The NCAA has suspended the recruiting rule allowing for unlimited phone calls and texts to prospects. (AP)

By Zac Ellis

The NCAA Division I Board of Directors suspended the rule allowing unlimited phone calls and text messages to recruits, the organization announced on Thursday.

After receiving more than 75 requests to override the measure, the Board opted to reverse the rule, which was originally adopted in January. The Board instead supported a recommendation that “all the recruiting concepts under review be examined as a group to develop a model that considers how the changes would work together.”

“We are supportive of moving as aggressively as possible while still studying the issues with due diligence,” said Board of Directors chair Nathan Hatch, president at Wake Forest University. “It’s important to make sure all the pieces of the recruiting model work together to make the most effective change in the culture.”

MANDEL: Recruiting deregulation fiasco underscores deeper NCAA disconnect

By Zac Ellis

Today’s news sure to raise some eyebrows comes courtesy of the NCAA, as it so often does. According to Jordan Moore, the director of social media for the USC athletic department, the NCAA has nixed the use of Twitter hashtags on college football fields.

Social media police: The NCAA has banned hashtags on college football fields.—
Jordan Moore (@MooreSports) May 01, 2013

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Ed O’Bannon (above) and the plaintiffs are seeking class-action status in their case against the NCAA. (AP)

By Zac Ellis

Administrators noted “real concern” within the NCAA that use of athletes’ likenesses in video games “adds to the argument that student-athletes should be unionized and receive a cut of the profits, etc.” according to lawyers representing the plaintiffs in Ed O’Bannon v. the NCAA.

Steve Berkowitz of USA Today reports documents filed Thursday by the plaintiffs cited an email written in 2005 by former NCAA membership services staffer Bo Kerin in their allegations. The documents also allege that Peter Davis, a former NCAA director of corporate alliances, “admitted that there are ‘likenesses of student-athletes’” in video games developed by EA Sports. Along with the NCAA, EA Sports and collegiate trademark licensing and marketing firm Collegiate Licensing Co. make up the defendants in the O’Bannon case, in which several former student-athletes are seeking damages for the illegal use of their likenesses by the NCAA.

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George O’Leary’s UCF Knights will be bowl eligible this season after winning their NCAA appeal. (Landov)

By Zac Ellis

The NCAA granted Central Florida’s appeal of a one-year postseason ban, the school officially announced Monday.

Reports surfaced on Friday that UCF’s appeal had indeed been granted, but the school released a statement on Monday confirming the decision by the NCAA.

“We are pleased with this ruling and applaud the NCAA for handling our appeal with care, competency and professionalism,” UCF President John C. Hitt said in a statement. “Our football program looks forward to competing for an American Athletic Conference championship and a bowl berth.”

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UCF’s decision to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl last year was a gamble that paid off for the Knights. (Landov)

By Zac Ellis

Central Florida has a chance to go bowling as a new member of the American Athletic Conference. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the Knights have won their NCAA appeal and will be eligible for postseason play in 2013.

The school’s appeal came in reaction to heavy sanctions handed down by the NCAA last season as a result of recruiting violations and a loss of institutional control ruling. The school accepted much of the NCAA’s punishment across both the football and men’s basketball programs, but UCF president John Hitt decided to appeal football sanctions he felt were excessive. UCF played in the Conference USA title game and the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl last season while its appeal was heard.

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Chip Kelly is gone, but Oregon will still pay for violations committed during his tenure. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Oregon and the NCAA agree that the school committed “major” violations within its recruiting practices, which have been the subject of an ongoing NCAA investigation. In a draft of the summary disposition report obtained by Portland, Ore., TV station KATU, more details have emerged surrounding the Ducks’ activities and use of Will Lyles, a Texas-based scout whose firm Complete Scouting Services allegedly provided Oregon with an illegal recruiting advantage, among other violations.

