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Special exam for Ohio State athlete found dead

The examination of football player Kosta Karageorge will look for signs of traumatic brain injury.

A COUNTY coroner said a special examination will look for signs of traumatic brain injury in an Ohio State athlete found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Dr. Anahi Ortiz, of Franklin County, said the examination by an Ohio State neuropathologist is being done because Kosta Karageorge had a reported history of multiple concussions.

Ortiz said yesterday that an autopsy determined the 22-year-old Karageorge died of a gunshot wound, but she hasn't yet definitively ruled it a suicide.

Columbus police said Sunday that Karageorge died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

His mother, Susan Karageorge, told police in a missing-person's report that her son had had several concussions.

Karageorge was a wrestler for 3 years and joined the football team as a walk-on this season. He was a defensive lineman.

Noteworthy

* Scores of students, alumni and athletes marched to the administration building at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and rallied for hours in response to reports that officials will shut down the football program.

Chanting "We want football" and "We are UAB, We are Birmingham," demonstrators demanded that UAB president Ray Watts come outside to discuss the future of the program, which earned a possible bowl appearance with a win on Saturday.

Watts never showed before the protest concluded, and school officials didn't respond to a request for comment.

Protesters said they would return today.

"I'm going to fight for this school, and I could care less what people think. I believe in my heart that it's right," said Zac Woodfin, who played at UAB and is now an assistant coach.

Much of the demonstrators' anger was directed toward University of Alabama System trustees, who control campuses in Birmingham, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa. Trustees previously blocked UAB's efforts to construct a new stadium and hire Jimbo Fisher, now the head coach at Florida State.

Officials have said there are evaluating the viability of UAB football, and coach Bill Clark told ESPN.com on Sunday that he expects the school to end a program that has struggled financially.

The last FBS school to eliminate football was Pacific in 1995.

* SMU said it hired Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris as its new head coach.

The 45-year-old Morris is a Texas native and longtime high school coach in the state. He has been Clemson's offensive coordinator since 2011 and is one of the highest-paid assistants in college football, making $1.3 million per season. Over four seasons, he has helped the Tigers to a 41-11 record, the 2011 ACC championship and four bowl berths.

The Mustangs (0-11) have one game left in a winless season, during which coach June Jones stepped down after two games. They play Saturday at Connecticut.

* Lance Leipold was introduced as the new coach at the University at Buffalo. He succeeds Jeff Quinn, who was fired last month after four-plus seasons.

Leipold led Wisconsin-Whitewater to five Division III national championships. He has a 106-6 record in eight seasons.

The No. 1-ranked Warhawks are 12-0 this season and play Wartburg (Iowa) in the quarterfinals next weekend. With a 52-3 victory over Wisconsin-Eau Claire last month, Leipold reached 100 wins in 106 games, the fastest coach to do so at any NCAA level.

Buffalo plays in the Mid-American Conference and finished the season under interim coach Alex Wood. The team went to 5-6 following a 41-21 win over Massachusetts on Friday.