Senate to hold antitrust hearing on BCS
June 30, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP)—The Senate plans to hold a hearing next week looking intoantitrust issues surrounding the Bowl Championship Series. It’s the second timethis year that Congress is shining a light on the polarizing system collegefootball uses to crown its national champion.
The hearing will be held next Tuesday in the Judiciary Committee’ssubcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights, according toa posting on the committee’s Web site.
Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the subcommittee’s top Republican and the lawmakerwho sought the hearing, did not return telephone and e-mail messages left at hisoffice Tuesday.
In an essay for Sports Illustrated being released Wednesday, Hatch wrotethat the Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits contracts, combinations or conspiraciesdesigned to reduce competition.
“I don’t think a more accurate description of what the BCS does exists,”Hatch wrote. He noted that six conferences get automatic bids to participate inseries, while others do not. The system, he argued, “intentionally andexplicitly favors certain participants.”
Citing the money generated by the BCS, Hatch wrote, “If the government wereto ignore a similar business arrangement of this magnitude in any otherindustry, it would be condemned for shirking its responsibility.”
When asked about Hatch’s comments, BCS coordinator John Swofford said theBCS’ lawyers have “worked diligently to ensure that the BCS is in compliancewith the law.”
Football fans in Hatch’s state were furious that Utah was bypassed for thenational championship despite going undefeated in the regular season. Hatchnoted that President Barack Obama and others have called for the BCS to bereplaced with a playoff system.
“One thing is clear: No changes will take place if Congress does nothing,”Hatch wrote.
Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the House Energy andCommerce Committee, has introduced legislation that would prevent the NCAA fromcalling a game a national championship unless it’s the outcome of a playoff. Ata May hearing, Barton warned that the legislation would move forward “if wedon’t see some action in the next two months” from BCS on switching to aplayoff system.
David Frohnmayer, president of the University of Oregon and chairman of theBCS Presidential Oversight Committee, expressed a preference Tuesday for thecurrent system, saying the proposals for a playoff system “disrespect ouracademic calendars, and they utterly lack a business plan.”
Coach K: I won’t leave Duke for Lakers
June 30, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. (AP)—Mike Krzyzewski made it clear: He’s not ever going to coachthe Los Angeles Lakers.
During his annual summer meeting with reporters Tuesday, one of the firsttopics covered by the Duke coach was the simmering buzz that had him leaving theBlue Devils for the Lakers if Phil Jackson retires.
“I’m not going to the Lakers. They have one of the great coaches in thegame,” Krzyzewski said. “I don’t know where that rumor started, but there hasbeen nothing done like that, and I’m not leaving Duke. Whatever you hear aboutanything like that, I will never leave Duke until I leave coaching.”
Recent reports fueled the latest round of Krzyzewski-to-the-Lakers chatter.Jackson had raised the possibility of coaching just home games next season andwhen that proposal was shot down it raised questions about Jackson’s future withthe club. Five years ago, Krzyzewski was courted by the storied franchise beforehe ultimately turned down a reported $40 million offer and stayed at Duke.
After three decades in Durham, Krzyzewski sounds like he is planning tostick around for quite a while longer.
“Since the Laker thing (in 2004), to hear another rumor like that, not thatit’s so bad, but I’d rather not go there at all,” Krzyzewski said. “I don’twant my Duke team—not necessarily my basketball team, but my Duke team, thecommunity—to feel like you’re looking at other things. I’m getting ready tostart my 30th year at Duke, and I don’t see the finish line yet. I know thefinish line will be there sometime, but it’s not in my vision right now.”
Instead, Krzyzewski’s top priorities this summer include coaxing along aBlue Devils team that returns only two scholarship guards and weighing whetherto sign on for another stint as coach of the U.S. men’s basketball team.
Krzyzewski, who guided the Americans to the gold medal last summer at theBeijing Games, said the coach for the 2012 Olympics will be announced July 21 inLas Vegas. He didn’t hint which way he might be leaning.
“I’ve thought about it since then, a lot, and discussed it with a lot ofpeople. If I do it again, it’s not going to be the same experience, which isgood, because in order to have that, you couldn’t recreate that experience,”Krzyzewski said. “So what would the new experience be like? Whether you’re aplayer or a coach, it’s going to be different, and each of the guys who aremaking decisions as far as if they’re going to play have to look at it that way.The great thing about it is, there’s a camaraderie there, and it’s been a goodthing.”
Alabama St. probation reduced to 3 years
June 30, 2009
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP)—The NCAA has reduced the probation period for AlabamaState University’s football program from five to three years.
In December the NCAA placed the Hornets football program on probation for 17rules violations that allegedly occurred from 1999-2003. Violations includedchanging grades, allowing ineligible players to play and practice and conductingoffseason workouts not allowed by NCAA rules.
The NCAA said in a release Tuesday that it was reducing the length ofprobation because it determined ASU officials took actions to correct theproblems while the case was being investigated.
The NCAA did not lift a penalty that prevents the Hornets from competing forthe Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in the 2009 season.
Ohio St. AD to lead basketball committee
June 30, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith has been appointedchairman of the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee for 2010-11.
The NCAA made the announcement Tuesday.
