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ATHENS — Greetings from the gleaming, expansive hunk of glass and steel known as Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall.

Y’all ready to talk some football today? I hope so, because that’s what I’m here to do. A couple of weeks ago, I requested interviews with about a dozen or so football players, all of whom will be playing major roles during the Bulldogs’ 2012 campaign. As it turns out, I wasn’t the only reporter to seek an audience with most of these guys. So Claude Felton and UGA’s sports communications staff have arranged to make them available in small groups between now and the opening of spring practice on March 20.

On the docket today are wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell, tight end Artie Lynch, quarterback Aaron Murray and safety Bacarri Rambo. We’ll be meeting with each one for 10 or 15 minutes over the next few hours.

I don’t plan to share everything everybody said all day. I’m planning some features over the next few weeks heading into spring ball and will be using some of the …

Continue reading Let’s talk some Georgia Bulldogs football . . . »

In case you missed it, Teresa Edwards, the legendary Georgia basketball player and Olympic gold medaliist was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday night in Springfield, Mass.

Edwards will go down in history as one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all time. She’s the only American basketball player to have represented her country in teh Olympics five times. Of course, she was an All-American at Georgia and led coach Andy Landers’ Bulldogs to three SEC championships and two Final Fours, including a runner-up finish in 1985.

Mike “Jiggs” Mobley of the UGA Sports Communiations office — a legendary figure himself — accompanied Edwards, Landers and a UGA entourage of dignitaries to Springfield for Friday’s ceremonies. Following is his account of the night.

Congratulations Teresa. . . .

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Teresa Edwards delivered a heart-felt and emotional induction speech to celebrate her inclusion into the Naismith Memorial Basketball …

Continue reading UGA legend Teresa Edwards enters Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame »

The kickoff for the Sept. 17 Coastal Carolina-Georgia game at Sanford Stadium has been set at 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on pay-per-view in Georgia and South Carolina at a price of $34.95.

This is the fourth gametime to be confirmed for this season. Georgia’s first two matchups were previously set: Boise State at the Georgia Dome on Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. and  South Carolina on Sept. 10 in Athens at 4:30 p.m. Both will be televised by ESPN. The Oct. 29 game against Florida in Jacksonville is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be broadcast by CBS.

Continue reading Coastal Carolina game set for 1 p.m. kickoff »

POSTCARD FROM HONDURAS

Mark Richt was nearly 1,400 miles away from the Georgia Bulldogs’ practice fields this week, touring impoverished areas of Honduras served by the Christian charity organization World Vision International. It was his third visit to Honduras , but the first time any media has accompanied him. This is the last of daily postcards provided by AJC reporter Steve Hummer, who followed Richt and his wife Katharyn to chronicle their trip. Look for an in-depth report on Richt’s journey in Sunday’s AJC.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The return to what in Mark Richt’s world passes for normalcy began Friday before he and his wife, Katharyn, boarded the plane for home.

In the Honduran countryside, no one knew Richt or really understood what he did for a living. You try explaining his job to someone with no knowledge of The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

“Coach Mark,” he often was referred to, without any real concept of the …

Continue reading Postcard from Honduras: No ticket for Boise State fan »

Georgia's Harris English is 2-0 at this year's NCAA tournament as the Bulldogs will play Augusta State Sunday for the national title. (Matt Barnard, The Tulsa World/AP)

From UGA sports communications:

STILLWATER, Okla. — The Georgia men’s golf team defeated Duke in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships on Saturday at Karsten Creek Golf Club and will play for the national title on Sunday against Augusta State.

The Bulldogs dispatched the Blue Devils 3-2 behind wins from seniors Harris English and Russell Henley and sophomore Bryden Macpherson. Augusta State, the 2010 national champion, knocked off home-standing Oklahoma State 3-2.

Sunday’s final match will be played at 1 p.m. Live scoring and video will be available at NCAA.com.

“It feels really good,” said English, who is 2-0 in the NCAAs this year. “It’s what we’ve been gearing up for all year. We’ve got three seniors (English, Henley and Hudson Swafford), and this is our final tournament. Having this …

Continue reading UGA golf team advances to NCAA final »

Georgia offensive lineman Clint Boling (60) leads the way for Knowshon Moreno.

Clint Boling is on the clock.

No, he’s not the one doing the picking in the NFL draft. But he’s one of the ones waiting and he’s expecting a call tonight.

Or at least he’s hoping for one.

