UGA’s Uibo wins decathlon title

Bulldog captures first NCAA crown in event for school.

Georgia’s Maicel Uibo, a sophomore from Estonia, scored 8,182 points to win the NCAA decathlon title late Thursday in Eugene, Ore., giving the Bulldogs their first national crown in the event and first outdoor championship since 2009.

Garrett Scantling was fourth with 7,984 points.

Heading into the final event, Uibo needed to top Texas’ Johannes Hock by five seconds in the 1,500 to clinch the victory after standing in fourth place after Day 1. Uibo ran a 4:29, while Hock finished nine spots behind with a 4:46.83.

Uibo, the reigning SEC men’s indoor heptathlon champion, earlier finished ninth in the 110 hurdles ( just .01 off his season-best mark with a 15.04), second in the dis- cus and third in the pole vault. He was seventh in the javelin.

Florida: Former wide receivers coach Joker Phillips resigned this week after the NCAA received a photo of the coach sitting in a restaurant with a high school recruit during a mandated dead period in recruiting, Yahoo Sports reported.

Three sources told Yahoo the photo was turned over to the NCAA by an individual with ties to the Miami athletic program. Should the NCAA determine Phillips improperly recruited during a mandated dead period, it could be considered a major violation.

Phillips’ departure was announced via a release from the school Wednesday, citing “personal reasons” for the decision. Phillips had served one season at Florida after being the head coach at Kentucky from 2010-12.

Phillips replaced Aubrey Hill, who also resigned for personal rea- sons after Yahoo detailed “his illicit contact with recruits while he was at the University of Miami.”

More Georgia: The Bulldogs are doing their best to get their NCAA business behind them. But it still likely will be football season before the situation is resolved.

Georgia was served by the NCAA with a “notice of allegation” on April 2 that accused legendary swimming and diving coach Jack Bauerle of “severe breach of conduct” and “providing extra benefits.”

Bauerle was suspended until the matter is resolved and Georgia has 90 days to respond in writing to the allegations.

That deadline would be July 2, but the Bulldogs hope to beat it.

“We’re preparing that as we speak,” Athletic Director Greg McGarity said. “We’ll certainly have that done in the appropriate amount of time. Hopefully we’ll have it done before the end of the month.”

Bauerle could not be reached for comment. He has said before he has been instructed not to talk about the case.

NCAA trial: Former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon held his own on the witness stand in his lawsuit against the NCAA, sticking to the view that college players should be paid because their athletic ability is the main reason they are in school to begin with.

Then he took it a step further. If Little Leaguers bring in money for television networks in their games, maybe they should be paid, too. The idea seemed preposterous, but O’Bannon’s point is at the heart of the trial: Athletics, even at the most amateur level, are worth big bucks.

“The big thing to understand is how much is being brought in,” O’Bannon said. “When the pie that is brought in is huge, I think it’s big enough for everyone to share a piece of that pie.”