Smith will succeed UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, who will be chairfor the upcoming school year. Smith has been at Ohio State since 2005 and is inhis second year as associate vice president.
Smith, a Cleveland native, played football at Notre Dame and was on the 1973national championship team. He was named Iowa State’s athletic director in 1993,then held the same position at Arizona State in 2000 before the move to OhioState.
NCAA rejects Kelvin Sampson’s appeal
June 30, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—The NCAA is finished with the latest Kelvin Sampson saga.
The NCAA on Tuesday rejected an appeal from the former Indiana basketballcoach, who was slapped with five years of potential penalties for taking part inmore than 100 impermissible calls to recruits while coaching the Hoosiers.
The NCAA said its infractions committee upheld the violations found in thecase, which prompted an overhaul at the storied program and led to Sampson’sdeparture after just 1 1/2 years. An NCAA spokeswoman said Sampson has used hisonly appeal, and the case is closed.
Sampson, now an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, is essentiallybarred from coaching in college until 2013.
The NCAA ruled that Sampson ignored signed compliance agreements withIndiana, ignored the recruiting restrictions he was already under from a similarcase at Oklahoma and deliberately lied to infractions committee members.
In his appeal, Sampson claimed the penalty was too harsh, the NCAAmisinterpreted evidence and that the infractions committee was biased againsthim.
The NCAA rejected each claim, saying “it found no basis on which toconclude that the findings of violations were contrary to the evidence.”
Sampson’s new publicist, Chris Capo, said Sampson “will not be making anycomment on the recent NCAA ruling.” A Bucks spokesman said “Sampson declinedcomment on the report.”
Sampson defended himself last September in a statement made through hisformer publicist, Matt Kramer.
“In no way did I ever hide or withhold information from IndianaUniversity’s compliance department,” the statement said. “I vehemently denythe inference that I made and concealed impermissible calls. The NCAA has neveralleged that I initiated any illegal phone calls to recruits while serving asthe head coach at Indiana. I always provided Indiana with everything theyrequested, including all documents and phone records.”
He later acknowledged that he and his staff had made mistakes, though notdeliberately.
“I think they were wrong,” he said of the NCAA in January. “They werewrong in every way. If I didn’t think they were wrong, I wouldn’t haveappealed.”
The fallout from the case created major changes at Indiana. Sampson’sassistants all left the school, the compliance department was restructured,athletic director Rick Greenspan resigned and new coach Tom Crean has had torebuild while accepting the school’s self-imposed recruiting penalties.
Indiana hired Sampson away from Oklahoma in March 2006 and signed him to aseven-year contract worth an average of $1.5 million a year, despite knowingthat he faced an NCAA investigation into 577 impermissible phone calls that heand his Oklahoma assistant coaches made to recruits.
Months before Sampson even coached his first game at Indiana, the NCAAbanned him from calling recruits and visiting them off-campus for one year anddetermined he deliberately broke its phone call rules while coaching atOklahoma.
Indiana found in a self review that the impermissable phone calls continued.The school revoked a $500,000 raise due Sampson and one team scholarship for the2008-09 season, and reported the violations to the NCAA.
In February 2008, an NCAA report accused Sampson of major rules violationsand says he and his assistants gave false information to university and NCAAofficials. Later that month, Sampson accepted a $750,000 buyout from Indiana andwaived his right to sue the university.
The NCAA added a charge of failure to monitor against Indiana last June, andthe NCAA placed Indiana on three years of probation in November.
Sampson has said he likely wouldn’t pursue coaching in the NCAA again.
“You never say never,” Sampson told The Associated Press in April. “ButI’m really excited about the NBA, and I’m excited about the possibility ofbecoming a head coach in the NBA one day, maybe. And if it works out, it worksout. If it does, it does. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But just being here withthe Bucks, being part of this rebuilding, is exciting for me.”
Texas star LB Kindle concussed in crash
June 29, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)—Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle was treated for a concussionafter crashing his car into an Austin apartment building last week while he waseither sending or receiving a text message, his attorney said Monday.
Kindle’s attorney, Brian Roark, said Kindle lost control of the car on June24 while looking at the message.
“It was probably something he should not have been doing,” Roark said.
The crash caused about $8,700 damage and no one inside was hurt. After thecrash, Kindle pushed the car back into the street and went home. He was checkedby team doctors and told he had a concussion but did not have to behospitalized.
University spokesman John Bianco said Kindle told his coaches about theaccident the next morning.
“We’re glad nobody else was hurt and he’s going to be fine,” Bianco said.
Police Cpl. Scott Perry said police are still investigating but no chargeshave been filed. Perry said police have not talked to Kindle or Roark.
Because Kindle hit a stationary object and did not injure anyone else, he isonly required to file a report with the Texas Department of Transportation,Roark said, adding he planned to file it as early as Monday.
Roark said Kindle would pay for the damages himself or through insurance ifit is covered.
Kindle, a senior from Dallas, had 10 sacks last season. In 2007, he missedthe first three games while serving a suspension for a drunken driving arrest.