The Georgia Bulldogs’ senior and jack-of-all-trades offensive lineman is projected as a second- or third-round pick in the NFL draft. But as Boling and everybody else knows about the draft, well, you just never know.

“I just kind listen to what my agent’s been telling me,” said Boling, who is represented by Atlanta’s Pat Dye Jr. “I’ve been trying not to read too many blogs and mock drafts and stuff like that.”

Boling said the feedback he has been getting indicates he should be selected by the end of today, which is when the second and third rounds are due to be completed (ESPN’s coverage begins at 6 p.m.).

“[Dye] said it’d probably the second day, but that you’ve got to be ready for anything,” said Boling, who …

Continue reading UGA’s Clint Boling hopes to be next off NFL’s board for Bulldogs »

Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox is expected to receive new contract on Thursday.

A special conference call of Georgia Athletic Association Executive Board has been convened for 11:30 a.m. tomorrow. At that time, UGA President Michael Adams and Athletic Director Greg McGarity are expected to recommend a contract extension and salary increase for the Bulldogs’ second-year basketball coach. The board is expected to approve that recommendation.

On Wednesday, McGarity would say only that the board was being convened to discuss “a personnel matter” but he declined to get into specifics.

As soon as Georgia’s season ended with a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament, McGarity said that he would seek to extend and enhance Fox’s employment agreement with the university. Asked Wednesday about the progress of those negotiations, McGarity said, “they’ve been very productive. We’re on the same page.”

Fox’s current contract runs through the 2014-15 season and pays him $1.3 million per …

Continue reading UGA basketball coach Mark Fox to receive contract extension, raise »

A Q&A WITH LOGAN GRAY

Gray

In an exclusive interview with the AJC on Tuesday, Logan Gray confirmed that he has settled on Colorado as his next destination. The former Georgia quarterback plans to transfer there via the NCAA’s postgraduate transfer rule which allows qualifying student-athletes to be immediately eligible at another school as long as they have received an undergraduate degree from the original school. However, the move is not yet finalized. Gray, who is due to earn a speech communications degree from UGA in May, has yet to be accepted into the Colorado’s grad school.

In the meantime, I wanted to talk Gray about that decision and ask him about his experiences at UGA. The former prep All-American and consensus top 10 quarterback prospect will leave without ever starting a game for the Bulldogs and switched to wide receiver last season after failing to beat out freshman Aaron Murray for the job. As you’ll learn in the following exchange, Gray felt like he wasn’t …

Continue reading Q&A: Logan Gray wanted ‘more opportunities’ to play QB at UGA »

Georgia has opened discussions with men’s basketball coach Mark Fox about a new or amended contract that would increase his pay and demonstrate the school’s desire to keep him long-term.

Both athletic director Greg McGarity and Fox confirmed the contract talks in interviews Wednesday with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Yes, I have had a preliminary discussion with Mark,” McGarity said. “Over the next week, two weeks, we’ll sit down and try to formalize some of the things we have discussed.”

Said Fox: “Greg and I had a great initial discussion. We’ll continue that later. But this is the job I wanted and where I want to be, and I’m excited Greg and I had such a great meeting.”

With several high-profile programs –- including N.C. State, Missouri and Oklahoma -– seeking coaches, there has been speculation that Fox might be pursued for another job.

Although Fox’s agent has fielded a couple of feelers from other schools, McGarity described the contract talks as a “proactive” …

Continue reading UGA, Fox discussing new contract; ‘not interested’ in any other job, he says »

ATHENS — Not quite two weeks after spraining his right ankle in a pickup soccer game on campus, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray is off crutches, out of the walking boot, starting to do a little running and looking forward to the start of spring football practice.

“No more soccer,” Murray said Thursday. “No basketball, soccer, baseball, softball — none of that stuff. Just football from here on out.”

He said the ankle injury occurred “just going up for a header. Just came down wrong on it. Just rolled it a little bit.” The scariest part, he said, was the thought of telling coaches Mark Richt and Mike Bobo.

On the ground immediately after the injury, “I was, like, ‘Oh man, I don’t want to tell Coach Bobo,’” Murray said. “I was, like, ‘This is not going to be good.’”

But he said the ankle “didn’t hurt too bad, just swelled up a little bit, so I [thought] it was probably just a little sprain.” X-rays and an MRI  confirmed that diagnosis.

Murray was amazed by the interest in …

Continue reading ‘No more soccer’ for Aaron Murray »

(Updated 8 p.m.)

