The NCAA will unveil the findings of its long investigation into Miami athletics and release any proposed sanctions on Tuesday, about 2½ years after the probe began and more than eight months after saying the Hurricanes did not "exercise institutional control" over former booster and convicted felon Nevin Shapiro's interactions with the football and men's basketball programs.
The report will be released at 10 a.m. ET, the NCAA said. If the case follows typical protocols, the Hurricanes will not receive their copy of the decision until Tuesday morning, shortly before the public release.
"We don't really concern ourselves with things that we can't control, such as the investigation and what people are saying," Miami running back Duke Johnson said Monday.
Miami is off to a 6-0 start, and the school's No. 7 ranking matches its highest since 2005. The school met with the infractions committee in June, leaving those two days in Indianapolis hoping a decision would come within eight weeks.
It wound up taking more than 18 weeks. The decision will answer whether the football program, by sitting out two bowl games, last season's Atlantic Coast Conference title game and making reductions in recruiting, has already paid enough of a price for the wrongdoing.
"Hopefully they just take a few scholarships off," said Miami Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon, who sat out six games of the 2011 season for his involvement with Shapiro as a member of the Hurricanes. "The school has done so much already to avoid a harsh penalty by punishing themselves, so hopefully it's not too bad."
Shapiro alleged that he spent millions between 2002 and 2010 on football and men's basketball recruits, athletes and coaches. A study of the allegations by The Associated Press found the NCAA was able to identify about $173,330 in extra benefits — more than half of that, investigators said, going to former Hurricane players Vince Wilfork and Antrel Rolle.
Still, the institutional control charge is considered the worst that the NCAA can bring against a member school.
The report will end another chapter in the saga, though if more sanctions against Miami are recommended, the process almost certainly doesn't end Tuesday. The Hurricanes have said they will not stand for major penalties beyond ones they have already self-imposed and have the right to appeal.
As part of this process, according to documents reviewed by AP, the NCAA asked the Hurricanes to provide things including how many scholarships they are using in football and men's basketball this academic year, how many they plan to issue in those sports next year, details of all postseason play in the last four years, and a review of all games that the school expects to play on television in the next three years.
"We believe strongly in the principles and values of fairness and due process," university President Donna Shalala said Feb. 18, one day before the school received its allegations. "However, we have been wronged in this investigation, and we believe that this process must come to a swift resolution, which includes no additional punitive measures beyond those already self-imposed."
Tuesday's decision should also include what penalties several former Miami coaches, including current Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith, may face for alleged rule-breaking during their interactions with Shapiro, who is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison for masterminding the Ponzi scheme.
Shapiro has said he went public with the accusations against Miami because he felt that members of the athletic department did not offer him enough support when his legal woes began.
GRAMBLING PLAYERS END BOYCOTT
Naquan Smith and his Grambling football teammates have no regrets about a nearly weeklong boycott that forced the university to forfeit its game against Jackson State on Saturday.
Grambling players stood behind Smith Monday during a press conference outside of the Eddie Robinson Museum on campus. Smith said the entire team was present and that the vote to return to the field was "100 percent."
"The football team took a stance on what we thought was right," Smith said. "We did not quit on our university. There are many problems that exist and if no one says anything, nothing will become of our institution. We hope coach Eddie Robinson and his legendary players appreciate we took a stand and thought we were right."
Smith said players decided to end the boycott after reaching out to several Grambling greats, including former coach Doug Williams, who advised them to, "Go out there and play football."
Williams also put them in contact with Baton Rouge businessman Jim Bernhard.
Smith said Bernhard told players he has their "best intentions at heart and that he would ensure we had updated facilities, but we had to agree to being back practicing Monday ... and finish the remainder of our season."
Smith said although the team will play, "We have not forgotten the situation and how we've gotten here."
Players refused to travel to Saturday's game at Jackson State, a forfeit, because of issues with university leaders.
The Southwest Athletic Conference said Sunday that Grambling had not been fined yet. SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp told The Associated Press on Friday that Grambling would be subject to a fine for forfeiting according to the league's bylaws.
Grambling resumed practice on Monday evening at the university practice facility. The Tigers host Texas Southern on Saturday.
It's been a tough season for Grambling (0-8), which is on its third coach this season and has lost 18 straight games to NCAA opponents. Williams was fired after just two games this season and replaced by George Ragsdale, who was reassigned within the athletic department on Thursday and replaced by Dennis "Dirt" Winston.
Grambling's administration has confirmed one of the players' concerns was about travel. The team recently took buses to games in Kansas City and Indianapolis.
University spokesman Will Sutton said Grambling has endured a 57 percent cut in state funding over several years that has affected the entire campus.
ALABAMA LOSES SUNSERI
Alabama strong safety Vinnie Sunseri will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, coach Nick Saban announced Monday. Sunseri will have surgery on Tuesday.
Saban declined to give specifics on the injury, except there was ligament damage. The injury occurred when Sunseri covered a kickoff in the first quarter of the Crimson Tide's 52-0 victory over Arkansas.
Sunseri, a 6-0, 210-pound junior, intercepted two passes and returned both for touchdowns this season. He contributed 20 tackles, including one for loss, four pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.
"Vinnie has done a great job for us," Saban said. "He's an outstanding player and a very good person, a good leader. You can't say enough about the job he's done throughout the year and in his career.
"I always hate it when guys get injuries. It's a tough part of the game.
"But it's going to provide an opportunity for some other guys to step up and play well."
After being reinstated from a two-game suspension, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix played last week against Arkansas and is the starting free safety. Saban said Landon Collins will probably replace Sunseri at strong safety, and Jarrick Williams will back him up. The Crimson Tide play Tennessee on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
Collins filled in at free safety during Clinton-Dix's suspension, but strong safety is his normal position.
"Landon's been a very good player for us in whatever role that we've asked him to play," Saban said.
Collins said this transition won't be as hard since he's had more practice time at strong safety.
"For me, it's much easier because that's where I've been playing the whole season," he said. "I went back to strong this past game and just felt much more comfortable, and I think played better."
TEXAS' ASH RULED OUT
Texas quarterback David Ash is still unable to return to the field as he tries to recover from a head injury. The university announced Sunday that he has been ruled out of Saturday's game against TCU.
Ash hasn't played in a game in a month after suffering symptoms against BYU on Sept. 21. He was hurt two weeks earlier.
The university said in a press release (per the Austin American-Statesman) that Ash "continues to make progress in his recovery" but that "there is no timetable on his return."
Case McCoy remains the Longhorns' starting quarterback.
Contributors: Carl Moritz, The Associated Press
