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#10: Ohio State: 14 days is the expected timeline for a newly-appointed independent committee to review the Urban Meyer situation. The group will be chaired by former Ohio Speaker of the House Davidson & also includes former acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Morford, as well as former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Stewart, plus three trustees. Former Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission White will run point on the investigation. Here's the crux: "Decisions about actions, based on the findings of the investigation, will be made by the president of the university in consultation with the Board of Trustees." (link); Bio on White. (link); USA Today's Perez: "Gene Smith easily could clear up the timeline if he chose to, but instead, he’s the lone major figure in the scandal that has rocked this area over the last couple weeks that hasn’t said anything." (link)
#9: Another good rendering set of South Carolina's new FB Operations Center. One item I noticed last week, but failed to mention, are full-body dryers in FB's locker room, which I didn't know were a thing. (link)
#8: SMU students will move from the bleachers to a "massive party deck" as the student section in Ford Stadium has a new look. The multi-level platform in the north end zone will have awnings, bar-height tables and open spaces and replaces nearly four sections of the lower bowl that have been removed to accommodate it. Students can submit naming ideas in a contest on Instagram. (link)
#7: Here's a bunch of pictures updating the North Endzone project at Arkansas. Looks like it's pretty close to completion & there's this interesting new multi-hog sculpture. Technically it's a "Wild Band of Razorback Hogs." (link)
#6: Ohio State: Buckeyes AD Smith might be on vacation, but he's still plenty accessible for the investigative team looking into the situation surrounding FB HC Meyer. The Columbus Dispatch's Rabinowitz notes how Smith is in the spotlight, gets comment from Indiana professor & sports law expert Grow on Smith's contract, "There are definitely several provisions in here that could trip him up. The big question is: What did he do with that information once he became aware of it? [...] If I’m his defense attorney, I’m saying, ‘Well, if the police decided they’re not pressing charges, then they are the ones who determine whether the law has been violated.' And if the police don’t think it’s been violated, then he hasn’t messed up there. There was no legal violation so there’s nothing to report." (link, link); The mothers for both former FB AC Zach Smith & claimant Courtney Smith question Courtney's claims, says she mentioned multiple times taking down her then-husband & others connected to the OSU program. (link); Zach Smith has yet to be contacted by the independent investigative unit, per his counsel. (link); Notable Ohio State blog Eleven Warriors on how the FB staff is pushing forward in preparation for the upcoming season. (link); The Ringer's Titus, who is also a former OSU MBB student-athlete, "Once an independent investigation delivers its results later this month, the university will face a choice about whether to fire its head football coach. The decision will speak volumes—about both college sports and the school’s priorities at large." More. (link)
#5: North Texas Dir. of FB Recruiting Walerius with a Fortnite-based uniform graphic. This will be a hit. (link)
#4: Brown WBB HC Behn is facing domestic assault charges stemming from accusations from her husband that she pushed him over a wooden chair then pinned him against a wall. Behn's attorney: "She denies the allegation. It's a private matter." Brown with the standard "no comment" statement. (link)
#3: Maryland FB will wear these for its season opener against Texas to celebrate 10 years aligned with Under Armour. (link)
#2: The Columbus Dispatch's Rabinowitz asks the question some are wondering, "(Zack) Smith’s explanation of the timeline and his decision not to inform Meyer in 2015 might help that cause. Smith said he was on a recruiting visit when athletic director Gene Smith called him following a call from the Powell police department and told him to return to Columbus. If that’s the case, then Meyer wouldn’t have had to tell the athletic director because he would already have known. Which raises the question, given that Meyer has been placed on administrative leave, should Gene Smith also be on leave during the university’s investigation?" Buckeyes AD Smith has not commented on the situation. (link)
#1: Unless you were totally disconnected Wednesday, you know the NCAA has pushed forward substantial changes to the MBB landscape on the fronts of giving student-athletes more freedom & flexibility, minimizing the leverage of harmful outside influences, making the infractions process more efficient & binding, setting stronger penalties, turning to independent investigators & decision-makers, as well as adding public voices. (link, link); Additional context & perspectives...
