By Dave Curtis

updated 8:57 p.m. ET April 8, 2009

College football lore will record the bridge between the 2008 and 2009 seasons as the Winter of Lane. As the new chief Volunteer crammed a career's worth of lunacy into his first 100 days in office, some of his peers decided to join him on the crazy train. Here's a for-better-or-worse look at a few highlights ...

Mike Leach, Texas Tech
It figures he'd end up leading off the list. In the first leg of an oddball twin bill, he forced GPA-challenged receiver Edward Britton to study at midfield as snow flurries fell after a recent practice.

"Ed didn't feel like showing up and studying at places I felt like he needed to and like the academic people asked him to, so he can go study out there on the 50-yard line," Leach told reporters in Lubbock.

The next motivational gem involved his entire team. During warm-ups for a recent practice, he asked four players to walk across a 10-foot 2X4 board without losing their balance. After each completed the task, he reportedly asked the team, "Now, what if it was suspended 10 stories high?" Hopefully, for the Red Raiders' sake, they'll play Oklahoma tougher this year and not find out.

Bill Stewart, West Virginia
Coach Stew found Twitter. Let's showcase his greatest hits:

Apr. 8: "Driving in this morning at 4:15 a.m., listening to "The Twist" by Chubby Checker. It got me so fired up, I ran into practice. I felt great."

Apr. 5: "Last Tuesday, freshmen taped @ 5 (a.m.), soph's 5:15, Jrs & Srs 5:30. I came at 6:03. They asked me where I'd been."

Apr. 1: "Good intensity today by the offense who had a good practice. Defense had another Greenville, N.C. I'm not pleased."

Mar. 31: "It wasn't a heavyweight battle today in practice, there were some slugs going on, call it a welterweight battle."

Mar. 31: "Heard Crystal Blue Persuasion by Tommy James and the Shondells coming to practice at 4:30 a.m. Knew it was going to be a crystal practice."

Jim Leavitt, USF
As part of a mock Combine for students at the Bulls' spring game Saturday night, Leavitt will run a 40-yard dash against a set of students. We've seen him dart from the tunnel to lead his team onto the field before games, and he's been seen running wind sprints on game days as his team stretches nearby. The coach predicted a 5.9 time, according to his athletic communications department. We predict a sore hammy.

Rich Brooks, Kentucky

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more. more photos

Nearly every coach in the country participates in sundry charitable activities. Few involve Maker's Mark. But Brooks has bucked the trend, teaming with the company and Keeneland, a Lexington racetrack, to have his likeness on a limited-edition bottle of the famous bourbon. The bottles, for sale at the track, were expected raise close to $200,000 to help fund the UK Symphony Orchestra and School of Music's efforts to bring the performing arts to local elementary schools.

The special bottle, released for the 13th consecutive year, has saluted Kentucky basketball and champion thoroughbreds. Brooks is the first UK football guy to receive the honor -- and the first to re-set the bar for coach-led fundraisers. Walk-a-thons, golf scrambles and silent auctions are gone. Hey Seattle, how does "guest bartender Steve Sarkisian" sound? Roulette with Greg Schiano in Atlantic City? (If it works for Roy Williams, it can work for everybody.) We'll keep an eye on this trend, for sure.

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