Brittney Griner (Getty Images)It's apparently no accident former Baylor star Brittney Griner didn't publicly reveal she was gay until after her college career ended last month.

Griner told espnW that Baylor women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey requested players not be publicly open about their sexuality out of fear it would affect the perception of the program in the community and negatively impact recruiting.

"It was a recruiting thing," Griner told espnW. "The coaches thought that if it seemed like they condoned it, people wouldn't let their kids come play for Baylor.

"It was just kind of, like, one of those things, you know, just don't do it. They kind of tried to make it, like, 'Why put your business out on the street like that?'"

Griner casually acknowledged she was gay last month during a series of interviews with reporters leading up to the WNBA draft. The No. 1 overall pick of the Phoenix Mercury told reporters her friends and family had known she was gay since her freshman year of high school and it was an open secret among her Baylor coaches and teammates.

That Baylor would discourage gay players from publicly discussing their sexuality is a sad testament to the pervasiveness of homophobia in America and to the pressure on college coaches to win. Mulkey was apparently willing to ask players to hide part of their identity because she couldn't risk alienating a recruit or two who wouldn't be comfortable playing alongside openly gay teammates.

Steve Alford (Getty Images)

New Mexico and Steve Alford have reached a deal on a separation agreement.

Alford and UCLA will pay $300,000 to New Mexico to satisfy a buyout clause in his contract with his former employer. New Mexico had initially demanded a $1 million buyout when Alford was hired by UCLA in late-March.

Alford left New Mexico on March 30 just 12 days after agreeing to a new contract with New Mexico that was scheduled to take effect on April 1. Alford maintained that he was not responsible for the $1 million buyout in that new deal because he was hired by UCLA before it went into effect.

Ben McLemore (Getty Images)Ben McLemore is under no obligation to speak to NCAA investigators since he no longer plays for Kansas, but the future NBA lottery pick appears willing to cooperate anyway.

In an interview at the NBA draft combine in Chicago on Thursday, McLemore told SI.com if NCAA investigators want to chat about alleged payments an agent made to his former AAU coach, he'd be willing to meet with them.

"I would tell them the truth and tell them what I know, and just cooperate with them," McLemore said. "Hopefully they'll cooperate with me and hear my side."

McLemore's side appears to be that he knew nothing about the $10,000 cash and gifts AAU coach Darius Cobb admitted to USA Today he accepted from a runner this spring in return for steering the talented shooting guard toward certain agents. If he reiterates that stance to investigators and they find no proof to the contrary, it will put the NCAA in a difficult position as it tries to determine the punishment.

On one hand, the money Cobb acknowledged taking did not benefit Kansas in the least since it had nothing to do with McLemore choosing the Jayhawks two years prior. At the same time, the payments rendered McLemore ineligible based on the letter of the NCAA rulebook, which means Kansas could be punished and perhaps even have to vacate the wins it achieved after Cobb allegedly began accepting cash and gifts.

Iowa and Wisconsin were treated differently by Big Ten schedule makers (Getty Images)

The release of the Big Ten's unbalanced schedule earlier this week undoubtedly inspired different reactions from various fan bases.

They were smiling in Madison. They were cringing in Iowa City.

Wisconsin caught a huge break only playing Big Ten contenders Michigan State and Ohio State once apiece, both at home, a coup for a Badgers team 0-8 in the Breslin Center since 2004 and 9-1 at home against the Buckeyes since 2001. The advantage is tempered a bit by also getting perennial bottom feeders Nebraska and Penn State once as well, but not going to East Lansing or Columbus should enable Wisconsin to contend for yet another top four Big Ten finish.

Iowa is positioned to rise in the Big Ten pecking order after returning the core of a NIT finalist, but schedule makers did the Hawkeyes no favors giving them all the league's top teams twice apiece. The four teams Iowa faces once are rebuilding Nebraska, mediocre Purdue and Penn State and an Indiana program likely to take a step or two backward after the departure of Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo, Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford.

Unbalanced schedules are necessary in the 12-team Big Ten because schools favor an 18-game league schedule over a 22-game round-robin format. As a result, Big Ten schools play seven conference opponents twice and faces the remaining four only once.

(USA Today Sports Images)

Nothing is finalized but it's looking like Tennessee and Memphis will continue their series in basketball with an agreement in principle for four games over the next four seasons.

The Knoxville News reported the deal as all but done with ongoing talks about also meeting in future seasons on the football field.

“We’re going to play,” Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart told the paper. “We’re going to continue the basketball series.”

Meanwhile, several outlets reported that the Memphis Commercial Appeal has told its readers that while scheduling has been discussed between the two schools, there is no deal.

(Busted Coverage)

Rick Pitino appears to have adopted an NHL mentality after winning the national championship last month. Just as they do in hockey with the Stanley Cup, Pitino has taken the national championship trophy along on a few adventures.

The latest was a trip to Florida to celebrate his daughter Jacqueline's 21st birthday. Pitino, his daughter and several friends posed for the picture above in Fort Lauderdale at Cafe Martorano.(h/t busted coverage.com)

Mike Krzyzewski (Getty Images)

In addition to becoming the winningest Division I basketball coach in history in 2011, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski had bragging rights over his peers in at least one other respect.

He was very, very well paid.

Krzyzewski made nearly $9.7 million in total compensation during the 2011 calendar year, USA Today reported Wednesday after reviewing the Duke coach's federal tax return recently filed by the school. That is the highest single-year salary for a college basketball or football coach since the newspaper began tracking compensation in 2006, topping the $8.9 million Louisville coach Rick Pitino received in 2010-11.

Krzyzewski’s base salary in 2011 was $1,978,401, but the rest of his total income came from several sources. He earned $5,642,574 in bonus and incentive compensation and $1,982,097 in retirement and other deferred compensation. There was also $59,616 for "other reportable compensation" such as charter travel for family and friends and $19,344 from non-taxable benefits.

USA Today reported Krzyzewski earned more than $7.2 million in the 2010 calendar year and nearly $4.7 million in 2009. Assessing why Krzyzewski's annual compensation more than doubled in two years is tough because private schools typically decline to make their contracts available to reporters.

screen shot via WXII

They've taken out newspaper ads, donned T-shirts and launched websites to no avail, so now Wake Forest fans eager to see a change in leadership in their basketball program are upping the ante one step further.

They've raised $4,500 to erect a billboard calling for the firing of fourth-year coach Jeff Bzdelik and the athletic director who continues to stand behind him.

The billboard stands along U.S. Route 52 in Winston Salem, a monument to the anger and discontentment many Wake Forest fans feel after Ron Wellman gave Bzdelik a fourth season to turn around the program even though he's just 34-60 in his first three. The top line of the billboard features the hashtags #BuzzOut and #FireWellman and the message below that reads "Demand Accountability, Rewake the Nation."

Brian Stratton, a Wake Forest fan who has been vocal in his displeasure with Bzdelik, explained to WXII-TV that he believes the billboard is necessary because Wellman has alienated the fan base with his allegiance to the coach. Stratton elaborated further on Wednesday in a Facebook post to the Fire Jeff Bzdelik group, noting that fans have sent hundreds of emails, placed dozens of phone calls and tried every possible way to convey they want the embattled coach gone.

"To date, we haven't received a single reply from Wellman, the athletic department, or the administration," Stratton wrote. "This is very odd considering that 90 percent of the fan base wants Bzdelik gone. It's even more insulting given the fact that Wellman wants us to donate to the Deacon Club, renew season tickets, and help fund the cost of buying and renevating the Joel.