(UFL) January 31, 2012 - Michael Huyghue resigns as commissioner of the United Football League. Huyghue had been the outdoor league’s commissioner since it began in 2009.

(Arena) January 30, 2012 – The Arena Football League announced that it is adding a sixth official on the field. The league has worked with five game officials since it was founded in 1987, but last season it experimented with a sixth official during the playoffs. The addition of a second back judge takes effect with the upcoming 2012 season. The league also announced that instant replay will be available at all games this season as well.

(LSFL) January 30, 2012 – The Lone Star Football League announced that the charter membership of the Mesquite Bandits has been revoked for the 2012 season. The indoor league found that team owners did not have sufficient infrastructure to support the team for the entire season. 

(Obituary) January 26, 2012 – Greg Cook, who played college and pro football in Cincinnati, dies of pneumonia at the age of 65. Cook played college football at the University of Cincinnati and was a first round draft pick (fifth overall) by the Cincinnati Bengals of the American Football League in 1969. A promising young quarterback, Cook’s career was cut short by a shoulder injury. He was out of football by 1973. He went on to become an accomplished chef and baker.

(Obituary) January 26, 2012 – Doug MacIver, who played nine seasons in the Canadian Football League as a defensive lineman, dies at the age of 58. MacIver played college football at the University of Manitoba and was selected in the 1975 CFL Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. However, he signed with the Toronto Argonauts and played there from 1976-1978. He then played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1979-1981. His playing career ended with the team that drafted him as he played in Winnipeg from 1982-1984. He won his only Grey Cup title in 1984 with the Blue Bombers.

(High School) January 25, 2012 – The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Board of Control passes a resolution to allow smaller schools in the state to play 8-Man football beginning in 2012. Schools that decide to make the switch will have commit for two years to the 8-Man format. About 20-25 schools have expressed an interest in the new style of play.

(NFL) January 25, 2012 – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has his contract extended though March of 2019 by the league’s Compensation Committee. Goodell has been the commissioner of the NFL since 2006. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.  

(College) January 24, 2012 – It was announced that Navy will be joining the Big East Conference in football only beginning in 2015. This is the first conference affiliation for the Navy football team, which has been an independent team since it began playing in 1879.

(Obituary) January 22, 2012 – Joe Paterno, the former head coach at Penn State, dies of lung cancer at the age of 85. Paterno played quarterback and cornerback in college at Brown University. After he graduated in 1950, he became an assistant coach at Penn State. In 1966 he became the head coach and remained there for 46 years until this past season. Along the way his teams produced one Heisman Trophy winner (running back John Cappelletti in 1973), 33 NFL 1st round draft picks, 37 bowl appearances, five undefeated seasons and two national championships in 1982 and 1986. Over 250 of his former players went on to the NFL. He is the winningest coach in Division I football with a record of 409-136-3. His 409 wins puts him one ahead of former Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson. Paterno was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. (See related article on November 9, 2011)

(UIFL) January 19, 2012 – The Ultimate Indoor Football League has been purchased by a new ownership group and has been renamed the United Indoor Football League.

(IFL) January 18, 2012 – Former NFL star Terrell Owens signs with the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League. He will not only play wide receiver but he will also be a co-owner of the team.

(Arena) January 17, 2012 – Dan Gilbert, who is the owner of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers, buys the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League from Jim Ferraro. Ferraro had owned the team since 2000 when it was the New Jersey Red Dogs. He moved the team to Nevada in 2003 and renamed it the Las Vegas Gladiators. The team has been in Cleveland since 2008. Gilbert also owns the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. All three teams play their home games in the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

(College) January 14, 2012 – The NCAA has postponed implementing a $2,000 stipend for athletes, again. The NCAA Division I Board of Directors has asked a working group to modify/clarify the stipend proposal by April after complaints by many Division I schools. (See related article on December 15, 2011)

(Obituary) January 12, 2012 – Jim Stanley, a coach in college as well as the NFL and the USFL, dies of cancer at the age of 77. Stanley played college football at Texas A&M under coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He was one of “The Junction Boys” playing guard and defensive tackle. He then worked as a defensive assistant coach at SMU, UTEP and Oklahoma State. Stanley was the head coach at Oklahoma State from 1973-1978. He then became an assistant coach in the NFL with the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons. From 1983-1984, Stanley was the head coach of the Michigan Panthers in the United States Football League. He led the team to the league’s inaugural championship, defeating he Philadelphia Stars. He returned to the NFL and spent time as an assistant coach with the Houston Oilers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals. In 1996, Stanley joined the Cardinals’ scouting team, where he served until he retired in 2008.

(Obituary) January 11, 2012 – Edgar F. Kaiser, Jr., who was a former owner in the NFL, dies. Kaiser was part owner of the Denver Broncos and oversaw the trade with the Baltimore Colts that brought John Elway to Denver in 1983. Kaiser, who was a Canadian, owned 60.8% of the team and sold it to current owner Pat Bowlen in 1984. 

(Obituary) January 10, 2012 – Bob Torrance, a college and pro football champion in Canada, dies of heart failure at the age of 43. Torrance played quarterback in college for the University of Calgary Dinos and led the team to a win in the 1988 Vanier Cup, Canada’s college football national championship game. He was selected in the 1991 CFL Draft by the Calgary Stampeders where he was teammates with Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia. Torrance was on the team when it won the Grey Cup in 1992. He then signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1993 and spent two seasons there before returning to the Stampeders for one final season in 1995.

(Obituary) January 10, 2012 – Vince Gibson, who was a coach in college and in the Arena Football League, dies of Lou Gehrig’s disease at the age of 78. Gibson was the head coach at Tulane from 1980-1982. He also coached at Louisville and Kansas State as well as with the AFL New Orleans Night in 1992.

(Obituary) January 10, 1012 – Bill Jones, an associate athletic director at Ohio State University, dies of an apparent heart attack at the age of 48. Jones had been working in the athletic department at the school for over 13 years. He was named Associate AD of External Affairs in 2009. His father, Jim Jones, was also the school’s AD from 1987-1994.

(College) January 9, 2012 – The football program at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan has been discontinued due to financial trouble and increasing travel costs. GRCC was the only junior college in the state of Michigan to have a football team. In the past three seasons the team posted a 30-4 record. They were 11-0 this past season and were ranked third in the nation. The school has had a football program for the past 80 years.

(College) January 7, 2012 – North Dakota State defeated Sam Houston State 17-6 to win its first Football Championship Subdivision title. The FCS was formerly known as Division I-AA.

(NFL/Media) January 4, 2012 - The Nielsen ratings for NFC regular season games on FOX this past season had the best numbers since 1995. FOX averaged 20.1 million viewers per game with a 12.0 rating and a 24 share, which was up 2 percent from 2010. (See related article on January 1, 2012)

(Obituary) January 3, 2012 – Ray Costict, who was a linebacker for the New England Patriots, dies at the age of 56. The cause of death was unknown at the time. Costict played college football at Mississippi State. He was selected in the 11th round of the 1977 NFL Draft by the Patriots and played for the team from 1977-1979. He also played on special teams. 

(NFL/Media) January 1, 2012 – The television ratings for the Sunday Night Football game on NBC received the highest ratings ever for the show. The game, a 31-14 win by the New York Giants over the Dallas Cowboys, received a 17.1 rating and a 27 share meaning about 735,000 homes were tuned into the game. The previous record was a 16.9 and a 27 share back in Week 1 of this season for a game between the Cowboys and the New York Jets. The win by the Giants gave them the NFC East Division title and eliminated the Cowboys from the playoffs. (See related article on December 29, 2011)