turnovers and Texas took a 16-10 lead.
The Trojans came out strong in the 3rd quarter scoring on their first drive to retake the lead 17-16. The Longhorns answered with a scoring drive of their own to reclaim a 23-17 lead. USC scored once more in the 3rd quarter for a 24-23 lead.
USC also scored frist in the 4th quarter to extend their lead to 31-23. Texas could only muster a field goal in response to draw within five. USC responded by scoring another touchdown to take a commanding 38-26 lead.
With 6:42 left in the game Texas began mounting a spectacular comeback. Quarterback Vince Young accounted for all 69 yards of the ensuing scoring drive to make the score 38-33. USC seemed poised to squash Texas' hopes on the following drive. At midfield USC was stopped two yards short of a 1st down with 4th down coming up. So USC coach Pete Carroll opted to go for it with his bruising running back LenDale White, who had already converted three 4th downs for USC. This time Texas made the necessary adjustments and stopped White one yard short. But USC still had the lead.
On the other hand, Texas had Vince Young. On Texas' final possession Young engineered one last scoring drive. Young's magic continued to the end as he scored the winning touchdown on a 4th down play from 5 yards out. He also scored the two point conversion to pull out a hard fought 41-38 win for the Longhorns.
Labels: BCS, Bowl-games, college-fabric, colleges, football-fabrics, NCAA, University
In the annals of history and in the mythologies of many cultures there are stories of formidable foes meeting to do battle. The rivals may be virtually equal, but only one can ultimately emerge victorious. History has seen some truly epochal rivalries: the Romans against the Carthaginians, Elizabeth I against Mary, Queen of Scots, Napoleon against Wellington. Mythology has given us the epic clash between the Greeks and the Trojans, with the fight between Hector and Achilles being a focal point of the story.
College football also has great rivalries. But throughout a rivalry between two schools there will inevitably be points when one opponent really is not a match for the other. When a great rivalry finds both teams in top form that is when truly special games happen. Other times two schools that are not traditional rivals or do not often play each other find themselves far above any other teams. When the titans clash it makes for compelling football. On other occasions it is a matter of David slaying Goliath when an underdog team defeats a heavily favored opponent.
With that in mind, here are our 10 greatest college football games in chronological order: 1.) 1946: Army vs. Notre Dame
Even at this early point the two schools were among the most storied in college football. It seems that many of the greatest college football matchups involved Army and Notre Dame. Reporting on a game between the two universities in 1924, sportswriter Grantland Rice dubbed the Notre Dame backfield “The Four Horsemen”. Halftime of the 1928 game is when Knute Rockne gave his famous “Win one for the Gipper” speech. In 1946 both teams were undefeated going into the game at Yankee Stadium. Both teams were high scoring. And both had star talent: Notre Dame had the following years Heisman winner at quarterback in Johnny Lujack, while Army had the defending Heisman winner – Doc Blanchard – and that years Heisman winner in Glenn Davis. Despite all of the offensive firepower it was each teams defense that starred during a game that ended in a 0-0 tie. Although both teams finished undefeated, the Fighting Irish were awarded the national championship. 2.) 1966: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
Coming into the game expectations were high for both teams. The Spartans were the defending national champions while the Irish were hungry for a return to glory after 13 years without a championship. At the time of the game Michigan State and Notre Dame were ranked #1 and #2 in one national poll and #2 and #1 in another other.
The knockdown, grinding game saw a number of players injured. Although the Spartans scored first, the Fighting Irish came back to tie the game at 10. Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian controversially settled ran the clock down on his team’s last possession instead of trying for the win. Both teams preserved their undefeated seasons.
3.) 1967: USC vs. UCLA When these two teams met on November 18, 1967, UCLA was ranked #1 and USC #2 in the coaches poll, while in the AP poll they were #1 and #4 respectively. Each also had hug star on the team: UCLA had that year’s Heisman winner in quarterback Gary Beban, while USC had the following year’s winner in running back O.J. Simpson.
Despite being injured Gary Beban still managed to guide the Bruins to 20 points. It was not enough though as Simpson had a late 64 yard touchdown run that propelled the Trojans to a 21-20 victory.
4.) 1969: Texas vs. Arkansas
Both teams were on a roll going into the game, with the Longhorns having won 18 straight and the Razorbacks 15 straight. With President Nixon in attendance and a television ratings share of 50, the stage was set for the now legendary game to begin.
Texas played sloppily for the first half and by the 3rd quarter was down 15-0. On the first play of the 4th quarter quarterback James Street scrambled for a touchdown. Street then converted the two-point attempt to bring Texas to within 6.
On the teams final drive Texas appeared to stall at its own 43 yard line. At that Texas coach Darrell Royal gambled and had Street throw deep to receiver Randy Peschel. Peschel hauled in a 44 yard pass that took Texas to the Razorbacks 13. Two plays later the Longhorns scored the go ahead touchdown. Texas later beat Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl to cement its status as national champion.
