Ailing Hall of Fame coach Parseghian being treated at home
Hall of Fame coach Ara Parseghian has returned to his home in Granger, Indiana, after spending more than a week in a nursing care facility because of an infection in his surgically repaired hip.
The 94-year-old former Notre Dame and Northwestern coach is still receiving 24-hour care, said Paul Flatley in an email to the AP on Thursday night. Flatley, a former NFL receiver, played for Parseghian at Northwestern from 1960-62.
Flatley has been communicating via email with Parseghian’s wife, Katie, and sharing updates on her husband’s condition with former teammates.
Ara Parseghian returned home Wednesday after being treated with intravenous antibiotics at a South Bend facility.
Parseghian coached Notre Dame for 11 seasons, winning national championships in 1966 and ’73. He went 9517-4 with the Fighting Irish.
Parseghian began his head coaching at career at Miami University, his alma mater, in 1951. He spent five seasons at Miami and went 39-6-1. He then spent eight seasons at Northwestern, winning 36 games.
Pitt’s Blair dismissed, Whitehead suspended
PITTSBURGH » Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi on Friday dismissed defensive end Rori Blair and suspended offensive tackle Alex Bookser, linebacker Quintin Wirginis and safety Jordan Whitehead for rules violations, less than a week before the team begins fall practice.
Narduzzi said Blair, a senior, was kicked off the team for “conduct detrimental to the program.” Blair collected 3½ sacks last season for the Panthers.
Whitehead and Wirginis will sit out Pitt’s first three games for a violation of team policy. Bookser will miss the Sept. 2 opener against Youngstown State after being arrested and charged with driving under the influence in May.
Wirginis picked up four sacks as a reserve while Whitehead collected 65 tackles on defense and added 98 yards rushing on offense while being named second-team All-ACC as a sophomore in 2016.
Whitehead and Wirginis will miss the opener against Youngstown, a trip to rival Penn State on Sept. 9 and a visit by Oklahoma State.
Ole Miss releases names of boosters
OXFORD, MISS. » Mississippi released Friday the names of 12 boosters that the NCAA claims provided impermissible benefits and recruiting inducements to football players.
The names of the boosters had previously been redacted from the NCAA’s notices of allegations and the university’s responses. The university re-released the NCAA notices and its responses on Friday with the names of 12 of 14 boosters. The release was in response to a previous ruling by the Mississippi Ethic Commission.
Among the boosters named were Rebel Rags, an Oxford-based clothing store, and its president, Terry Warren. The NCAA alleges Rebel Rags and Warren provided $2,800 worth of free merchandise to recruits.