Okay, this seems very unlikely. I just don’t see the NCAA having the stones to do it. But, this would be an astounding event (no #@$%^*& permalink, but look under the entry for June 25, 12:15pm).

A league source with intimate knowledge of the applicable NCAA regulations tells us that Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis might have rendered quarterback Brady Quinn and other incoming seniors ineligible if, as we previously have reported, Weis has directed the seniors with designs on pro football to pick their agents before the start of the 2006 season.

Rule 12.3.1 of the NCAA bylaws states that “[a]n individual shall be ineligible for participation in an intercollegiate sport if he or she ever has agreed (orally or in writing) to be represented by an agent for the purpose of marketing his or her athletics ability or reputation in that sport.” Rule 12.3.1.1 elaborates on the general principle set forth in Rule 12.3.1: “An individual shall be ineligible per Bylaw 12.3.1 if he or she enters into a verbal or written agreement with an agent for representation in future professional sports negotiations that are to take place after the individual has completed his or her eligibility in that sport.”

It has been well-publicized that Quinn and his family have already been whittling down the potential agents to hire after the ’06 season. Nor has there been any hiding that Weis has at least encouraged Quinn to take care of some of this business early to eliminate distractions.

Quinn, a senior, is not allowed to sign with an agent until his eligibility is exhausted. But, per NCAA rules, the family can interview prospective representatives.

Team Quinn is roughly defined as Slates, another uncle Scott Bender, described as a venture capitalist, and Quinn’s parents Ty and Robin. Oh, and of course Brady, who will make the final decision.
…
Understandably, coach Charlie Weis has had a big influence on the process. It is in his best interest to eliminate distractions before the season. Notre Dame is expected to be ranked in the preseason top 10.

“I don’t think Coach Weis would mind me saying it …” Slates said. “(He wants to) make sure that Brady doesn’t get a guy that makes the process about the agent.

“At least we can narrow it down so at least we can tell everyone else to bug off. Coach Weis wants Brady to focus so he’s not getting calls from Joe Schmo agent.”

Weis already has addressed all of his draft-eligible players.

“Obviously they have a resource which they didn’t have before,” Weis said of himself.

Now, there is nothing right now out there. Not at the WWLS, not at SI.com, not even at DeadSpin, EDSBS or even Blue Gray Sky. So I am very hesitant to say this is going anywhere or is a legit rumor. Still, this at least has a whiff of Savior Weis trying to run his program a little too much like the NFL club and ignoring/missing a big rule.

Additionally, as I said at the beginning, I don’t think the NCAA would pull the trigger on declaring top players from Notre Dame ineligible this season. They would probably look the other way while whispering sternly in their ear not to do it again.

UPDATE: CollegeFootballResource posted on this yesterday and doesn’t think much of this for scandal potential either.

These are the preseason mags I’ve taken time to view.

Lindy’s
Athlon
Street & Smith’s
The Sporting News
The Gold Sheet
Phil Steele’s

Your best bet, so to speak, is still Phil Steele’s College Football Preview. Sure he’s heavy on the self-promotion and the tiny font. But it really is the best of the bunch overall. Here’s the site to go to for reviews of the magazines themselves for overall evaluation.

The one thing consistent in all of them is the last two teams in the Big East. All of them pick Cinci for 7th and Syracuse for 8th in the Big East. Amazingly, there is at least one mag that doesn’t pick WVU for 1st.

Just about all of the college football preview mags are on the racks. Few people will actually buy each and every one of them. And let’s face it, all we really want to see is where Pitt is and how they feel about the team. And going into this year, you can scan that info in just a few minutes of paging through each

Now, I didn’t go out and buy all of them. Instead, while on a couple coffee-fueled binges at the local B&N I took down some notes on all of the mags on the rack as they pertained to Pitt.

In case you haven’t noticed, news is bordering on totally absent these days. That’s making daily posting a bit more difficult. So, it’s time to get into some real white noise.

Over the next week or two — however frequently I get to it — I’ll be posting my notes on the various preview mags.

If anyone really cares, the Big 33 game will be played against Ohio for at least one more year. There had been talk of changing the opponent back to Maryland, but that doesn’t appear to be the case any longer.

Everyone has their favorite theory as to why athletes get in trouble or screw-up. This despite mandatory preparatory seminars from the pro leagues for rookies and compliance classes in college. Pitt has an interesting and probably quite valuable speaker talk to its football players.

When Dave Wannstedt was looking for a multi-purpose speaker for Pitt’s football players this spring to augment the school’s compliance programs, he went with Ralph Cindrich. A former Pitt and NFL player, a current agent, Cindrich has perspective across the spectrum.

Whether he’s talking with college players, or giving advice to his clients, Cindrich knows the message is not always taken to heart.

“Lots of times,” he said.

Cindrich also believes the explosion of media coverage has led to more reportage on the foibles and legal missteps of young athletes. Here he sounds like Penn State’s Paterno, who in the past has expressed nostalgia for the days when, if a Penn State player ran afoul of the law, “I would go down (to the police station) and take him home. Then I would kick him in the rear and run him until his tongue dragged.”

But Cindrich sees the proliferation of legal problems for athletes as more than a case of additional media messengers.

“It’s the age we live in and the scrutiny athletes are under, along with the fact that a lot of these individuals are different than old-school players,” he said.

Wannstedt also sees more than one explanation.

“I would agree everything is magnified because the sports networks have grown and talk radio and the Internet,” he said. “I also think there are more guys leaving early.”

To some degree, I happen to think (hey, I said everyone has their own theory) there isn’t that much difference between then and now except we find out about a lot more than it used to be. There was a lot more opportunity, ability and chances to keep things quiet or covered-up.

Personally, I’m glad that it’s not so easily shoved aside. Not just for the comedy value, but because when a program or organization starts covering things up it’s hard to stop when the big stuff hits. The impulse is to still think you can still hide it, that it isn’t so bad. Then everything comes out. Think Colorado football for the last few years as an example.