5.) 1971: Nebraska vs. Oklahoma On November 25, 1971 two of the most fearsome college teams ever assembled met in a game that pitted Oklahoma’s top rated offense against Nebraskas top rated defense. Nebraska was also the defending national champion. The game itself was played on Oklahomas home field in front of a television audience of 55 million. The contest was a back and forth affair with the teams swapping leads over the four quarters. Finally the Cornhuskers emerged victorious 35-31. Nebraska went on to repeat as national champions.
Labels: college-cotton, college-fabric, football-fabric, NCAA, University
 What East Coast college is one of the only two colonial colleges in the U.S. to have made the transition into a public university, has a long history of athletics dating back to the 19 th century, and is considered one of the most prestigious American Research Universities in North America? You guessed it, Rutgers University!!! You asked. You waited.
And now, you have it!  You can find your favorite East Coast Alma mater fabric in both a warm fleece and a lightweight cotton. Our Rutgers Scarlet Knights fabric: squares consists of the university's 'R' lo go within black and red squares on both prints and has been licensed by Rutgers University itself for individual consumption only, making it not only official, but a must have for creating memorable student and graduation crafts, quilts, gifts and team spirited apparel. With more than over 50,000 students on campuses in Camden, Newark and New Brunswick, Rutgers offers majors in more than 100 fields with thousands of courses covering the full range of human experiences. Their alumni list includes such notables as actor James Gandolfini of the Sopranos, Calista Flockhart of Ally McBeal, Kirstin Davis of Sex & the City, comedian Bill Bellamy, and maybe even YOU!!!  In the meantime, whether you are a fan of the academics, the athletes, or the aura that surrounds this New Jersey based school, come on over to J&O Fabrics and pick up some of that red and black before it's all gone! Labels: college-cotton, college-fabric, fleece, rutgers-college, rutgers-cotton, rutgers-fleece, rutgers-scarlet-knights, rutgers-university, rutgers-vinyl
Madness
Mad"ness\, n. [From Mad, a.]
1. The condition of being mad; insanity; lunacy.
2. Frenzy; ungovernable rage; extreme folly.
- Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
The arrival of March signals the long-awaited thawing of winter's ice and snow. Birds begin to chirp, buds sprout and gentle spring colors lighten the landscape. As the saying goes: "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb".
In the midst of all this gentleness lurks a recurring madness that blows in with March and builds to a frenetic conclusion in the final weeks of the month. This seasonal insanity is aptly called "March Madness"; among its symptoms are the strong growing weak, the weak growing strong, and constant talk of Cinderella.
The treatments for "March Madness" involve bracket busting, pulse-pounding overtimes and a healthy dose of J&O Fabrics' college team cotton, fleece, vinyl and ribbon. Let's take a look around the country to see the winners of the past weekend's conference tournaments, otherwise known as the "Madness's" preliminary stages.
Big East
Lousiville Cardinals Vinyl: Plaid
Big Ten
Purdue Boilermakers: Squares
ACC
Duke Blue Devils Vinyl: Plaid
Duke Blue Devils Ribbon: Striped
SEC Mississippi State Bulldogs: Allover
Pac-10
USC Trojans Fleece: Squares
Big 12
Missouri Tigers: Squares
C-USA
Labels: basketball-fabric, basketball-fabrics, college-fabric, Fabric, fabrics, novelty-fabric
The Big East is one of the premiere collegiate athletic conferences in the country. Founded in 1979, the conference recently lost some of its members to the Athletic Coast Conference and gained new members from Conference USA. The success enjoyed by the Big East since the changes shows that it is still a conference to be reckoned with. The Big East Conferences current membership is: Cincinnati Bearcats Connecticut (Uconn) Huskies DePaul Blue Demons Georgetown Hoyas Louisville Cardinals Marquette Golden Eagles Notre Dame Fighting Irish (basketball only) Pittsburgh Panthers Providence Friars Rutgers Scarlet Knights St. John's Red Storm Seton Hall Pirates South Florida Bulls Syracuse Orangemen Villanova Wildcats West Virginia Mountaineers The Big East's 17 member institutions currently participate in 23 sports. The Big East teams currently available on cotton are the following:  Cincinnati Bearcats
 Louisville Cardinals
 Marquette Golden Eagles
 Pittsburgh Panthers
 Uconn Huskies
Now you can bring the Big East's tradition of athletic excellence to your home with J & O's college team prints. Have fun and order your favorite school and keep a look out for the teams you don't yet see as we get more fabrics in almost daily. * If you have enjoyed viewing the aforementioned fabrics and would like to see more of our selection of discount quilting fabrics click on the following link: Novelty Fabric. # Do you have any pictures showing the great uses you’ve given our fabric? Then please e-mail them to us at jandofabrics@comcast.net. We’ll be happy to hear from you and might even use your pictures for future blogs or on our website. We reserve the right to utilize the pictures sent without prior notification and in the time and manner that J&O Fabric deems appropriate. All college fabrics are licensed by the collegiate licensing company and are for individual consumption only. Any other use of the college fabric is prohibited and illegal. Posts by J&O Fabrics StoreLabels: Big East, cincinati, college-fabric, connecticut, cotton, georgetown
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