NCAA to Conduct Inquiry at UGA

The NCAA has informed the University of Georgia that they plan to conduct an “inquiry” on campus. This comes in the wake of an investigation into alleged improper contact by sports agents with student-athletes at other SEC schools.

News of the investigation has been swirling for a few weeks now. It started at North Carolina, where defensive end Marvin Austin and others were rumored to have attended a party held by a sports agent in Miami.

Soon after, NCAA investigators spoke with South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders about the same party in Miami. Today Alabama announced that they are trying to determine if defensive lineman Marcel Dareus also attended that party.

At the heart of the investigation will be exactly who attended the party, how the players (if any) traveled to and from the party and what benefits were received.

Late Wednesday evening, Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green’s name surfaced as a possible attendee of the party. Green has since informed the Athens Banner-Herald that he was interviewed by Mark Richt and compliance and informed them that he did not attend the party. He has further stated that he has never been to Miami.

We’ll have to wait and see how this develops. NCAA investigations usually drag on for months, but hopefully they can exonerate Green and others if they determine they didn’t attend the party or have any improper contact.

P.S. I wouldn’t pay much attention to what TMZ.com says. Their “source closely connected to Georgia’s athletic department” is probably a rival coach or staff member trying to deflect blame off of their own players. Besides, they specialize in the trials and tribulations of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, not football. Or sports for that matter.