ATHENS — Ticket prices for the Georgia-Florida football game in Jacksonville will remain unchanged this year after UGA decided not to follow the Gators’ lead in raising them.

Florida’s athletics board voted in December to raise the prices by $10 per ticket, provided Georgia would go along. But Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity told the board of directors of the UGA Athletic Association at its winter meeting Thursday that he would not propose hiking prices for the 2011 game.

That means prices will remain the same as the past four years — $40 for regular seats and $70 for club seats.

“It takes two to tango, so to speak,” McGarity told the board, “and we’re not ready to make that move yet.”

McGarity said he would recommend, probably at the board’s May meeting, possible price increases for the game in 2012 and beyond.

“Sometimes it’s good timing for one school and bad timing for another school,” said McGarity, who worked at …

Continue reading No change for Georgia-Florida ticket prices; big change for Sanford Stadium video board »

University of Georgia President Michael Adams places a collar on Uga VIII before the Oct. 16 homecoming game. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS – Uga VIII died Friday, at not quite 17 months old and after only a half-season as the University of Georgia mascot.

The white English bulldog was diagnosed early last month with lymphoma, a common cancer in dogs.

“We all mourn the loss of Uga VIII, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Seiler family at this time,” said Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity, referring to the Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler family of Savannah, long-time owners of the Uga line of mascots.

Uga VIII, born Sept. 12, 2009, took over as the Bulldogs’ mascot at the Oct. 16, 2010, homecoming football game against Vanderbilt in Sanford Stadium. He served for the final six games of the regular season but did not travel to Memphis for the Liberty Bowl because of what was thought at the time to be a gastrointestinal condition.

After the cancer diagnosis, Uga …

Continue reading Georgia mascot Uga VIII dies »

By Ken Sugiura, AJC staff writer

Georgia has hired Nebraska assistant coach Lizzy Stemke to be its new volleyball coach. Stemke replaces Joel McCartney, who was fired near the end of the 2010 season.

In Stemke’s four years as a Nebraska assistant, the Cornhuskers reached the NCAA tournament four times, won three Big 12 titles and had an overall record of 116-15. An All-American at Wisconsin and a past member of the U.S. national team, Stemke will be running her own college team for the first time. McCartney was 62-55 in four seasons and 29-45 in the SEC.

Continue reading New volleyball coach hired »

For weeks, college football’s various awards organizations have been coming out with their preseason “watch lists” –- compilations of candidates, usually in the dozens, for postseason honors.

Here’s a roundup of UGA players who have been named to the watch lists:

• Wide receiver A.J. Green for the Walter Camp Award, which recognizes the “player of the year”; the Maxwell Award, which recognizes the “most outstanding player”; and, of course, the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the top receiver.

• Tailback Washaun Ealey for the Maxwell Award.

• Outside linebacker Justin Houston for the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, both of which recognize a defensive player of the year, and the Butkus Award, which goes to the best linebacker.

• Offensive tackle Clint Boling for the Outland Trophy, which goes to the best interior lineman.

• Ben Jones for the Outland Trophy and the Rimington Trophy, which goes to the best center.

• Aron White for the John Mackey Award, …

Continue reading Awards groups keep watch over UGA players »

(Other UGA news: Branden Smith cleared to play.)

ATHENS — Greg McGarity, the University of Florida’s No. 2 athletic official, will be named the new athletic director at the University of Georgia, a person who spoke directly with McGarity told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday night.

The person, who asked not to be named because an announcement hasn’t been made, said McGarity told him he will travel to Athens for a news conference on Friday afternoon.

(UPDATE, 8:20 A.M. FRIDAY: Georgia announced this morning that UGA President Michael Adams will hold a news conference on the AD matter at 4 p.m. at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. In addition, the UGA Athletic Board, which would approve the hire and contract of a new AD, called a special meeting for 3 p.m., also at the Georgia Center.)

McGarity didn’t return repeated phone calls from the AJC on Thursday. UGA officials had no comment.

Georgia has been searching for an athletic director since Damon Evans …

Continue reading UGA selects new athletic director »

If you missed it, here’s my story from late yesterday on 49 people applying for the UGA athletic director job, including, to name a few, Florida executive associate AD Greg McGarity, long-time NFL exec Jim Steeg and Troy athletic director (and former UGA football player and assistant coach) Steve Dennis.

