Source: Kiffin, FAU reach 6-year extension
A person familiar with the negotiations says Lane Kiffin and Florida Atlantic have agreed on a six-year extension through 2027.
The person says the additional length of the deal is the only new element already agreed upon. The person spoke to The Associated Press Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or made public by either side.
Kiffin had four seasons remaining on his existing deal, one that pays him $950,000 annually with a buyout that started at $2.5 million and decreases each year. Financial terms for the additional years are still being negotiated.
• Kiffin ended his first Florida Atlantic season with a flourish, with Devin Singletary running for 124 yards and three touchdowns as the Owls rolled past Akron 50-3 in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Singletary finished with 32 touchdowns this season for the Owls (11-3), who ended the year on a 10-game winning streak and matched the school record for wins in a season set during the team’s run to the Division I-AA semifinals in 2003.
Jeff Driskel threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns for FAU.
Olympics
PANEL SAYS RUSSIANS TREATED UNFAIRLY >> Russian Bobsled Federation president Alexandr Zubkov and top skeleton athlete Aleksandr Tretiakov should not be suspended by the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation for now, according to an independent panel that contends they were not treated fairly in the investigation of state-sponsored doping surrounding the Sochi Olympics.
The three-person panel for the IBSF reached its conclusions after concluding that the acceptance of testimony by former Moscow and Sochi laboratory director Grigory Rodchenkov may have happened in violation of international law.
Rodchenkov, who is living in the United States under FBI protection as a cooperating witness, told World Anti-Doping Association investigator Richard McLaren about the doping conspiracy a key part of the report that eventually led to the International Olympic Committee not only banning several Russian athletes from future games but also not permitting Russia and its sports leaders from the upcoming Pyeongchang Games.
“Not hearing Dr. Rodchenkov before a proper Disciplinary Commission or Hearing Panel instead of exclusively before McLaren is convincingly probable to be successfully contested before a Court as being not compatible with the principles of international law,” the doping panel wrote.
The IOC has said it found Rodchenkov to be a truthful witness. But the IBSF panel said that the federation suspending Zubkov and Tretiakov who combined to win three since-stripped gold medals in Sochi “would be clearly unfair.”
Soccer
REPORT: MLS COMING TO NASHVILLE >> A person with direct knowledge tells The Associated Press that Major League Soccer plans to announce today that Nashville will be awarded an expansion team.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because a public announcement was not authorized.
The league called a news conference for today for an announcement on the “future of soccer in Nashville” and said MLS Commissioner Don Garber will attend along with Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and John R. Ingram, head of the group bidding for a Nashville team.
Nashville and Sacramento were viewed as the favorites for the league’s 25th and 26th teams, with Cincinnati and Detroit the other finalists. A decision on the second area picked is expected within a few weeks.