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News Nuggets, 02.16.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Nation's champs meet nation's chief

The University of Texas football team, which claimed the Bowl Championship Series title with a 41-38 win over Southern California, was honored by President George W. Bush at the White House on Tuesday.

The national title was the first for the Longhorns, guided by former North Carolina coach Mack Brown, since 1970. The Rose Bowl win over the Trojans wrapped up a school record 13-0 season and gave Texas the longest winning streak in the nation at 20.

Mizzou officials deny Snyder was forced out

The Columbia (MO) Dispatch reported that former Missouri basketball coach Quin Snyder broke a four-day silence on Tuesday night, saying he abruptly resigned because he was told he wouldn’t be around after the end of the season.

Snyder repeatedly referred to his "resignation," but the version of events he told during a news conference at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center suggested that it was more of a firing and that top administrators knew about it ahead of time.

University officials were quick to claim no such knowledge.

Snyder, 39, said he met with an unnamed Athletic Department official — presumably Gary Link, a special assistant to Athletic Director Mike Alden and the color analyst on basketball radio broadcasts — in the locker room before Thursday afternoon’s practice.

Only a few minutes earlier, Snyder told reporters he would not resign despite mounting pressure during his team’s six-game losing streak.

Snyder said that the meeting with Link was direct and that Link informed him his contract would be terminated at the end of the season, regardless of how the season ended. It didn’t matter whether he guided the struggling Tigers, then 10-11, to an improbable Big 12 Conference Tournament title to secure a berth in the NCAA Tournament — the presumed litmus test for Snyder’s job security next season — Snyder said.

"It began with his expression that he could come to me to communicate this information to me at the behest of the athletic director," Snyder said. "I was inquiring as to a little more detail into that, and he informed me that he had been told that both the president, the chancellor and a key member of the Board of Curators had all approved this decision."

President Elson Floyd, MU Chancellor Brady Deaton and Curator Don Walsworth responded last night and this morning that they had done no such thing.

Floyd issued a statement read to reporters after last night’s news conference: "I am startled to hear that anyone suggested the president of the University of Missouri had any role in the events surrounding the discussion with Coach Snyder. I was never consulted prior to this reported conversation."

Report: Indiana hoops coach on the way out

Seth Davis of sportsillustrated.com has reported that Mike Davis has resigned as coach at Indiana but will stay on for the remainder of the season, according to a source in the school's athletic athletic department with knowledge of Davis' situation.

The source added that the university hopes to have a news conference in Bloomington to discuss details of Davis' termination as early as Thursday.

The decision was made more than a week ago and Davis' attorney and the university subsequently negotiated the terms of his departure, which were finalized this week.

Davis' resignation brings an abrupt end to his turbulent six-year tenure as Indiana's head coach. He spent three years as an assistant before taking over the program after Bob Knight was fired in September 2000.

Davis led the Hoosiers to the NCAA championship game in 2002, where they lost to Maryland, but his support among fans and boosters plummeted as IU failed to qualifty for the NCAA the last two years.

Ousted Ohio State coach O'Brien wins lawsuit

Former Ohio State basketball coach Jim O'Brien, who gave a potential recruit a $6,000 loan should not have been fired. That was the contention of the former Buckeyes boss, who won his lawsuit against the university Wednesday, according to WBNS-TV-10's online website.

O'Brien, who lost his job 20 months ago, commented on the ruling via phone from Florida, the site reported.

"This has been on my mind," he said. "Last thought at night, first thought in morning and a lot of hours in between."

O'Brien defended himself on the witness stand in December, saying he did nothing wrong in sending $6,000 to the family of one-time recruit Alex Radojevic because Radojevic was not NCAA eligible.

The judge ruled that O'Brien did breach his contract by making the loan, but said that action was not so egregious as to void the contract; thus, OSU did not have cause to terminate O'Brien's employment.

O'Brien says he's thrilled with the decision, though he wonders whether the damage from being fired is permanent.

"My reputation has always meant a lot to me and, without question, that has been soiled. I've always told my players your credibility, once it's lost, it's hard to get that back. And that's where I'm struggling right now," said O'Brien.

O'Brien wouldn't answer questions about the specifics of the decision, because the money issue is still to come. Reports have indicated that O'Brien could be awarded as much as $9 million.

He does say the cost of defending himself has been a substantial financial burden.

Cowboys switch Suttons

Eddie Sutton was expected to announce his resignation as head coach of Oklahoma State's men's basketball team effective immediately, a source close to the Cowboys program told ESPN's Doug Gottlieb on Wednesday night.

Oklahoma State called a news conference for 10:30 p.m. ET. Sutton was not expected to attend the news conference, but was to be involved via conference call.

Sean Sutton, Eddie's son, had already been designated to be the school's interim head coach and will take over on a permanent basis.

According to the source, Sean Sutton has agreed to a five-year contract that will pay him $750,000 annually guaranteed.

C-USA Basketball Standings, Scores & Schedule

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:45 PM