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South Florida's Selmon Jr. keeps civil lawsuit settled

TAMPA - The attorney for South Florida defensive tackle Lee Roy Selmon Jr. filed an appeal to set aside a civil settlement against him. It will be withdrawn, however, at Selmon's request, essentially ending a case that dates to the fall of 2001.

"A notice of appeal was filed, but it will not be acted upon," attorney John Grant said.

Selmon's insurance company, State Farm, and attorneys for Clint H. Lowman reached a $7,500 settlement in June. Lowman suffered multiple broken facial bones when he was beaten by several people at an apartment-complex party near campus Sept. 16, 2001. Criminal charges against Selmon were dropped in 2002.

Selmon and his father, the former USF athletic director, said they told State Farm not to settle and filed a motion to set aside. Lowman's attorneys filed a motion to compel payment while the Selmons sought a trial.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Claudia Isom denied the Selmons' request in her initial ruling in February and denied a petition for a rehearing in March.

"Lee Roy Selmon Jr. and all of his friends and family know he did nothing wrong, and he's comfortable ending it right here and going on with his life," Grant said. "He wanted his day in court. This litigation was about his desire to get in court."

Attorneys for Lowman, who reached a separate settlement with the apartment complex for $35,000, have filed a suit against the Selmons seeking compensatory payment.

MORE USF: The school announced interviews for the three athletic director finalists: Randy Spetman, 10:30 a.m. Thursday; Jon Oliver, 2:30 Monday; Mark Hollis, 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. All interviews are open to the public and will be held in the alumni association conference room of the Gibbons Alumni Center. ... Freshman Gabriela Duch was named first-team All-C-USA in women's tennis. ... Freshman pole vaulter Megan Malone of Riverview was named the C-USA co-athlete of the week. She set a school record at the Drake Relays, clearing 12-3/4, the best in C-USA this year and an NCAA region qualifying mark. ... The volleyball team signed Flavia Saunders Silveira, a middle blocker/outside hitter from Fortaleaza, Brazil. She is the first signed by new coach Claire Lessinger. Silveira played two years at Frank Phillips College and has two years of eligibility. Lessinger, a former Florida player, will make her collegiate coaching debut Sept. 1 at Florida, the 2003 national runnerup. ... The women's track and field team signed six, Misti Barber (throws), Shannon Davis (sprints/hurdles), Karla Savery (pole vault), Tiffany Sloan (sprints), Maressa Pinzini (800) and Rosalyn Woodberry (long/triple jump). The men signed two high jumpers, Brian Zipler of Sickles and Clinton Dunlop of Lakeland Christian.

COLORADO: Suspended coach Gary Barnett's future will be decided by the end of May.

University president Betsy Hoffman told a panel investigating Colorado's recruiting practices that she will make a decision based in part on its final report, due next month.

"There is no way to make this decision without making a large number of people extremely angry with us," Hoffman said Monday.

She told the panel she wants to know about any more allegations of sexual assault that come to light.

At least eight women have accused Colorado athletes of rape since 1997. No charges have been filed, but Gov. Bill Owens ordered the attorney general to look into the claims.

Barnett was put on paid leave over comments he made involving two of the women, including former kicker Katie Hnida, who said she was raped by a teammate in 2000. While answering questions about why Hnida left, Barnett called her an "awful" player.

KENTUCKY: Receiver Tommy Cook likely will miss next season after injuring a knee during the spring game on Saturday. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while making a cut during the game. The senior will have reconstructive knee surgery.

AUBURN, Ala. - The NCAA placed the program on two years' probation, cutting one scholarship but exonerating the school of the two most serious rules violations.

The ruling cleared Auburn of allegations that assistants arranged for large sums of money and expensive cars in the recruitment of high school prospects Chadd Moore and Jackie Butler. But it found that an AAU coach, Mark Komara, was acting as a representative of the university when he arranged to wire $3,125 for Butler and get a 1996 Dodge Stratus for Moore. The university, which had denied the major allegations, already had self-imposed penalties, including the loss of one scholarship. The NCAA sanctions, which do not ban postseason play or televised games, leave the Tigers with 12 scholarships instead of 13 through the 2005-06 season and imposed various recruiting limitations.

Komara's number is unlisted and his attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

DUKE: Freshman Luol Deng has made himself available for the NBA draft but is not ruling out a return to school.

- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.