Gene Chizik spoke out against the finger-pointing directed at his former coaching staff. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Gene Chizik said his Auburn team “did it right” despite allegations of NCAA violations, specifically academic fraud, within the program while he was head coach. In his first interview since being fired as the Tigers’ headman after last season, Chizik spoke with Alabama’s WJOX radio on Monday and defended his tenure at the school.

A Roopstigo.com story earlier this month reported numerous instances of academic fraud, as well as impermissible financial benefits to players, under Chizik’s watch. On Monday, Auburn released a statement from AD Jay Jacobs refuting the Roopstigo report based on a lack of evidence found by an internal review of the program.

Chizik backed the university’s defense, saying his reputation has been on the line with these allegations:

“I’m here because I care about my reputation, I care about the integrity of who I am and what I do, and I’m simply giving out the facts, because I’m 100 percent confident that we did it right,” Chizik said.

The coach went on to deny the allegations that his coaching staff changed players’ grades:

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Bill Snyder points in the direction of better times. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder doesn’t like what he’s seeing in college athletics, which he says is “in a bad place right now.” In an interview with Kansas City’s 610 Sports Radio KCSP, Snyder said his departure from coaching football may “not [be] too far away” because of how money-driven the culture has become.

Snyder, the architect behind Kansas State’s success, signed a new five-year contract worth $14.75 million in January. He believes it’s another sign of the current problem in college sports. “I can only speak personally,” Snyder said. “I’m grossly overpaid for what I do. That’s part of what creates the issue.”

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This Nebraska training table facility does not, as far as we know, feature a butter sculpture of Bo Pelini, but you get the idea. (AP)

As a follow-up to Friday’s post on the demise of the much-maligned bagel rule, we’ve asked Bylaw Blog author John Infante to walk us through just what happened at the NCAA Convention to eliminate the need for monitoring of cream cheese, and just what might happen next. (If you’re wondering how this all became necessary in the first place, Infante’s October write-up on the regulation is a thorough primer.)

SI.com: In laypeople’s terms, how did we come to be rid of the cream cheese prohibition?

John Infante: The Legislative Council decided to delete the interpretation that says bagels cannot have spreads or toppings. The rule, which allows schools to provide unlimited fruits, nuts and bagels at any time, says nothing about cream cheese, butter, peanut butter, lox, you name it. That means that the NCAA is no longer worried about what is going on bagels. That is, until some football staff decides to set out lunch meats, pizza bagels or grill steaks and serve them to players on half a bagel.

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September is upon us, gentle readers. Have you a gameplan? As a grateful nation settles into the glorious grind of football season, it behooves us to be prepared for the onset of conference play — prime tailgating time. Campus Union spoke with Southern Living Test Kitchen director Rebecca Gordon, West Coast food blogger Sarah Sprague and East Coast food blogger The Gurgling Cod on a range of topics, from food safety to meal planning to the sacred art of cooking an entire pig before a game. Read on, and may your parties be championship-caliber from sunup to cleanup.

Tailgating 102: Food safety & portability

Southern Living Test Kitchen director Rebecca Gordon, here to tell you when that minnercheese turns deadly. (Courtesy of Southern Living)

You can cook just fine in your own kitchen, but can you pull off a multi-course outdoor feast that doesn’t serve the same old dishes as the neighboring tent and that won’t poison your guests? Guest lecturer: Rebecca Gordon, Southern Living Test Kitchen Director, who’s responsible for the development of all recipes in the magazine’s new Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook.

SI.com: Let’s start with safety, since nobody wants to spend game day working food poisoning out of their system. Southerners are by and large a mayo-based people.  How long is it really safe to let that potato salad or those pimento cheese sandwiches sit out?

Rebecca Gordon: Ice, ice, baby. Nestle platters and bowls filled with mayonnaise-based deviled eggs and potato salad into larger bowls filled with ice. Don’t let food sit out more than one hour. On a hot day (90 degrees or higher), reduce this time to 30 minutes, but definitely use your best judgment and don’t lollygag because we all know it’s going to be hotter than Georgia asphalt until about…um, well, I’d say Thanksgiving down South. If you’re in the sun, take items directly from your cooler and eat them right away.

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