Facilities: Construction is set to begin on a new football field house at Samford. The 39,000-square-foot facility should be built south of F. Page Seibert Stadium in time for the 2009 season. The project will displace the stadium’s video scoreboard from the south to the north end zone. The $7.5 million building will be paid for with private financial support, with football coach Pat Sullivan leading the campaign. The new facility will house locker rooms, training rooms, weight rooms, offices and meeting rooms, as well as storage and special event space.

Conferences: The Big Sky Conference launched a new Web site this month, partnering with Internet Consulting Services from Syracuse, New York. The new site will feature a wider variety of content and more interactivity. Visit the site at www.bigskyconf.com.

Sport sponsorship: UC Davis will add field hockey, its sixth new women’s varsity sport since 1996-97, in 2009.  The addition will be the result of an extensive review process that included participation by the Sports Selection Advisory Committee and the club team. The Aggies will use the next year to recruit, schedule and hire a coach. The team will compete in the western division of the NorPac Conference with Stanford, California and Pacific.

Miscellaneous: Florida signed a media rights agreement with Sun Sports worth $82 million over 10 years. The company has managed the school’s local television rights in the past, but the new agreement extends to multimedia ventures as well, including radio and Internet sponsorship rights. The agreement, which begins in 2009, is not expected to change the development of the SEC television network, though it could impact some broadcast opportunities. Sun Sports reaches more than six million homes in Florida … The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association elected Jennifer Rizzoti, Hartford; Carol Owens, Northern Illinois and Coquese Washington, Penn State to be the group’s newest board members. The three coaches join 26 other coaches and administrators in the association’s leadership … Florida A&M Athletics launched a new Web site last week, sponsored by Rattler Boosters, Inc. The site offers a general home page for the athletics program, as well as pages for each of the Rattlers’ 18 sports. Schedules, ticket news and a staff directory also will be displayed … California set a record for contributions to its annual fund, raising $10.5 million during 2007-08. The fund supports the athletics program, including operating budgets and scholarships. In 2001-02, the school collected $4.7 million – the unrestricted gift donation has more than doubled since then.