TCU is about to get its first taste of Mountain West Conference competition.The football, volleyball and soccer teams are all set to begin play in the next two weeks, and the coaches of the respective sports do not know exactly what to expect.

Head football coach Gary Patterson, head volleyball coach Prentice Lewis and head soccer coach Dan Abdalla all said MWC opponents will be strong, but said they believe their squads have a chance to be competitive in their first season since leaving Conference USA.

Jeff Mittie, 39, the winningest women's basketball head coach in TCU history, reached an agreement with TCU on a multi-year contract extension in July.The terms of the contract were not disclosed per TCU policy.

The 2005-06 season will be Mittie's seventh at TCU, where he has compiled a 133-60 record. His career mark is 284-119 and he has compiled a 12-8 postseason record.

Athletics director Danny Morrison said TCU appreciates the winning tradition that Mittie has created at the university.

Seniors defensive tackle Ranorris Ray, quarterback Tye Gunn, and center Stephen Culp have all been named to postseason award watch lists at their respective positions. Gunn is a candidate for the 2005 Davey O'Brien Award, the nation's oldest award for quarterbacks. The award is given to the country's top signal-caller.

Ray has been nominated for the 2005 Rotary Lombardi Award, a prize given to college football's top lineman on either side of the ball.

Culp was placed on the 2005 Rimington Award watch list for the honor given to the nation's top center.

As soon as one school year ends, it seems, the next one begins.So here we are, preparing for the new semester (my last).

In front of the residence halls, refrigerator boxes have formed interesting sculptures on the freshly mowed lawn - kitty corner to the dumpster, might I add.

Parking is a fire hazard in itself, not to mention I couldn't afford the $75 parking permit if I wanted one.

To solve that problem, I've invested in running shoes; now all I'll need is a shower in the Moudy Building South. Oh how I'll glisten - and stink - in class.

The Mountain West Conference reached an agreement with the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl to send the league's top team to the game for the 2006-09 seasons. The bowl will continue to pair the MWC with the Pacific-10 Conference and will have a payout of at least $1 million.

The game's executive director, Tina Kunzer-Murphy, said the agreement with the MWC will increase the prominence of the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl.

Although all four members have hectic day jobs, Goodwin is already more accomplished than many local bands, emphasizing "quality over quantity."The band was recently named Best Rock Band in the 2005 Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards. In 2003, Goodwin was named Best Local Band by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Best Unsigned Band by the Fort Worth Weekly.

"I was ecstatic (about the recognition) because I'm working with the best musicians in D/FW," said Tony Diaz, one of the band's vocalists.

They don't call me a super senior for nothing, you know? That's right. I'm here a semester later than I should be. And it's super.Anyway, being super doesn't come easy. Besides the extra $15,000 in loans,...

Comparing the band's liner photo with old Nirvana pictures will be the most fun longtime Foo Fighters fans will have with the new disc. Billed as the ultimate Foo album, "In Your Honour," a two-disc set...

Employee compensation will be one of the most important issues the Faculty Senate will tackle this semester, said Andy Fort, faculty senate chairman and professor of religion."We want TCU to be a place where everyone can earn enough to live on," Fort told an audience of faculty and staff at Monday's opening luncheon in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

The Faculty Senate and Staff Assembly have created a university compensation task force to further examine the issue.

Motion City Soundtrack's "Commit This to Memory" grabs you by the ears from the first few chords and doesn't let go.With its second full-length release on Epitaph Records, MCS avoids the sophomore slump and sticks to the style that has made it one of the darlings of the indie music scene.

Singer/guitarist Justin Pierre leads the quintet with his reserved, yet occasionally powerful, voice through catchy, hook-filled pop songs that have a narrative-like quality to them.