Associated Press
The college football notebook …
CHAPEL HILL ó North Carolina chancellor Holden Thorp and board of trustees chairman Wade Hargrove said Thursday theyíre committed to having a nationally competitive football program despite the NCAA investigation of the past year.
Speaking at Thursdayís trustees meeting, Thorp said the schoolís announcement of self-imposed penalties earlier this week shows the school accepts responsibility for the problems. The school has put the football program on two years of probation, vacated all 16 wins from 2008 and 2009, cut nine scholarships over the next three years, and issued a $50,000 fine.
ěIt got us past another important part of the investigation, and I think our statement created a sense that we acknowledged our violations and responded in a way that people would expect,î Thorp said.
The school is still scheduled to appear before the NCAA infractions committee on Oct. 28 and awaits word on whether the NCAA will issue additional punishment. The NCAA began investigating improper benefits and academic misconduct in summer 2010, a probe that led to 14 players missing at least one game and seven being forced to sit the entire year. Four of those seven were either dismissed from the team or declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA.
VIRGINIA TECH SCHEDULE
Virginia Tech is making no apologies for what many think is an easy early schedule.
The No. 13 Hokies travel to Marshall on Saturday, wrapping up a nonconference slate that includes no teams from any of the power conferences. It came at a good time for the Hokies, even though their 17-10 victory at East Carolina caused them to drop two spots in the Top 25.
ěWe enjoy being under the radar because it gives us time to work out all of our kinks weíve had so far,î guard Greg Nosal said this week. ěWeíve really been able to really work on our whole team. We were able to really work some stuff out and get rolling here pretty soon.î
ACC FOOTBALL EMERGENCE
RALEIGH ó The Atlantic Coast Conference has emerged as an attractive football conference.
After a shaky start in conference realignment roulette, the basketball-rich ACC rebounded and became the first power conference to reach 14 teams.
That seemed to be an unlikely scenario a few weeks ago when the Southeastern Conference looked like it might snatch up one ó or more ó ACC schools. Instead of losing teams, the ACC added two with the possibility of adding two more at some point.
While it looks like an upset ó the ACC is not known for its football prowess and nearly a quarter of the league is mired in NCAA scandals ó the ACC obviously is appealing. With at least 10 schools making inquiries about joining, it has cemented a place in superconference discussions.
GAMECOCKSí JERSEYS
COLUMBIA, S.C. ó South Carolina will wear specially designed uniforms in support of the armed forces during its Southeastern Conference game against Auburn on Oct. 1.
The school and Under Armour said South Carolina, Texas Tech and South Florida would wear the uniforms as part of the companyís partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project.
The uniforms honor the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 and feature a stars and stripes design. Names will be replaced with one of the following words: Duty, Honor, Courage, Commitment, Integrity, Country, or Service.
Texas Tech will wear its uniform against Oklahoma State on Nov. 12 and South Florida against Miami on Nov. 19.
The jerseys will be auctioned on each schoolís website the Monday following each game with proceeds going to Under Armourís ěBelieve in Heroesî campaign.
The Associated Press
09/22/11 18:10