College footbal roundup: Vanderbilt dismisses players
Four unnamed Vanderbilt football players who were suspended from the team have been dismissed by the school and removed from the campus, the school announced Saturday.
University officials said in a statement that the athletes would not be allowed to return to campus unless given "explicit permission" from the school's office of student conduct and academic integrity.
Friday, the school suspended the players, pending an investigation, for "a violation of team rules."
The university offered little details and said because of the ongoing investigation, it will offer further comment when appropriate.
According to The Tennessean, the suspension resulted from allegations that a sex crime was committed. Nashville police acknowledged it was investigating.
"I can confirm that the Metropolitan Police Department's Sex Crimes Unit began an investigation on Wednesday in regard to a matter that was alleged to have occurred at a Vanderbilt University dormitory," said Don Aaron, spokesman for Metro police. "Our sex crimes detectives became involved as the result of a notification to us on Wednesday from Vanderbilt University police. The investigation remains very much in progress."
The players were not named and police declined to discuss the investigation any further.
The Commodores had their best season in almost a century last year when they went 9-4, appeared in the Music City Bowl and defeated North Carolina State, 38-24.
---Oklahoma senior defensive lineman Chuka Ndulue was arrested and charged with driving under the influence early Saturday morning.
Ndulue, a junior, appeared in all 13 games last season for the Sooners and recorded a team-high five sacks. He is one of only four returning starters to the Sooners' defense.
According to The Daily Oklahoman, campus police stopped Ndulue around 4 a.m. He was taken to the Cleveland County Detention Center and was released around 9 a.m.
---Virginia landed highly-touted defensive tackle Andrew Brown, according to ESPN.
Brown played at Oscar Frommel Smith in Chesapeake, Va.. He committed to Virginia on Saturday after considering Alabama, Florida State, Clemson and Virginia Tech.
Brown is rated as the No. 3 overall recruit and top defensive tackle by ESPN.