Arkansas axes LB Battle after DUI arrest
June 29, 2009
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP)—Arkansas linebacker Khiry Battle has been dismissedfrom the team after a weekend arrest on a charge of driving under the influence.
Coach Bobby Petrino announced Battle’s dismissal Monday, saying only thathe’d violated team rules.
The 20-year-old Battle was arrested early Sunday on a charge of misdemeanorDUI. Police say Battle failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a breathalcohol test, leading to a charge of violating the state’s implied consent law.
On May 6, Battle was arrested after an incident in which a background checkrevealed he had an arrest warrant for failure to appear for a careless drivingticket.
Battle played in 10 games last season as a freshman and made five tackles.
Kentucky seeks to move Gillispie lawsuit
June 29, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)—The University of Kentucky Athletics Association saysformer Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie has sued the wrong people andin the wrong place.
The athletics association has asked a federal judge in Texas to eitherdismiss Gillispie’s lawsuit over his firing or move the case to Kentucky. In amotion filed Friday in federal court, the association’s attorneys say the schoolhas minimum contact with the state of Texas, giving the court there nojurisdiction to hear Gillispie’s claims.
The association’s attorneys also claim the University of Kentucky, not theathletics association, hired Gillispie and paid him.
Gillispie sued the University of Kentucky Athletics Association in federalcourt in Dallas on May 27, claiming fraud and breach of contract. Gillispieclaims the school never intended to sign him to long-term deal. The school hasdenied the allegations. He is seeking at least $6 million—about $1.5 millionper year for four of the five years he says were left on his agreement.
Gillispie’s attorney, Demetrios Anaipakos of Houston, said the motion didn’taddress Gillispie’s central complaint, that he agreed to a $6 million contract.
“It doesn’t matter if you are in Texas or Kentucky, a deal is a deal,”Anaipakos said.
A day after Gillispie sued the athletics association, the University ofKentucky sued Gillispie in state court in Kentucky. The university wants thecourt to rule that the two-page memorandum of understanding Gillispie signedafter his hiring in 2007 was not the equivalent of a full contract.
Gillispie went 40-27 in two seasons with the Wildcats, including a 22-14mark last season that tied for the second-most losses in the program’s 106-yearhistory. A stumble down the stretch left the Wildcats out of the NCAA tournamentfor the first time since 1991.
His one-page termination letter concluded Gillispie was not a “good fit”for the school, and it specifically cited his failure to agree on a fullemployment contract.
NC State’s Irving recovering after crash
June 29, 2009
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)—North Carolina State linebacker Nate Irving is recoveringfrom surgery after being hurt in a car crash.
A WakeMed Trauma Center spokeswoman said Irving was in good condition Mondayafter surgery Sunday night. Irving was hospitalized with a broken leg and acollapsed lung after running his vehicle off the road at 4:40 a.m. Sunday onInterstate 40 in Johnston County.
State troopers think Irving might have fallen asleep at the wheel beforecrashing into two trees. Irving has been charged with careless and recklessdriving.
It’s unknown if Irving will be able to play this season. The junior was anhonorable mention all-Atlantic Coast Conference player last year despite missingone-third of the season because of injuries.
Lawsuit settled in death of Rice player
June 29, 2009
HOUSTON (AP)—The family of a former Rice University football player who diedduring a workout has settled its lawsuit with the school and the NCAA, which hasagreed to recommend that its member universities test all athletes for sicklecell trait.
Dale Lloyd II died a day after he collapsed during a conditioning workoutSept. 24, 2006. The 19-year-old freshman’s death was linked to sickle cell traitand created the basis for the lawsuit filed in state district court in HarrisCounty.
At the time of Lloyd’s death, Rice did not test its athletes for sickle celltrait.
Much of the settlement is confidential, Houston television station KRIVreported Sunday.
“Many of our schools already are testing and while we can’t mandate thattest we can recommend that,” NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson told the station.“That decision is important. It’s consistent with our educational mission. Anoverall priority of ours is to ensure the health and well-being of ourstudent-athletes.”
Christianson said any new rule that would mandate such testing would have tobe suggested by a member institution or conference, then be approved by a voteof the schools.
Gene Egdorf, attorney for the Lloyd family, said Rice has agreed to leadefforts to add the rule.
“Dale died of complications related to sickle cell trait,” Egdorf told thestation. “Our big goal in this whole case has been to have testing for sicklecell trait become mandatory for NCAA athletes. Rice has agreed to step up aspart of this settlement and go to the NCAA and propose legislation to make itmandatory that sickle cell trait testing take place from now on.”
Egdorf said the settlement covers several Rice employees and othersaffiliated with the school at the time of the tragedy, including former headfootball coach Todd Graham, who now is the coach at Tulsa.
Rusty Hardin, an attorney for the university, said Rice and the Lloyd familywere satisfied with the settlement.
“It’s very fair to both sides,” Hardin said.
Hardin said the school has been doing testing for sickle cell trait eversince Lloyd’s death.
“When this tragedy happened Rice was tremendously distraught about it,” hesaid. “It instituted its own testing program that is now in effect, mandatorytesting.”
He said Rice has said it would be glad to encourage the NCAA to have atesting program for all schools.
“Everybody wins in that situation,” he said.
