RALPH D. RUSSO
FILE - In this March 19, 2019, file photo, Fairleigh Dickinson's Kaleb Bishop (12) and Prairie View A&M's Iwin Ellis (13) leap for the opening tip-off in the first half of a First Four game of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Dayton, Ohio. NCAA President Mark Emmert says NCAA Division I basketball tournament games will be played without fans in the arenas because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
NCAA tournaments are on _ for now _ but mostly without fans

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 11, 2020 04:18 PM EDT
The NCAA basketball tournaments are on — for now — though the buzzer-beaters,

FILE - In this March 17, 2019, file photo, Yale players pose for a photograph with the championship trophy after defeating Harvard in an NCAA college basketball game for the Ivy League championship at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. The Ivy League on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, canceled its men's and women's basketball tournaments because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus. The four-team tournaments were scheduled to be played Friday through Sunday at Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge. The Ivy League instead will award its automatic NCAA Tournament bids to the regular-season champions, the Princeton women and Yale men. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
Ivy League cancels tournaments; 2 other conferences bar fans

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 10, 2020 11:46 AM EDT
The Ivy League on Tuesday canceled its men's and women's basketball tournaments

Yeshiva University players, foreground, warm up in a mostly empty Goldfarb Gymnasium at Johns Hopkins University before playing against Worcester Polytechnic Institute in a first-round game at the men's Division III NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 6, 2020, in Baltimore, The university held the tournament without spectators after cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Maryland. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
AP Q&A with NCAA chief medical officer on COVID-19

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 06, 2020 09:47 PM EST
Less than two weeks away from the start of the NCAA Division I men's and women

Kentucky coach John Calipari directs his team against Michigan State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Maxey leads No. 2 Kentucky past No. 1 Michigan State 69-62

By Ralph D. Russo Nov. 06, 2019 12:23 AM EST
NEW YORK (AP) — Kentucky's latest freshman star is a guard from Texas who likes

No. 25 VCU picked to win the Atlantic 10 championship

By Ralph D. Russo Oct. 24, 2019 11:01 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — No. 25 VCU is favored to win the Atlantic 10 men's basketball

FILE - In this July 2, 2013, file photo, former FBI Director Louis Freeh leaves Federal Court in New Orleans. The NCAA unveiled a new arm of rules enforcement made up of independent investigators, advocates and decision-makers to handle what it calls complex cases involving serious infractions. The Independent Accountability Resolution Process will be comprised of four groups, including the Complex Case Unit, which will conduct investigations and provide representation for schools and individuals accused of violations. Among those chosen for the CCU were former FBI Director Louis Freeh. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
NCAA unveils new enforcement arm with outside investigators

By Ralph D. Russo Aug. 01, 2019 02:19 PM EDT
The NCAA introduced Thursday a new arm of rules enforcement made up of independent

Pac-12 revenue drops $12 million, but school payouts rise

By Ralph D. Russo May. 20, 2019 05:29 PM EDT
Pac-12 revenue fell by $12 million in 2018 to $497 million because the conference

FILE - In this March 14, 2012, file photo, a player runs across the NCAA logo during practice at the NCAA tournament college basketball in Pittsburgh. A proposal to require a graduate transfer to count against a team's scholarship total for two years in football and basketball has been rejected by the NCAA. The Division I Council voted down a proposal Friday, April 19, 2019, that could have tapped the brakes on the de facto free agency created by a rule originally intended to give athletes more freedom to pursue graduate degrees. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
NCAA rejects mandatory 2-year commitment to grad transfers

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 19, 2019 12:48 PM EDT
A proposal to require a graduate transfer to count against a team's scholarship total

FILE - In this July 25, 2018, file photo, Stanford head coach David Shaw speaks at the Pac-12 Conference NCAA college football Media Day in Los Angeles. The NCAA’s Division I Council meets this week in Indianapolis, and it is expected to vote by Friday, April 19, 2019, on an amendment to the rules regarding graduate transfers and financial aid. If passed the proposal would require a grad transfer to count against a team’s scholarship total for two years no matter how much eligibility the player has remaining. Shaw, whose program routinely operates below the major-college maximum of 85 scholarship players, said he would not hesitate to bring in a star-level player as a grad transfer even if it meant having an vacant scholarship the next season. But teams could be less inclined to take that hit with a lesser player. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
To slow flow of grad transfers, NCAA could constrain schools

