By Times Staff and Wire Reports
Published August 13, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The committee investigating allegations of academic misconduct against Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett has turned some of its findings over to the NCAA.
"They're concerned and we're concerned and we're sharing information," Dr. Jane D. Case-Smith, a professor of medicine at the university, said in a phone interview Tuesday. "I think it makes sense. It's their issue as well as our issue."
A 10-member university panel was formed last month to investigate allegations of academic misconduct in the program.
NCAA spokeswoman Kay Hawes declined to comment.
Case-Smith said the investigation was in its early stages. She declined to talk about the committee's findings or when the investigation would wrap up.
"With these committees, we spend an awful lot of time collecting information and figuring out who we need to talk to," she said.
ALABAMA: Wendell Smith has sued the NCAA, which labeled him a "rogue booster" after its investigation into Alabama's program.
Smith's suit in Jackson County Circuit Court seeks unspecified punitive damages, alleging defamation and an invasion of privacy have hurt his reputation and his career.
The NCAA placed Alabama on probation in February 2001 for recruiting violations, including allegations that Smith, a car salesman in Chattanooga, Tenn., provided $20,000, lodging and entertainment as an inducement to prospect Kenny Smith. The Smiths are not related.
Wendell Smith's attorney, Robert Ray, said the NCAA acted in a "reckless, extreme and outrageous" manner against his client. He said Smith was not a Crimson Tide booster and the charges were not true.
GA. TECH: Coach Chan Gailey said he is "100 percent sure" that demoted quarterback Damarius Bilbo will remain with the team.
Bilbo pondered the idea of transferring to a school that would let him play quarterback.
MISSISSIPPI: Defensive back Jeremy Ruffin, who was expected to compete for a starting spot this season, has left the team. Coach David Cutcliffe declined to elaborate on why.
N.C. STATE: Linebacker Travis Singletary, a redshirt freshman from Coconut Creek who pleaded guilty to using another student's campus debit card has left the program and will not play this year, coach Chuck Amato said.
N. COLORADO: The team forfeited three wins from the 2002 season after the NCAA said the team used an ineligible player.
Quarterback Steve Cutlip was ineligible for academic reasons but played in four games, school spokesman Colin McDonough said.
PENN STATE: Ex-quarterback Rashard Casey settled a lawsuit against the Hoboken Police Department stemming from an altercation outside a bar three years ago. The amount was withheld because of a confidentiality agreement.
W. VIRGINIA: Adam Jones, a 19-year-old sophomore defensive back, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge resulting from a bar fight. He originally was charged with malicious assault, a felony. A trial date has not been set.
Basketball
BAYLOR: The school organized a six-member search committee to find a new coach and athletic director as it moves to dig out from the scandal of a murdered player, drug use and improper payments to athletes.
S. CAROLINA: Center Rolando Howell was suspended indefinitely after his arrest on a criminal domestic violence charge.
USF: Former center Will McDonald, who was the Bulls leading scorer and rebounder in 2002-03, has signed to play for Chalon of the Pro A League in France, the country's top league. McDonald (6 feet 11, 240 pounds) played for the Golden State Warriors this summer in the Long Beach Summer League.
NCAA NEWS: For at least the next two years, the NCAA will let schools and conferences decide whether to use American Indian mascots, nicknames or logos.
- Staff writer Pete Young contributed to this report.