Now, digging deeper into almost 500 pages of correspondence between UGA and the AD applicants,  obtained by the AJC under the Open Records Act, here’s more:

• Among the applicants: Mark Parkman, who was a student assistant in the sports information department while attending UGA in the 1980s and has gone on to a varied career in sports business. He now is an executive with the International Olympic Committee’s broadcasting subsidiary. He lives in Atlanta.

• And another: Jay Rossello, who is director of legal affairs and assistant general counsel for the NCAA. In a cover letter sent with his resume, Rossello notes that he spent several summers of his youth in Athens “training …

Continue reading More candidates for Georgia’s AD job, and a strong endorsement for McGarity »

(Last updated 1:05 a.m. Thursday)

HOOVER, Ala. –- The NCAA, in the midst of a crackdown on improper dealings between college football players and agents, informed the University of Georgia late Wednesday afternoon that it will send investigators to campus to conduct an “inquiry.”

The probe is believed to be the latest in a recent string of NCAA investigations looking into possible improper benefits received by college football players from agents.

Investigations are known to be underway at North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Alabama.

Georgia associate athletic director Claude Felton confirmed Wednesday’s call from the NCAA and said UGA Athletic Association officials responded by pledging full cooperation.

Felton said the NCAA requested that UGA officials, coaches and student-athletes refrain from further comment on the matter “until the inquiry is completed.” Georgia interim athletic director Frank Crumley declined to comment when reached by the AJC.

The NCAA’s call …

Continue reading NCAA will make ‘inquiry’ at Georgia (UPDATED) »

Just a quick note to start the day, and I’ll have more later this morning:

• Georgia is in the process of changing its preseason practice schedule. The first day of practice has been moved to Monday, Aug. 2. On the original, tentative schedule, practice was to have started July 31.

Georgia associate athletics director Claude Felton said in an e-mail this morning that the schedule is changing because “after reviewing the tentative preseason practice schedule, it was concluded that the formula determining our permissible practice opportunities was not properly applied.”

The NCAA allows 29 practices before the first game but also has various restrictions on how they can be scheduled.

So . . . will there be any two-a-day practices on Georgia’s new schedule?

The original schedule had none, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo talked in a meeting with reporters last week about the elimination of two-a-days — the stuff of legend among generations of football players — from the …

Continue reading UGA moves back start of practice; will new schedule include any 2-a-days? »

The University of Georgia released cell-phone records Friday that show about 250 text messages exchanged, over a period of a few weeks, between former athletics director Damon Evans and the woman who was in the car with him when he was arrested.

The records show that Evans and Courtney Fuhrmann, 28, exchanged four texts shortly after 9 a.m. on July 1, the morning after both were arrested in Atlanta -– Evans on a DUI charge and Fuhrmann on a charge of disorderly conduct.

The records also show that Evans placed two phone calls to Fuhrmann, lasting a total of eight minutes, on the night of July 1, about an hour after he held a news conference in Athens to apologize for the arrest.

Georgia released Evans’ cell-phone bill for the month beginning June 7 on Friday afternoon; it was not available when UGA handed over about 500 pages of documents earlier this week in response to an open-records request from the AJC.

The records released earlier included a May 21 e-mail from Fuhrmann …

Continue reading Phone records: Evans, Fuhrmann exchanged about 250 texts »

A Facebook campaign is underway for Matt Stinchcomb as Georgia’s next athletics director.

A “Stinchcomb for AD” page went up in the past few days, and last time I looked, 360 people “liked” it.

Stinchcomb, of course, is one of the best and brightest of former Georgia football players: an All-American offensive tackle in the 1990s, a member of the athletics program’s Circle of Honor and a summa cum laude graduate (3.96 GPA) with a degree in finance.  He currently works, along with former Georgia quarterback David Greene, as a client executive in Atlanta for Seacrest Partners, a Savannah-based insurance brokerage and consulting firm.

The “Stinchcomb for AD” page calls him “a perfect selection for Athletic Director.  A model husband and father, humanitarian, and successful member of the business community.”

Stinchcomb’s reaction to the Web site pitching him for AD:  “I like the pictures.”

“I heard about that the other day,” Stinchcomb told me this morning. “I was at J.T. …

Continue reading Facebook campaign likes Matt Stinchcomb for Georgia AD »

(Updated 5:30 p.m.)

ATHENS — The University of Georgia turned over about 500 pages of documents regarding ousted athletics director Damon Evans on Tuesday, one of them an e-mail from Courtney Fuhrmann, the woman who was in the car with Evans on the night of his DUI arrest in Atlanta.

