Contract released for Clemson football coach Swinney; guarantees $800,000

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney will earn at least $800,000 a year as the football coach.

Gators at the White House: Obama congratulates Florida players on football championship

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama welcomed the Florida Gators to the White House and congratulated them on winning a second national championship in football in three years.

Wisconsin-Whitewater coach apologizes for crude language after scathing campus editorial

MILWAUKEE — The coach of one of the nation’s top Division III football teams has apologized for his expletive-laced remarks and decision to bar reporters after a scathing campus editorial in the student newspaper.

Louisville QB Tyler Wolfe to transfer, making battle for starting job 2-man competition

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville quarterback Tyler Wolfe is leaving the team.

NFL DRAFT: ‘All those massive critics shut up’ _ ESPN, hyper Kiper reach silver anniversary

BALTIMORE — For a guy who makes a living critiquing others — created a cottage industry out of it, even — Mel Kiper Jr. sounds a little thin-skinned when it comes to how others perceived him way back when.

Florida State appealing NCAA sanctions that would cost victories in cheating scandal

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State has appealed to the NCAA to reduce sanctions in a cheating scandal so the school won’t have to forfeit victories in 10 sports, including up to 14 in football.

EagleBank Bowl gets post-Christmas slot for 2009, will pit Army vs No. 8 team from ACC

WASHINGTON — The second edition of the EagleBank Bowl will get a better time slot than the first.

Class System: NCAA basketball champs show wins will not take backseat to academics

INDIANAPOLIS — Scott Drew had a simple plan to fix the Baylor men’s basketball program.

Academic study: North Carolina, UConn prove they can win titles in the classroom, too

INDIANAPOLIS — College basketball champions North Carolina and Connecticut both made the NCAA’s list of academic overachievers Wednesday.

BCS considering parts of Mountain West Conference proposal, though playoff seems unlikely

PASADENA, Calif. — The BCS could decide to adopt parts of the playoff plan proposed by the Mountain West Conference, even as the group seems unlikely to scrap its current system of determining college football’s champion.

Obituaries in the news

Frederick Wirth Jr.

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Dr. Frederick “Fred” Wirth Jr., the physician to America’s first test-tube baby, has died, his family said Friday. He was 68.

BCS considering parts of MWC proposal, though playoff seems unlikely

PASADENA, Calif. — The BCS could decide to adopt parts of the playoff plan proposed by the Mountain West Conference, even as the group seems unlikely to scrap its current system of determining college football’s champion.

Coach Bo Pelini says development of young backs could bolster Nebraska’s running game

OMAHA, Neb. — The running game didn’t draw nearly as much attention as the quarterbacks and receivers in the Red-White scrimmage, but Nebraska coach Bo Pelini predicts it will be a strength come fall.

MWC commissioner proposes playoff to BCS; BCS coordinator not worried about antitrust threat

PASADENA, Calif. — Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson made his league’s case for sweeping changes to the Bowl Championship Series, including a move to an eight-team playoff, in a 90-minute presentation to other conference leaders Tuesday at the BCS meetings.

Carroll names Aaron Corp as USC’s quarterback out of spring practice

LOS ANGELES — Southern California coach Pete Carroll says sophomore Aaron Corp will be the Trojans’ starting quarterback through the summer and into fall camp.

NFL DRAFT: Falcons GM hopes to pull off another fruitful draft, but it’s tougher this time

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — What will Thomas Dimitroff do for an encore?

Cards’ schedule violates Fiesta contract, parties try to resolve issue

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals violated terms of their University of Phoenix contract by scheduling their final home game in the upcoming season one day before the Fiesta Bowl.

2 Faulkner University football players killed in car crash in southern Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Two Faulkner University football players have been killed in a car accident in southern Alabama.

NFL Draft: Lions say chances are ‘very good’ they will have deal with No. 1 pick before draft

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Lions general manager Martin Mayhew says the chances are very good Detroit will have a deal done with the No. 1 pick before the NFL draft begins Saturday.

Obama touts Navy football team’s wins on field, service to country

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is praising members of the Naval Academy football team, saying he is proud of their performance on the field and for their commitment to serve the country in coming years.