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NCAA approves bowl waiver for UCLA
November 30th, 2011 by adminThe Bruins are only playing in the conference championship game because USC is ineligible due to NCAA sanctions.
No bowl for you: Miami’s first act of NCAA contrition is a postseason ban
November 20th, 2011 by admin
Not that Hurricane fans were savoring their postseason options, but with bowl eligibility in the bank following Saturday’s 6-3 triumph over South Florida, Miami is officially electing to stay home for the holidays. Per the official university release:
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The University of Miami has made the decision to withhold the UM football team from bowl consideration following the 2011 regular season in response to the ongoing NCAA inquiry and has informed both the NCAA and the Atlantic Coast Conference of its decision.
We understand and share the disappointment that our student-athletes, coaches, staff, supporters and fans are feeling but after lengthy discussions among University leaders, athletic administrators and outside counsel, it is a necessary step for our University. The University of Miami has not self-imposed any other penalties.
It’s probably safe to add “yet” to the end of that last sentence: The dozens of NCAA violations alleged by former booster turned convicted Ponzi-schemer Nevin Shapiro represent arguably the most sprawling, in-depth account of corruption in the history of college sports. Over the course of nearly a decade, Shapiro built a not-so-subtle web of excess that reportedly included at least 66 current and former Miami players, 25 former draft picks, seven former assistant coaches with “knowledge or direct participation” in violating NCAA rules and even two first-round picks who signed on to an agency Shapiro co-owned — all of them corroborated by additional witnesses and/or documents. Eight of the 16 current ‘Canes named in Yahoo! Sports’ initial report in August have missed at least one game this season, one of the reasons it’s taken so long to get to the requisite six wins for bowl eligibility. (Five losses by a touchdown or less hasn’t advanced the cause, either.)
Before the self-imposed ban, Miami was likely in line for the Music City Bowl in Nashville or Independence Bowl in Shreveport, from which ‘Cane partisans were probably planning to avoid in droves, anyway. As potential penalties go, skipping a third-rate bowl game is among the least of their worries. And as a preemptive strike against future sanctions, it’s almost certainly just the beginning.
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Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
NCAA, NFL, state officials to assess agent laws
November 17th, 2011 by adminOfficials will meet Thursday in Washington, D.C., to discuss states’ laws, their effectiveness and whether change is needed.
For its next act of NCAA contrition, Ohio State sacrifices 5 scholarships in face of ‘failure to monitor’
November 10th, 2011 by admin
We interrupt the ongoing crisis at Penn State to bring you the latest from that other, suddenly not-so-shocking scandal in the Big Ten, where the NCAA has just tacked on two additional allegations to the list of charges against Ohio State. In response, the Buckeyes have conceded to self-imposed scholarship penalties — albeit minor ones: five fewer over three years — for the first time.
Unlike the major violations the NCAA hung on former coach Jim Tressel in April, the charges outlined in the supplemental notice of allegations delivered to Columbus on Nov. 3 have no direct connection to the “Tattoogate” coverup that eventually cost Tressel his job, forced quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s premature departure from the university and planted three other senior starters on the bench for the first five games of the season. Instead, the new allegations cite improper benefits paid by a booster, Cleveland-area businessman Bob DiGeronimo, whose relatively low-level largesse resulted in further suspensions at the start of the season and extended suspensions for two of the “Tattoo Five,” tailback Boom Herron (right) and receiver DeVier Posey.
Specifically, the NCAA alleges that:
a) “…between the spring of 2009 and summer of 2011, Robert DiGeronimo, representative of the institution’s athletics interests, arranged for the provision of extra benefits to nine football student-athletes worth a total of $ 2,405 in the form of compensation for work not performed and cash payments.”
…and:
b) “…the institution failed to adequately monitor Robert DiGeronimo, representative of the institution’s athletics interests, including his interaction with and employment of football student-athletes… Specifically, the institution knew that DiGeronimo previously employed football student-athletes (2004 through 2006) and, on multiple occasions, hosted them at an annual charity event he is associated with (2006, 2007 and 2010) but failed to take appropriate actions to determine if DiGeronimo continued to employ student-athletes or host them at the charity event despite concerns about his interaction with the football program, his previous involvement in a secondary violation related to football student-athletes’ attendance at the charity event (2006) and his attempt to form close personal relationships with football student-athletes.”
You can read the many documents behind those findings here.
