North Carolina meets with NCAA infractions committee

More than two years after first being charged with five top-level violations, North Carolina finally appeared Wednesday before an NCAA infractions committee panel amid its long-running academic scandal.

School representatives — including chancellor Carol Folt, athletic director Bubba Cunningham and men’s basketball coach Roy Williams — spent nearly all day in a closed-door hearing to start a two-day session in Nashville, Tennessee, before wrapping up in the evening.

The charges include lack of institutional control in a case tied to irregular courses in the formerly named African and AfroAmerican Studies (AFAM) department.

IndyCar driver cleared to resume racing

IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais has been medically cleared to resume racing, nearly three months after crashing during Indianapolis 500 qualifying.

The 38-year-old Frenchman fractured his pelvis, a hip and two ribs when his car exploded into pieces and spun through Turn 2 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after hitting the wall at nearly 230 mph.

Dale Coyne Racing didn’t immediately announce when Bourdais would race next, though the driver has targeted the season finale at Sonoma on Sept. 17.

AAC selects Fort Worth as tourney site

The American Athletic Conference will hold its men’s basketball tournament in a new Fort Worth, Texas, arena in 2020. AAC Commissioner Mike

Aresco announced Wednesday that Dickies Arena has been selected to host the tournament for three years, starting in March 2020. That is only four months after the facility is scheduled to open.

The closest AAC school to the new arena is SMU, with its campus in Dallas about 40 miles away.

Orlando will host the 2018 AAC tournament, which moves to Memphis in 2019.