Last season, Black started five of 32 games played for Memphis and averaged 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds. Kansas has also landed one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, which includes highly touted guard Andrew Wiggins, rated by many analysts as the No. 1 recruit in the country. All the additions should help the Jayhawks continue to be a Final Four contender after the loss of star freshman Ben McLemore, who entered the NBA draft, and four seniors.

(AP) — Former Arkansas quarterback Brandon Mitchell says he is transferring to North Carolina State to play his final season. Mitchell was granted his release from the Razorbacks earlier this month, following a spring competition for the starting position that ended with the senior listed as the second-team quarterback to sophomore Brandon Allen.

Speaking often in an angry tone that might be otherwise reserved for an argument with an official, O'Brien told reporters in a conference call that the health and safety of his players were his top priorities. The athletic department has been responding to a story in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated that questioned the quality of care and the motivations behind the removal of longtime team doctor Wayne Sebastianelli earlier this year. The second-year coach said he made recommendations in the offseason to athletic director Dave Joyner and university president Rodney Erickson after watching the medical team for his first year. "To characterize the medical care Penn State provides our student-athletes as anything other than the highest quality is erroneous," the athletic department said in a statement. Joyner replaced Tim Curley, who was placed on administrative leave after being charged with perjury and failure to report suspected abuse in connection with the child sex abuse scandal involving retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Some alumni and former players remain angry that Joyner, who is also a doctor, became athletic director after leaving his position as a university trustee. The SI report also called into question the methods of head trainer Tim Bream, a 1983 Penn State graduate who took the job at his alma mater after serving as trainer for the NFL's Chicago Bears. "The legal team's report concluded there was no credible or substantial evidence to support the allegations or rumors, and there was no wrongdoing or violation of any professional standards," Penn State's statement said.

Imagine, if you will, the snickering in academia if Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman, a biochemist by trade, accused her counterparts at Notre Dame of chickening out on a science fair. [...] dropping a rivalry against the university that played the Irish in ND's first-ever football game in 1887 would seem to be a mistake at first blush. [...] it seemed pretty clear that with major commitments to meet as a new, though limited, member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Notre Dame's dance card was increasingly full and something had to go besides traditional games against Boston College and Pittsburgh. Brandon was so focused on the game he didn't even read it until the next morning, when the Wolverines were headed home. Because I am providing you with this notice prior to the commencement of this year's football game on September, 22, 2012," Swarbrick wrote, "there is no liability to Notre Dame for cancelling those games. [...] there is no one that does football business better than Notre Dame, which even in its leanest years was always on Saturday afternoons on NBC under a lucrative contract other schools could only dream about. [...] it comes with a catch — ND must play at least five football games against ACC opponents each year, even as it retains its status as an independent. There is nothing pure about college football anymore; little left to separate it from the pro game except the players don't get paid.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Rutgers named Julie Hermann its new athletic director Wednesday, and the former No. 2 athletic administrator at Louisville promised a restart for the scandal-scarred program following the ouster of its men's basketball coach and the resignation of other officials. Pernetti received $1.2 million in salary, plus an iPad, car allowance and more than two years of health insurance coverage under a settlement agreement, according to documents released under open public records laws. The athletics program already has come under criticism from some corners of the university for spending millions on expanding its football stadium while cutting some non-revenue sports. Rice was fired and Pernetti, assistant coach Jimmy Martelli and interim senior vice president and university counsel John Wolf resigned.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU defensive end Devonte Fields has been suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season due to an unspecified violation of "university and team policy." Coach Gary Patterson announced the suspension of the Big 12 defensive player of the year in a one-sentence statement Wednesday.

A person familiar with the decision says Rutgers has hired Julie Hermann from the University of Louisville to be its new athletic director. Rice, the former men's basketball coach, was fired when a video of him pushing, kicking and throwing balls at players became public.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The University of Alaska Anchorage is investigating an allegation that its former hockey coach struck a player with a hockey stick, another black mark for the beleaguered program which suspended a search for a new coach after naming four finalists earlier this month. Athletic director Steve Cobb followed protocol, the release said, and referred the allegation to Steve Strom, a faculty member with no ties to the athletic department, to investigate. The university says Strom emailed the alleged victim more than once, called once and left a voicemail but never heard back. Since there was no corroboration at the time, staff members determined no further action was warranted. "Despite the age of the allegation, recent disclosures affecting other athletic programs across the county make us all too aware that athletes may not be willing to report abuse," the university said when announcing it was also conducting an internal review to determine how that 2011 investigation was handled. "The decision to halt and then reopen the hockey coach search was to retool the search criteria a bit and then to form a supplemental search committee made up of hockey alumni, hockey community members and UAA leadership," she said in an email to the AP.

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's athletic department is scrapping a plan to drop the word "Rainbow" from its men's teams' nicknames. The university announced Tuesday it is changing its football, baseball and other men's team nicknames to the Rainbow Warriors — a name previously used by the football team but dropped in 2000. Athletic director Ben Jay said the change comes in response to public reaction to dropping the term Rainbow from all men's teams. The football team is known as the Warriors, while the basketball team is known as the Rainbow Warriors and the baseball team is referred to as the Rainbows.

(AP) — Top prep basketball prospect Andrew Wiggins told a small gathering of family and friends at his high school gym Tuesday that he will play at Kansas. [...] just like that, Lawrence, Kan., became more of a focal point for the upcoming college basketball season. Wiggins said there wasn't one particular selling point, taking into account each school's coaching staff, players and program. Despite the loss of Ben McLemore to the NBA draft, four of Kansas' five recruits are considered to be in the top 50 nationally, including guards Conner Frankamp and Wayne Selden, forward Brannen Greene and center Joel Embiid. Wiggins' parents both attended Florida State, and the Seminoles had signed his Huntington Prep teammate and fellow Toronto native, Xavier Rathan-Mayes. Wiggins' father is former NBA first-round pick Mitchell Wiggins. Rather than turn his announcement into a spectacle, Wiggins wanted a private signing ceremony where he attends classes at St. Joseph's Central Catholic High School in Huntington. Wiggins participated in several postseason all-star games, most recently playing for the World Select Team at the Nike Hoop Summit April 20 in Portland, Ore. Wiggins cited fatigue from the Oregon trip for canceling scheduled visits from Self, North Carolina coach Roy Williams and Florida State's Leonard Hamilton. "When he announced it, it wasn't the one I thought he would pick," said Wiggins' high school coach, Rob Fulford, who felt the player would choose Florida State.