+ The NCAA via Twitter, "To clarify - rules would allow high school players to have agents only after the NBA/NBPA begin allowing players to be drafted out of high school. Details regarding how high school prospects are eligible will be considered before the rule is effective." (link)
+ Duke AD White: "Operationalizing the ideals that led to today’s adopted measures becomes our next major challenge." ACC Commish Swofford: "This is another step that is critical to the future success and integrity of college basketball. It’s important to be mindful that we won’t reach perfection; however, we can’t let that stand in the way of significant progress. I’m sure there will be unintended consequences as we move forward, and we’ll need to evaluate and perhaps make adjustments along the way, but these are necessary actions that should enhance the culture within the sport." (link)
+ ESPN NBA insider Wojnarowski says NBA & USA Basketball leaders were "blindsided" by Wednesday's announcement. "USA Basketball doesn't have the infrastructure, nor interest in accepting the role of evaluating the nation's top prospects for a yet-to-be-determined number of players who'll annually be allowed to sign with agents at the end of their junior years, sources told ESPN. […] Several NBA officials were surprised over the presumptive and premature nature of the NCAA's rules changes, which assumed that the NBA and National Basketball Players Association will abandon the one-and-done college rule and allow high school players into the NBA draft. While that appears to be the direction the league and union are headed, discussions are centered on the 2022 NBA draft as the earliest." (link); Also from Woj, "Few, if any, undrafted prospects will use that as impetus to return to college basketball. They'll chase summer league roster spots/two-way/G-League. Undrafted this year means you'll probably be undrafted or a late second-round pick next year -- and back in same precarious spot." (link)
+ USA Today's Berkowitz notes the reintroduction of coaches & athletics leaders having to report outside income, "These amounts can run exceed $100K annually for coaches -- it was more than $1 million for Rick Pitino -- but some states' open-records laws likely will continue to keep these reports from being made public." (link)
+ Sports Illustrated legal expert McCann reviews six key takeaways from Wednesday's announcement. For example, "Some may wonder why the NCAA would announce a rule change that does not appear to be coordinated with the NBA. There are likely several reasons, including an important legal one: both the NCAA and NBA want to avoid any appearance of coordination since it could make it more possible for adversely impacted players to argue that the two businesses are engaged in aligned activities that pose antitrust implications." (link)
+ CBSSports.com's Norlander with a number of interesting thoughts, gets comment from NCAA VP for Men's Basketball Gavitt, "We could’ve done a little better job of communicating today’s news with [USAB]. I’ll just leave it at that." Also from Norlander, "I’m hearing from a lot of coaches who are baffled by the idea that 15 officials visits per recruit are now a thing. It’s overkill, way too many, and schools don’t want most recruits taking two officials, etc." (link)
+ Yahoo's Wetzel: "This was all about protecting the status quo by clearing investigative barriers and then promising to drop the hammer on whomever they catch. Here’s the big one: 'as a term of employment, school presidents and athletics staff must commit contractually to full cooperation in the investigations and infractions process.' This can essentially compel testimony, not to mention evidence forfeiture, as a prerequisite to employment. It’s either full cooperation or go work elsewhere. It’s a significant, and coveted, step up in power for the investigative staff." (link)
+ Yahoo's Eisenberg reviews what he thinks the NCAA got right & wrong. (link)
+ Forbes' Belzer wonders if the new solutions could end up exacerbating the old problems. (link); Another read of note is the potential conflict of interest when HC agents also start to represent prospective student-athletes. (link)
+ National College Players Association via Twitter, "College athletes’ rights movements scores win! Elite HS & college BB players can have agent (legal) representation (like other citizens), can remain in college if undrafted by NBA. Advocacy & FBI investigation exposing major hypocrisy & corruption = change." (link)
+ USA Today's Wolken is convinced it's only a matter of time before the same policies apply to college FB. (link)