Sanctions-wise, the “failure to monitor” charge — which also accuses OSU of failing to educate players about DiGeronimo or to “encourage them to cease interaction” with him — is potentially far more serious than anything in the previous allegations, in which the terms “failure to monitor” and “lack of institutional control” were conspicuous only in their absence. For those charges, the Buckeyes have already vacated 12 wins and their share of the Big Ten title from the 2010 season and self-imposed probation. At the same time, they also managed to successfully pin the blame on Tressel as the only guilty party in the entire athletic department for covering up his knowledge of multiple violations by Pryor and at least one other player for more than 10 months. Chalk it up to an “individual failure.”
The NCAA’s final verdict, including any additional sanctions, is yet to come — it could be settled by the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions during its meeting on Dec. 10 — but in comparison to wiping a championship season from the books, sacrificing five scholarships over three years doesn’t sound like a program living in much additional fear. Then again, compared to the news out of State College over the last five days, a couple bills in an envelope doesn’t seem like such a sin.
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Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
Police vet to lead NCAA football probes (AP)
November 9th, 2011 by adminThe NCAA has hired a 28-year police veteran to lead its football investigations staff. The organization said Wednesday that William Benjamin, currently the deputy chief of police at the Indianapolis Police Department, has been named a director of enforcement with a focus on football. He also played football at San Jose State.
Yahoo! Sports – NCAA Football News
Mid-Major Monday: Let us now praise Kellen Moore, the new NCAA wins king
November 8th, 2011 by adminWeekly notes from the undercard.
As always, Boise State won easily Saturday at UNLV, 48-21, on the strength of five touchdown passes by Kellen Moore. With that, Moore passed Colt McCoy with his 46th career win as a starter, more than any other quarterback in the history of college football. Since Moore took the reins as a redshirt freshman in 2008, the Broncos are 46-2, outscoring opponents by an average of more than four touchdowns in those games, including wins over top-20 outfits from Georgia, Oregon (twice), TCU and Virginia Tech.
All of which becomes just a little bit more impressive when you consider that this is his only regular season loss:
From there, the Broncos went on to lose in overtime, 34-31, following another missed field goal. The other loss: A 17-16 decision at the hands of TCU in the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl, later avenged in the Fiesta Bowl to cap a 14-0 season in 2009. In regulation, the guy is literally two points away from a perfect career.
If Boise wins out (including a bowl game), he’ll finish with 51 wins, which may be untouchable until a playoff comes along to give someone a few extra cracks at it. For Moore, the only regret is that he’s not going to get the chance to be that guy.
• THE CRIB SHEET. Elsewhere in mid-majordom…
• Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton was released from a Honolulu hospital and cleared to return to Logan, Utah, after suffering an “extreme stinger to his spine” during the second quarter of the Aggies’ 35-31, come-from-behind win at Hawaii. Keeton, a freshman, was carted off the field by emergency personnel and taken to The Queen’s Medical Center for observation.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Chuckie,” Utah State coach Gary Andersen said in a statement. “He is a tough kid, and we’re extremely glad he is going to be okay. We can’t wait to get him home and back together with our team so we can wrap our arms around him and let him know how much we love him.”
• Air Force is going back to the White House after rallying from a two-touchdown deficit against Army to win 24-14 and take the Commander-in-Chief Trophy, the annual prize awarded to the round robin winner among the service academies. The Falcons also defeated Navy earlier in the year in overtime. This is the second consecutive season the Falcons have taken the trophy, after Navy had it for seven consecutive seasons.
• For the past five weeks, Western Kentucky has made us all believers. But its five-game winning streak, complete with a 10-9 win over Florida International last week, is probably coming to an end as the Hilltoppers head to Death Valley this week to take on LSU. It’s not that Mid-Major Monday doesn’t believe the Hilltoppers can hang with the nation’s best team… OK, yes it is.
Western Kentucky has had a fantastic run and has a very good chance of finishing with seven wins this season if it comes out of Saturday’s game in one piece, but we’re not fools. However, even a little success against LSU will go a long way for WKU down the stretch.
• Southern Miss and Houston are on a collision course for the Conference USA Championship Game after the Golden Eagles handily defeated nemesis East Carolina last week. Southern Miss controls its own destiny in the East Division and gets three teams with losing records remaining on the schedule.
• RUSH THE FIELD: Wins worthy of a bleacher-clearing celebration.
Ball State hasn’t been the same since coach Brady Hoke left for San Diego three years ago, but things are starting to look up for the Cardinals after their 33-31 win over Eastern Michigan. The win, which came on a 44-yard field goal with 9 seconds remaining, gave the BSU the necessary six wins for bowl eligibility, assuring their first non-losing season since finishing 12-2 in 2008.
Ball State also still has a chance to win the MAC West crown with games against Northern Illinois and Toledo — the two teams ahead of it in the standings — remaining.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Louisiana-Lafayette 36, Louisiana-Monroe 35.
