Press Box: Delany, Big Ten threaten non-scholarship model
Commissioner Jim Delany wrote that the Big Ten could revert to a Division III, non-scholarship model if former UCLA player Ed O'Bannon and others win a lawsuit seeking a share of television revenues, according to SI.com.
"It has been my longstanding belief that The Big Ten's schools would forgo the revenues in those circumstances and instead take steps to downsize the scope, breadth and activity of their athletic programs," Delany wrote in the declaration obtained by SI.com. "Several alternatives to a 'pay for play' model exist, such as the Division III model ... These alternatives would, in my view, be more consistent with The Big Ten's philosophy that the educational and lifetime economic benefits associated with a university education are the appropriate quid pro quo for its student athletes."
O'Bannon and other college football and basketball players have filed an antitrust lawsuit seeking a percentage of television revenues. If the NCAA loses the suit and is forced to pay some of the hundreds of millions in revenues, conferences like the Big Ten could be in a tough spot.
"It's not that we want to go Division III or go to need-based aid," Delany later told SI.com. "It's simply that in the plaintiff's hypothetical -- and if a court decided that Title IX is out and players must be paid -- I don't think we'd participate in that. I think we'd choose another option ... If that's the law of the land, if you have to do that, I don't think we would."
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kareem Richardson was announced as the new head men's basketball coach of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, replacing Matt Brown.
Richardson spent the 2007-08 season with the Kangaroos as an assistant, and he has worked for Rick Pitino at Louisville since last April. He has also served as an assistant coach at Drake, Xavier, Evansville, Wright State and Indiana State.
Richardson inherits a team that went 8-24, its fourth 20-loss seasons in the past six. Richardson will remain with No. 1 Louisville until the Cardinals' season ends.
--Ohio State women's basketball coach Jim Foster will not return next season, athletic director and associate vice president Gene Smith announced.
Foster was 279-82 in 11 seasons at Ohio State and is the program's winningest coach in terms of victories and winning percentage (.772). His teams won six consecutive conference championships from 2005-10 and appeared in 10 consecutive NCAA tournaments.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Notre Dame and quarterback Gunner Kiel have parted ways, head coach Brian Kelly told reporters during his pre-spring press conference.
In addressing Kiel's status, Kelly said Kiel has been granted his release and is "no longer part of the program." Paperwork was filed after discussions last week, and Kiel has begun considering other schools.
Kiel ran Notre Dame's scout team while redshirting last season. He originally committed to Indiana before flipping to LSU, then switched again to Notre Dame.
NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled defenseman Jake Gardiner and sent Korbinian Holzer to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
Gardiner has been with the Marlies for most of this season after scoring seven goals and totaling 30 points in 75 games as a rookie in 2011-12 with the Leafs. The 22-year-old was a first-round pick by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2008 draft.
--The Nashville Predators recalled forward Taylor Beck from Milwaukee of the AHL and they placed forward Paul Gaustad on injured reserve.
Gaustad left the Predators' March 13 game with an upper-body injury and hasn't played since, leaving the Predators' depth thin. Beck, 21, leads Milwaukee with 41 points -- 11 goals, 30 assists -- in his second pro season. He has not appeared in an NHL game since being a fourth-round pick in the 2009 draft.