The e-mail indicated that Evans and Fuhrmann met on the night of May 20, about six weeks before the arrest that led to Evans’ resignation as Georgia’s AD.

“Wanted to thank you all again for last night,” Fuhrmann wrote to Evans in the e-mail, which was sent at 11:04 a.m. on May 21. “We had a great time and it is always refreshing meeting what is the phrase of the night — ‘good people.’

“Hope everyone made it home safe,” wrote Fuhrmann, 28, who lives in Atlanta. “Look us up next time you are in town if you like. Take care and look forward to a great football season.”

The documents released Tuesday by Georgia, in response to an open-records request from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, show that …

Continue reading Evans documents include e-mail from Courtney Fuhrmann (UPDATED 5:30 P.M.) »

UPDATE, 3:45 P.M. MONDAY:

ATHENS — Two teammates of arrested Georgia football players Dontavius Jackson and Tavarres King are named in the UGA Police Department’s report on the weekend incident.

Cornerback Branden Smith was a passenger in the vehicle driven by Jackson but was the only one of the five people in the 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche not arrested because he “was determined to have not been drinking,” according to the police incident report obtained by the AJC today.

Also, an identification card issued to Vance Cuff, a Georgia cornerback, was found on a female passenger in the vehicle and taken into evidence, according to the incident report. Cuff was not in the vehicle.

The report said Jackson, who was arrested on DUI and five other misdemeanor charges, “admitted to having consumed 2 shots while downtown” after initially telling police he had not consumed any alcohol.  Jackson “appeared to not be trying to provide a sufficient sample” on the breath test, according to the …

Continue reading Two other UGA players named, not charged, in police report (UPDATED) »

(Updated 11:35 a.m., 3:10 p.m. and 9 p.m.)

Two University of Georgia football players were arrested on alcohol-related charges early Saturday after their vehicle was pulled over by UGA Police.

Dontavius Jackson, 20, a backup running back, was charged with six misdemeanors: driving under the influence of alcohol, underage possession of alcohol, following too closely, leaving the scene of an accident, violation of the move-over law and violation of learner’s permit.

Tavarres King, 19, a starting wide receiver, was charged with underage possession of alcohol.

According to Clarke County Jail records, Jackson was booked into the jail at 6:25 a.m. and, as of 9 p.m., had not been released. King was jailed at 5:55 a.m. and released at 7:05 a.m. on $500 bond.

UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson told the AJC that the arrests occurred after a series of events on East Campus Road.

Williamson said two patrol cars were at an unrelated traffic stop when a vehicle — later determined to be …

Continue reading Two UGA football players arrested (UPDATED WITH DETAILS) »

ATHENS – Starting his first full day on the job as Georgia’s interim athletics director, Frank Crumley addressed more than 100 staff members Wednesday morning, imploring them to carry on “business as usual.”

Exactly one week earlier, at the start of the day that would end with him being pulled over by the Georgia State Patrol, Damon Evans had gathered the same folks in the same room for a quarterly staff meeting. At the end of that meeting,  door prizes were handed out.

So when Crumley opened the floor for questions after brief remarks Wednesday, he got only one:

“Are there any door prizes?”

Rocked by the arrest and resignation of Evans, and still absorbing UGA President Michael Adams‘ statement that he’ll “first look outside” for a permanent successor to Evans as athletics director, Georgia’s staff seemed to seek some normalcy on Wednesday — and even an occasional laugh.

“It was short and sweet,” Crumley said of his remarks to the staff. “I said, ‘We’ve all had a stressful …

Continue reading Interim AD Crumley presides over the calm after the storm »

UGA president Michael F. Adams (left) announces the appointment of Frank Crumley (right) as interim athletic director on Tuesday. (Photo by Phil Skinner, pskinner@ajc.com)

(Click here for full report on Adams’ news conference.)

ATHENS — University of Georgia President Michael Adams on Tuesday named Frank Crumley interim athletics director and appointed a search committee to seek a permanent successor to Damon Evans.

Adams said the search for a new AD could last as long as six to 12 months, and he said UGA would look first at outside candidates for the position.  In the meantime, Crumley, who had been executive associate AD for finance and administration under Evans, will oversee the athletics department.

While acknowledging the difficulty and sadness of recent days, Adams said: “We still have important work to do, and it is time for us to move on.”