Apropos of a heated in-state rivalry, this may have been the streakiest game of the season anywhere: Monroe scored the first 14 points in the first quarter, Lafayette answered with 24 straight in the second quarter, Monroe answered that with 21 straight in the second half, and Lafayette came back with a pair of unanswered touchdowns in the final 2:30 for the win. Given enough time, conceivably, these teams could have traded rallies forever. Within the time available, the victory was Lafayette’s: The Ragin Cajuns’ game-winning drive began with a successful onside kick that gave them the ball at the ULM 39-yard line, and ended three plays later on a 3-yard run by Alonzo Harris for the decisive touchdown.
For the game, quarterbacks Kolton Browning (ULM) and Blaine Gautier (ULL) combined for 763 total yards and six touchdowns as passers and runners. With their eighth win, the Cajuns match the 1993 squad quarterbacked by one Jake Delhomme — back when it was known as Southwest Louisiana — for most wins since moving up to the I-A level, and likely wrapped up their first ever I-A bowl game. And if that helps Oklahoma State’s strength of schedule in its bid for a BCS Championship berth, well, the Cowboys sure do ‘preciate it.
• YOUTUBE DEDICATION OF THE WEEK:
This week’s YouTube dedication goes out to both Houston quarterback Case Keenum and Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore for breaking major FBS records this week: Keenum for career passing yards, and Moore for career wins. Congrats to both players.
• PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Nick Fanuzzi, QB, Rice.
In his first start of the season, the fifth-year senior delivered a career performance in a 41-37 win over UTEP, connecting on 30 of 43 passes for 405 yards and three touchdowns. Fanuzzi became just the third player in school history to pass for more than 400 yards in a single game — a fitting redemption for the former Alabama transfer after he three interceptions in his last start, a 54-49 loss at Tulane last November.
Honorable mention: Air Force defensive back Jon Davis had a game-high 12 tackles, an interception and both forced and recovered a fumble in the Falcons’ Commander-in-Chief-clinching win over Army. … Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish threw six touchdown passes, including the game winner with 19 seconds left, in a 63-60 win against Toledo. … TCU running back Waymon James had 181 yards on just 12 carries in the Horned Frogs’ win over Wyoming. … And Louisiana Tech quarterback Colby Cameron threw for 376 yards and four touchdowns in a win against Fresno State.
A SOMEWHAT ARBITRARY MID-MAJOR TOP 10
1. Boise State (8-0). The game against UNLV was a little close for comfort in the first half, but the Broncos remain perfect.
2. Houston (9-0). The Cougars handled UAB relatively easily and don’t have much of a challenge this week against Tulane.
3. Southern Miss (8-1). A big win over fellow C-USA East frontrunner East Carolina puts the Golden Eagles in the driver’s seat in the division.
4. TCU (7-2). The Horned Frogs had a little trouble with Wyoming, but continue to sit alongside Boise atop the Mountain West with a critical trip to the blue turf ahead.
5. BYU (6-3). The Cougars dominated their opponent, the always dangerous Bye.
6. Tulsa (6-3). The Golden Hurricane are the only team that appears capable of taking down Houston over the final three weeks.
7. Arkansas State (7-2). The Red Wolves could wrap up the Sun Belt title Saturday with a win against Louisiana-Lafayette.
8. Louisiana-Lafayette (7-2). Then again, the Ragin’ Cajuns only need a win against Arkansas State to force a potential three-way tie with Western Kentucky.
9. Northern Illinois (6-3). The Huskies won an epic game against Toledo to lead the MAC West.
10. Nevada (5-3). The Wolf Pack had the week off and will face Hawaii this weekend to keep pace at the top of the WAC.
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Honorable Mention: Ohio (6-3), San Diego State (5-3), SMU (6-3), Toledo (5-4), Wyoming (5-3).
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Graham Watson is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow her @Yahoo_Graham.
Matt Hinton also contributed to this post.
Congressman compares NCAA to Mafia (AP)
November 3rd, 2011 by adminA Democratic congressman compared the NCAA to the Mafia over how it controls the lives of student athletes. “I think they’re just one of the most vicious, most ruthless organizations ever created by mankind,” Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush said of the NCAA at a congressional forum on college sports Tuesday.
Yahoo! Sports – NCAA Football News
Congressman calls NCAA ‘ruthless,’ compares it to mafia
November 2nd, 2011 by adminAfter the NCAA adopted proposals that emphasize academic performance and a stipend, critics spoke out against the NCAA.
How reconfigured NCAA football conferences might look
November 1st, 2011 by adminUSA TODAY conducted a social experiment, redesigning the major-college football conferences into a lucky seven and allowing for a playoff.