SPORTS BRIEFS: Georgia Southern to vacate three wins

Georgia Southern to vacate three wins

As part of a recently completed two-year NCAA investigation of its football program, Georgia Southern will vacate three football games from the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

As a result of the NCAA Committee on Infractions’ ruling in July, Georgia Southern must vacate all victories in which a student-athlete competed while ineligible during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and vacate ineligible student-athletes’ statistics. All eligible student-athletes’ statistics will remain.

Those wins will be the Savannah State and St. Francis (Pa.) games in 2013 in which the Eagles were coached by Jeff Monken, and the Louisiana-Monroe win in 2014 coached by Willie Fritz. Despite vacating the 2014 ULM game, the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championship will not be affected.

Monken is now at Army while Fritz is at Tulane.

“While it is disappointing to vacate these three victories, we get to put this chapter behind us,” athletics Tom Kleinlein said. “The student-athletes on this year’s football team, and teams moving forward, are not affected by the NCAA’s ruling and our goals are still in front of us. In addition to graduating student-athletes and developing leaders, we look forward to competing for conference championships and bowl berths this season and in the future.

“Compliance and academic integrity are of the utmost importance here at Georgia Southern; we will continue to reinforce these values and ensure that our department is operating in a manner that consistently upholds the proud tradition of this university.”

With the vacated wins now being removed from the official record book, Monken’s win total as the Eagles’ head coach dipped from 38 to 36 while Fritz’s win total dropped from 17 to 16.

Le’Veon Bell missed several drug tests

A day after reports surfaced that Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell faces a four-game suspension for missing a drug test, the NFL Network reported Saturday that Bell actually missed several.

Those missed tests violate the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.

Friday, sources told ESPN that the suspension is the result of a missed drug test, not a failed one. Bell’s appeal is expected to be heard before the start of the season.

If the appeal is not overturned, Bell would miss the first four games of the season. Players are tested once for recreational drugs between April 20 and July.

Bell was suspended for the first three games last season — which was later reduced to two games — for violating the substance-abuse policy after he was arrested for DUI and marijuana possession in the summer of 2014.

Bell, who had right knee surgery last November, said recently he was on schedule for when the Steelers’ camp opens on July 28. He suffered a torn MCL and PCL in Week 8.

The 24-year-old fourth-year running back played in six games last year and rushed for 556 yards with three touchdowns.

Bell, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, was a Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro choice in 2014 after rushing for 1,361 yards and eight touchdowns, with 854 receiving yards and three TDs.