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 16, 2019 02:37 PM EDT
Football and basketball coaches may be less likely to add graduate transfers to their

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett celebrates with fans after the championship game against Texas Tech in the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 8, 2019, in Minneapolis. Virginia won 85-77 in overtime. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Proud pop: Dick Bennett beams as son leads Virginia to title

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 09, 2019 02:27 AM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Dick Bennett has a difficult time watching his son, Tony, coach

Texas Tech's Jarrett Culver answers questions during a news conference for the championship of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 7, 2019, in Minneapolis. Texas Tech will play Virginia on Monday for the national championship. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
1st-timers Texas Tech and Virginia face off for NCAA title

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 07, 2019 06:14 PM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For Virginia and Texas Tech, doing something that had never been

Virginia players celebrate in front of Auburn forward Danjel Purifoy (3) after a semifinal round game in the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 6, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Guy sinks FTs on disputed foul, Virginia shocks Auburn 63-62

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 06, 2019 08:30 PM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Hard to call Virginia basketball boring after the last two games.

Auburn's Bryce Brown (2) goes up for a shot during a practice session for the semifinals of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 5, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Virginia and Auburn match contrasting styles in Final Four

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 05, 2019 04:34 PM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Virginia and Auburn meet at the Final Four in the latest

Michigan State's Joshua Langford shoots during a practice session for the semifinals of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 5, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Injured stars making mark at Final Four for MSU, Auburn

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 05, 2019 03:24 AM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Under different circumstances Joshua Langford might have had a

Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurst throws during practice in norman, Okla., Monday, April 1, 2019. Jalen Hurts is now at Oklahoma and apparently he is bringing a bit of Nick Saban’s process to the Sooners. On the latest AP Top 25 College Football Podcast, George Schroeder of USA Today joins AP’s Ralph Russo to talk about the transition from Alabama to Oklahoma for Hurts. (Kyle Phillips/The Norman Transcript via AP)
AP Top 25 Podcast: Hurts brings 'Bama process to Oklahoma

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 04, 2019 01:18 PM EDT
Jalen Hurts is now at Oklahoma and apparently he is bringing a bit of Nick Saban's

FILE - In this March 29, 2018, file photo, NCAA President Mark Emmert speaks during a news conference in San Antonio. Emmert says a judge’s recent ruling in a federal antitrust lawsuit again reinforced that college athletes should be treated as students not employees. Emmert spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday, April 3, at U.S. Bank Stadium, the site of the men’s basketball Final Four, making his first public comments since last month’s decision. Judge Claudia Wilken ruled the NCAA did violate antitrust laws and cannot prohibit schools from providing more benefits to athletes as long as they are tethered to education. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
Emmert: NCAA committed to prohibiting athletes from gambling

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 04, 2019 03:04 AM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As legalized wagering on sports spreads, the NCAA remains adamant

Auburn players celebrate after the Midwest Regional final game against Kentucky in the NCAA men's College basketball tournament Sunday, March 31, 2019, in Kansas City, Mo. Auburn won 77-71 in overtime. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
NCAA Tournament money: Big Ten gets most, SEC sets own high

By Ralph D. Russo Apr. 01, 2019 03:39 AM EDT
The Southeastern Conference made a concerted effort three years ago to improve the

American touts ESPN deal as similar to conference network

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 27, 2019 04:02 PM EDT
American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco says the league's new media

Villanova players stick a logo of their team on a bracket board after defeating Seton Hall 74-72 in an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Big East Conference tournament, Saturday, March 16, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
What's an NCAA Tournament unit worth? Millions. Here's how

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 26, 2019 03:45 AM EDT
The upstart run for Loyola Chicago making the Final Four last year delivered more

In this combination of NCAA college basketball tournament photos, Murray State's Ja Morant, left, scrambles for the ball on March 21, 2019, in Hartford, Conn., and Belmont's Dylan Windler, right, rebounds March 19, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. Morant and Windler were two of the top stories of the tournament’s first week, leading their mid-major conference teams to victories. Those wins will be paying dividends for years to come for the Ohio Valley Conference. (AP Photos)
Money Madness: AP analysis shows growing gap in NCAA payouts

By Ralph D. Russo Mar. 26, 2019 03:43 AM EDT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Powered by Ja Morant's no-look passes and Dylan Windler's step