CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina star defensive tackle Marvin Austin was kicked off the football team Monday and the school said the NCAA has declared receiver Greg Little and defensive end Robert Quinn permanently ineligible.
The announcements from the school and the NCAA came as part of the ongoing investigations into whether players received improper benefits from agents.
Athletic director Dick Baddour said the school wouldn’t appeal the rulings on Quinn and Little, while the decision to dismiss Austin — who has been suspended for violating team rules since Sept. 1 — came after the NCAA provided preliminary information that he had received between $10,000 and $13,000 in improper benefits.
• Oregon State flanker James Rodgers will miss the rest of the season with a left knee injury suffered in Saturday’s 29-27 victory over Arizona. Rodgers ranked sixth in the nation with an average of 176.8 all-purpose yards this season.
• Alabama receiver Julio Jones broke his left hand against South Carolina, and his status for the Crimson Tide’s game Saturday against Mississippi is uncertain.
Also, right tackle D.J. Fluker has a groin injury and will miss at least a week, coach Nick Saban said.
• Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who suffered a high right hip pointer during the Tigers’ 26-0 victory over Colorado, will start Saturday against Texas A&M.
• Houston is asking the NCAA for a waiver to allow injured quarterback Case Keenum to play a sixth season. Keenum was nearing several NCAA career records when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while attempting a tackle in a 31-13 loss Sept. 18 at UCLA.
• Buffalo linebacker Scott Pettigrew is expected to fully recover after being stabbed in the chest over the weekend.
• Richmond quarterback Aaron Corp will miss the rest of the season after suffering a left knee injury Saturday at New Hampshire.
Footnotes.
The collapse of Atlanta Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec in Friday’s season opener turned out to be a fainting spell. He will undergo more tests as a precaution.
• Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock signed a four-year extension through the 2014-15 season.
• Former Nuggets guard Allen Iverson is engaged in “serious talks” with Turkish team Besiktas Cola Turka for at least a one-year deal, according to his personal manager Gary Moore.
• Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was back on the bench for his team’s preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, three days after collapsing at a team practice.
• Junior center Tony Woods has received a release from the Wake Forest basketball program.
• Penn State forward Sasa Borovnjak will miss this season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
• ESPN producer Neil Goldberg, who was charged with public indecency after a Peeping Tom complaint at a Connecticut apartment complex, has left the network.
• Equestrian Walter Staley, who represented the U.S. at three Olympic Games, died Sunday in eastern Missouri. He was 77.
Denver Post wire services