He named UGA law professor and faculty athletics representative David Shipley to serve as chairman of the search committee. …

Continue reading Adams names Frank Crumley interim AD, will look outside for Evans’ successor (UPDATED) »

Georgia football player Jordan Love was arrested late Monday night on a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of a law enforcement officer, but UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson told the AJC today that the arrest now appears to have stemmed from a “breakdown in communications.”

Williamson said UGA Police responded to a complaint about three individuals shooting off fireworks outside McWhorter Hall, an East Campus Village dormitory, and arrested Love at the scene for obstruction because he would not provide his full name to the officer. Williamson said Love would not or could not give  his middle name.

However, Williamson told the AJC that, after talking with Love’s family this morning, there are  extenuating circumstances that will be presented to a Municipal Court judge, who will decide whether to drop the charge.

“Mr. Love, I think, was honest in his attempt, and the officer felt he was being evasive,” Williamson said. “It was a breakdown in communications.

“The circumstances …

Continue reading UGA football player’s arrest ‘a breakdown in communications,’ police chief says (UPDATED) »

ATHENS — The same people who months earlier voted enthusiastically to give Damon Evans a new five-year contract moved swiftly Monday to end his tenure as the University of Georgia’s athletics director.

The executive committee of the UGA Athletic Association board of directors spent about 15 minutes on a conference call, voting unanimously to accept Evans’ resignation and approve a separation agreement that will pay him three months’ salary as severance and a $100,000 bonus for prior service.

The board’s action came five days after Evans’ arrest in Atlanta on a DUI charge and three days after the release of a police report with damaging details about the incident.

The settlement means Evans will get about $237,500, a small fraction of what he would have made under the contract he was given by the Athletic Board at a Feb. 3 meeting.

That contract, which was scheduled to take effect July 1, mere minutes after he was pulled over by the Georgia State Patrol, would have paid him …

Continue reading The end of the Evans era came quickly »

ATHENS — This statement was just received from Damon Evans:

“I would like to once again offer my sincerest apology to the University of Georgia people — the president and administration, athletic staff and coaches, fans and supporters, and especially the student-athletes. It had been my hope since taking the job in 2004 that I would have a long career at UGA.

“But because of a serious mistake in judgment, that won’t be the case,  and I understand that I have a long road to rebuilding my reputation and career.

“I do want to thank all those who have supported me and the Athletic Association over the past six years and would encourage all those in our Association to remember that they are there for the student-athletes. Keep them first and foremost in everything you do. God bless and ‘Go Dawgs.’”

Damon Evans

July 5, 2010

Continue reading Damon Evans offers apology, says ‘Go Dawgs’ »

(Updated 12:20 p.m.)

ATHENS -–The UGA Athletic Association board of directors’ executive committee this morning approved a settlement that will pay departing athletics director Damon Evans three months salary as severance, plus a $100,000 longevity bonus earned under his previous contract.

UGA President Michael Adams told the board that Evans submitted his resignation, “which I have accepted,” on Sunday.

The meeting, by teleconference, lasted about 15 minutes, most of that in executive — closed — session.

“As I said on Thursday morning, when I first learned of the situation, this is not an example of the kind of leadership that I expect our senior administrators to set,” Adams told the committee.

“We acknowledge the many positive accomplishments of [Evans'] tenure, including an increased focus on the academic success of student-athletes, the overall financial strength of the athletic department and the hiring of many very good people as head coaches and senior leaders in the …

Continue reading Evans’ settlement: 3 months salary plus previously earned $100,000 bonus »

The police report from the Georgia State Patrol officer who arrested Damon Evans in Atlanta Wednesday and it’s a damning document for the Georgia athletics director.

According to the report, filed by GSP Officer Mark Cabe, Evans’ black BMW was weaving noticeably on Roswell Road, which initiated Cabe to U-turn his cruiser and execute a stop. After Evans pulled into a parking space at the corner of Roswell Road and Chastain Drive, Cabe reports that he “noticed that the subject had a pair of lady’s red panties between his legs.” Later in the report Evans admits that the panties belonged to his passenger, 28-year-old Courtney Fuhrmann of Atlanta.

“She took them off and I held them because I was just trying to get her home,” Evans said, according to police.

While trying to conduct a field sobriety test on Evans, Cabe reports that Fuhrmann got out of the passenger side of the car several times despite instructions from both the officer and from Evans to remain in the vehicle. After …

Continue reading Police report damning for Georgia AD Damon Evans »