NCAA Tournament Selection Chairman: Kentucky, Syracuse Have NCAA Edge

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

CBSSports.com wire reports

Even the chairman of the tight-lipped NCAA selection committee can't deny this simple fact: Heading into this week's conference tournaments, there's Kentucky and Syracuse, and then everybody else.

In a teleconference to preview Sunday's release of the NCAA tournament pairings, committee chairman Jeff Hathaway all but handed two of the four top seeds to the Wildcats and Orange, each of whom entered their conference tournaments with a record of 30-1.

"I think we all agree that if the season ended today, we know who the two best teams are," he said Wednesday. "If you're looking at 3 and 4 on the first line and the entire second line, we have the same handful of teams in mind but where they would be laced will be a tremendous debate."

Though Hathaway, the former athletic director at defending national champion Connecticut, did not get specific, among those lumped into consideration for the other top seeds are Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio State and Michigan State.

The brackets come out Sunday evening, with the tournament starting Tuesday. MORE....

NCAA Football Committee Proposes Several New Rules

Ty Halpin, NCAA.com

The NCAA Football Rules Committee, which met Tuesday-Thursday in Charlotte, N.C., has recommended several rules proposals intended to enhance student-athlete safety for the 2012 season. Even though it is a non-rules change year as part of the two-year cycle process, these rule changes can be proposed for immediate implementation because they directly impact student-athlete safety.

“In all of our proposals, we are continuing the annual effort to find ways to make our game safer where we can,” said Scot Dapp, chair of the committee and athletics director at Moravian College. “Without question, these changes will enhance student-athlete safety and we feel very comfortable based on the data we collected that the impact will be significant.” MORE....

University Of North Dakota Supporters' Petition Seeks ‘Fighting Sioux’ Vote

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The Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. -- Is it the return of the Fighting Sioux? Supporters of the University of North Dakota's nickname turned in more than 17,000 signatures Tuesday night to cap a petition drive to force a statewide vote on a moniker the NCAA says is insulting to American Indians.

Campaign organizers said they had gathered far more than the 13,452 signatures needed to put a question before voters in June.

Reed Soderstrom, chairman of the referendum campaign, said organizers counted 17,213 names. The petitions were delivered to Secretary of State Al Jaeger's office about 10:15 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Jaeger planned to check the count Wednesday. He has 35 days to review the petition and decide whether it is sufficient to qualify for the ballot. CONTINUE....

Related articles

• Fighting Sioux backers finish petition work (sfgate.com)
• Organizers have petitions to restore Fighting Sioux (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)
• Supporters move to restore Fighting Sioux name (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

More Aid For College Athletes Sought

By FREDERIC J. FROMMER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An advocacy group is pushing a "bill of rights" for student-athletes aimed at increasing financial assistance to college players.

Among other things, the legislation would require large athletic programs to cover all sports-related medical expenses incurred by athletes. Such programs would also be required to pay into a state trust fund, with the proceeds going to student loan creditors on behalf of former men's basketball and football players who are still in school but have exhausted their athletic eligibility. MORE....