Through the summary disposition, Oregon offered to self-impose a two-year probation for the football program and a reduction of one scholarship for each of the next three seasons, according to OregonLive.com. The Ducks will meet with the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions later this year to determine the school’s ultimate fate.

The report details Lyles’ impermissible contact with student-athletes, which gave Oregon “a meaningful recruiting advantage” by providing the school with background information on prospective recruits. The document also states that Oregon paid at least $35,000 for a number of improper recruiting services, including $25,000 to Lyles and Complete Scouting Services. Oregon also failed to adequately record recruiting information on a quarterly basis, as mandated by the NCAA. The school and the NCAA disagree on the severity of these charges, however; Oregon considers them to be secondary violations, while the NCAA believes they are major violations.

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NCAA enforcement official Dave Didion has accepted a compliance position at Auburn. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

The NCAA’s enforcement staff took another hit over the weekend when veteran enforcement official Dave Didion opted to leave his post with the organization. He’ll assume the role of associate athletics director for compliance at Auburn, the same school he left 14 years ago to join the NCAA. USA Today reported the move on Friday.

Didion is the latest in a line of casualties in the NCAA’s enforcement department. Investigator Ameen Najjar was fired in 2012 after it was discovered he signed off on payments to Miami booster Nevin Shaprio’s attorney during the NCAA’s probe into the Hurricanes. Vice president of enforcement Julie Roe Lach was later fired as a result of the investigation. Two other enforcement staffers, investigators Rich Johanningmeier and Abigail Grantstein, have also left the NCAA within the last year.

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By Zac Ellis

Given the debate around pay-for-play models and the growing criticism toward college athletics, it was only a matter of time before Jon Stewart of The Daily Show took a shot at the NCAA. Check out the video above, courtesy of thedailyshow.com.

Stewart took on college athletics’ governing body during his show on Thursday night, touching on both the Ed O’Bannon v. the NCAA lawsuit and the controversy surrounding Minnesota wrestler Joel Bauman. I’m not sure if it’s surprising that the NCAA decided against sitting down with The Daily Show, but that only facilitated more humor. Enjoy.

OU’s Bob Stoops spoke out against a potential pay-for-play model. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

The notion of a pay-for-play system in college sports has become an increasingly popular topic of conversation, and as the revenue generated from television networks continues to climb, the movement to do away with the current model of amateurism has grown louder and more threatening to the NCAA.

Apparently, that line of thinking doesn’t resonate with everyone. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops believes his players get enough already. Here’s Stoops to Matt Hayes of The Sporting News:

I don’t get why people say these guys don’t get paid. It’s simple, they are paid quite often, quite a bit and quite handsomely.

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Miami president Donna Shalala has called for a speedy resolution and no further sanctions from the NCAA. (AP)

It turns out University of Miami president Donna Shalala is not super happy with the way the NCAA has gone flouncing through her school’s football program, given the whole “they had Nevin Shapiro’s personal attorney on their dime” thing. Monday evening, she released a statement detailing the sanctions already endured by the Hurricanes and asking for a rapid resolution to the interminable process — a resolution that includes no further punishments:

The University takes full responsibility for the conduct of its employees and student-athletes. Where the evidence of NCAA violations has been substantiated, we have self-imposed appropriate sanctions, including unilaterally eliminating once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for our students and coaches over the past two years, and disciplining and withholding players from competition.

We believe strongly in the principles and values of fairness and due process. However, we have been wronged in this investigation, and we believe that this process must come to a swift resolution, which includes no additional punitive measures beyond those already self-imposed.

In September 2010-two and a half years ago-the University of Miami advised the NCAA of allegations made by a convicted felon against former players and, at that time, we pledged our full cooperation with any investigation into the matter. One year later, in August 2011, when the NCAA’s investigation into alleged rules violations was made public, I pledged we would ‘vigorously pursue the truth, wherever that path may lead’ and insisted upon ‘complete, honest, and transparent cooperation with the NCAA from our staff and students.’

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