Sport sponsorship: The University of New Orleans will reinstate its men’s and women’s tennis and men’s swimming and diving teams in fall 2008. All three programs were suspended after Hurricane Katrina and have not played since the 2004-05 academic year. The three programs are the first of New Orleans’ nine suspended sports programs to come back. The institution retained men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball, women’s swimming and diving and men’s golf, most using borrowed or makeshift facilities. New Orleans obtained a sports-sponsorship waiver after the storm caused significant damage to the campus and its facilities ... University of South Alabama trustees announced that the school will begin a football program starting in 2009 with plans to make a full transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision by 2013. The program will be funded in part by a $300 increase in annual student activity fees. The alumni association also has pledged $50,000 over the next five years.

Conferences: Campbell University will join the Pioneer Football League for the 2008 season. Campbell, which announced the addition of football in April 2006, will also play Birmingham-Southern College, Methodist University and Carthage College (Wisconsin) in its first season. The Pioneer Football League is a Division I, nonscholarship football conference in its 15th year of competition ... The Northeast Conference and its member institutions honored Bob Balut, who died earlier this year, at a December 8 fund-raiser for Balut’s son. Balut served in various media-relations capacities with the league, including playing a key role in the re-launch of the conference Web site. Balut also spent six years at Wagner College, creating the Seahawk Broadcasting Network. The December 8 Wagner-St. Francis College (New York) men’s basketball game in fact aired on MSG Network. All members of the television crew, from announcers to camera workers, to engineers to producer and director, donated their game fees to the Aiden Robert Balut Scholarship Fund. Additional proceeds, including gate receipts and fan donations from all Northeast Conference games that weekend, also went to the fund.

Facilities: The University of Southern California is negotiating with Rose Bowl officials to begin playing home football games at that facility. The University of California, Los Angeles, already plays its home games at the Rose Bowl. Southern California played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for 80 years. UCLA must agree to any arrangement with Southern California, Rose Bowl officials said.

Miscellaneous: Pennsylvania State University received a $5 million donation to endow the head football coaching position for 42 seasons. The donation, made by Patrick and Candace Malloy in honor of head football coach Joe Paterno, can also be used to pay for academic support, special medical care for team members and expenses associated with recruiting and coaching, excluding salary. The head coach could use the money as he sees fit, with approval from the athletics director. It is the largest gift to Penn State athletics in department history.