Sebastian the Ibis, perpetually flummoxed by the state of the NCAA’s Miami investigation. (Geoff Burke/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Miami football coach Al Golden, basketball coach Jim Larranaga and Hurricanes’ administrators are set to appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions on June 13-15 in Indianapolis to further discuss allegations surrounding former booster Nevin Shapiro. A response from the school, as well as implicated coaches no longer with the program, is due out on Monday.

As the school prepares to defend itself from the allegations, one ex-Miami assistant says the accusations are nothing compared to what happens in the SEC, according to the Miami Herald:

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By Zac Ellis

ACC Coastal Championship ring. Other side view. #GoHeels http://t.co/WiRGvTsOYP—
Jason Freeman (@uncfootball) April 30, 2013

Larry Fedora knew exactly what he was getting into. At the ACC’s spring meetings this week, the North Carolina head coach said he expected there would be critics of his decision to award rings to his team honoring their Coastal Division championship.

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The Big Ten took in more than $315 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012. (Robin Alam/Icon SMI)

By Zac Ellis

The Big Ten reported record revenue in the league’s latest federal tax returns, upstaging even the SEC in profitability.

According to a report by Steve Berkowitz of USA Today, the Big Ten brought in more than $315 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012. That was $42 million more than the SEC reported for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2012.

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By Holly Anderson

We have our own goofy reasons for wanting Kolton Houston to see the field for Georgia, but yesterday’s Outside the Lines report on the Dawg lineman’s endless pharmaceutical battle with the NCAA is well worth your time. Trailer below; full report is here.

An ex-EA Sports employee says games were designed to replicate existing athletes. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

A former EA Sports producer says the company’s college sports video games were designed to replicate existing athletes without using their names, according to testimony obtained by AL.com.

Jeremy Strauser, an employee of EA Sports from 1995-2011, testified that video game players were created to correlate with existing players numbers and biographical information. Strauser’s testimony took place last December but was filed by EA Sports last week.

EA Sports, the NCAA and the College Licensing Company are the defendants in a high-profile case brought forth by former student-athletes and headed by former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon. The suit alleges the three defendants violated antitrust laws surrounding student-athletes’ names, likenesses and images in the companies’ products.

According to the testimony, EA Sports was aware of the similarities between athletes and their video game counterparts:

“We generally tried to make the players perform as their real life counterparts, short of their name and likeness,” Strauser testified.

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SEC football coaching salaries are increasing at a rate 128.9 percent faster than those of instructors in the league. (AP)

By Zac Ellis

Salaries of college football coaches increase at a much higher rate than those of instructors at the same universities, a new study shows.

Even as many institutions of higher education fight through far-reaching budget cuts, a study by Inside Higher Ed shows that universities with the largest athletic programs are the driving force behind the lopsided trend.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the SEC leads the way in salary discrepancy. The league boasts about a quarter of the country’s 23 athletic programs where revenues actually outpace expenses. Its instructional salaries rose 15.5 percent between 2006-11 ($70,886 to $81,758); SEC football coaching salaries increased 128.9 percent over that same span ($3,147,149 to $6,928,989).

The smallest salary gap belonged to the WAC, “where football salaries rose 46.4 percent, from $1,370,332 to $1,819,845, and instructional paychecks rose 15.2 percent (a faster increase than several other conferences), from $65,038 to $76,533,” according to the report.

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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

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier continues to push for payments to players. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

The SEC’s new television network will officially be announced on Thursday, setting the already lucrative league up for even more revenue. Does that mean it’s time for SEC players to begin getting part of that payout? South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier certainly thinks so.

Spurrier told GoGamecocks.com that players should see a share of the revenue they produce, especially with the prospect of significantly more money on the horizon.

“As the commissioner and the presidents and the athletic directors all say, we are going to make a whole lot more money,” Spurrier said. “My question is, ‘When are we going to start giving a little bit of it to the performers?’ Football and basketball players. It won’t do any good probably, but I’m going to still keep yelling for them. They bring in an awful lot of money for all of us.”

This isn’t a new position for Spurrier, who has pushed the issue of player stipends before. It’s also worth noting: When the SEC network and new College Football Playoff take effect, each team in the league could enjoy a potentially $10-14 million increase in payout from 2011-12 in as little as two years, according to a USA Today report.

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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Start your engines, ladies: Alabama icon AJ McCarron is taking his talents to the Talladega race track. (USA Today)

By Zac Ellis

Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron might have two BCS titles under his belt, but he’s set for a new kind of thrill this weekend. The Crimson Tide quarterback will serve as an honorary pace car driver at Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s Aaron’s 499, the track announced Tuesday.

“I have enjoyed races at Talladega before and have always had a passion to get up to speed on the track,” McCarron said in a release. “This is an incredible opportunity, and to be able to do it in front of the most famous drivers in the world, is something I am really looking forward to.”

Alabama coach Nick Saban, who served as the grand marshal of the race in 2009, said he offered McCarron some advice about avoiding temptation behind the wheel.

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