Michigan to probe charge of NCAA football violations
The University of Michigan announced yesterday that it has launched an investigation into allegations that its football program regularly violates NCAA rules limiting how much time players can spend on training and practice.
The University of Michigan announced yesterday that it has launched an investigation into allegations that its football program regularly violates NCAA rules limiting how much time players can spend on training and practice.
The announcement from Michigan athletic director Bill Martin came after a Detroit Free Press article in which players from the 2008 and '09 teams said the amount of time they spend on football during the season and in the offseason greatly exceeds NCAA limits. The players spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
"We are committed to following both the letter and the intent of the NCAA rules and we take any allegations of violations seriously," Martin said in a written statement. "We believe we have been compliant with NCAA rules, but nonetheless we have launched a full investigation of the allegations in today's newspaper."
Martin also said that the school had reached out to both the Big Ten and the NCAA about the allegations. He said the university would have more to say after its inquiry was done.
Coach Rich Rodriguez and the university's compliance director, Judy Van Horn, have denied that the football program violated NCAA rules.
Michigan was 3-9 last season - Rodriguez' first year as head coach of the Wolverines - and did not make it to the postseason, ending a 33-year streak.
In other college football news:
* Indiana coach Bill Lynch suspended defensive tackle Deonte Mack and linebacker Ian Reeves and will hold them out of Thursday's season opener against Eastern Kentucky. Lynch said in a statement that both players violated team rules. He did not elaborate.
Sport Stops
* Former Detroit Pistons center Bill Laimbeer, who coached the WNBA's Detroit Shock to three titles, will join Kurt Rambis' staff with the Minnesota Timberwolves, a league source confirmed to ESPN.
* Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird came charging off the far turn and splashed his way to victory in the $1 million Travers Stakes at rain-soaked Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.
* Mardy Fish, of the United States, withdrew from the U.S. Open because of a rib injury. The tournament starts today in New York.