Rich Brooks is retiring as head football coach at Kentucky after having coached the Wildcats for seven seasons. He coached at Oregon from 1977-94, taking the team to four bowls in his final six seasons, including the 1994 Rose Bowl. He played his collegiate football at Oregon State while obtaining his bachelor's and master's degrees. He coached at Oregon State and UCLA, and also had NFL stints with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. After leaving Oregon, Brooks returned to the pro game and was head coach of the St. Louis Rams (1995-96) and defensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons (1997-2000).

Other transactions

Coaches

Football – Boise State and football head coach Chris Petersen agreed to in principle to a five-year contract extension … Bucknell head football coach Tim Landis resigned to accept an assistant coaching position at San Jose State. Landis recently completed his seventh season at the helm of the Bison.

Soccer – Akron assistant Dave Giffard has been named head men's soccer coach at VCU … Saginaw Valley State hired alumnus Cale Wassermann as the head coach of the Cardinal men's soccer program. Wassermann comes to Saginaw Valley State from Lewis, where he was an assistant for the past two seasons.

Softball – Georgian Court hired Freddy Flores as its head softball coach. Flores coached at Western New Mexico from 2002-07.

Deaths

Cornell wrestler Adam Frey died December 26 after a nearly two-year battle with cancer. The two-time NCAA wrestling qualifier was 23. Frey was in a car accident in 2008, and routine testing done after the crash for internal injuries showed signs of cancer. Despite the diagnosis, Frey started his own radio show, created his own cancer research foundation and provided a unique portrayal of fighting cancer on his blog, www.adamfrey.us ... Wabash football player Josh Linthicum of Springfield, Ohio, died Monday as a result of complications from surgery. Linthicum, 19, was a sophomore history major who hoped to attend law school after graduating from Wabash.