College-Football Notebook: NCAA investigating Vols' hostesses

■ University of Tennessee officials said they are "cooperating fully" with the NCAA in its investigation into some of the school's recruiting practices.

Orange Pride is one of three student-admissions groups that act as "ambassadors" for the university providing campus tours, help with admissions and are hosts for prospective athletes and their families. The university said that Orange Pride has 75 students, both men and women, as members who work with hundreds of students.

The New York Times reported on its Web site yesterday that the NCAA is looking into the use of hostesses by Tennessee to attract top players. The NCAA has met with four prospects and is expected to talk to two more this week.

Marcus Lattimore, a high-school running back, told The Times that several hostesses traveled almost 200 miles to watch three Tennessee recruits play at Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C. They brought signs, including one that read, "Come to Tennessee."

Many schools use hostesses to help prospective students during campus visits. They are considered representatives of the school and are not allowed to recruit players off campus. The visits could be considered violations of NCAA rules.

■ Jimbo Fisher, the incoming Florida State coach, is cleaning house after the Gator Bowl. Running-backs coach Dexter Carter said he, along with Chuck Amato, a longtime Bobby Bowden assistant and former N.C. State coach, strength coach Todd Stroud and defensive-ends coach Jody Allen will be not be returning after the New Year's Day game against West Virginia.

Defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews already announced his retirement, leaving Fisher five vacancies to fill.

■ Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong of Florida is headed to Louisville to be the Cardinals' head coach.

Louisville hired Strong yesterday to help revitalize a program that sagged under former Coach Steve Kragthorpe, signing Strong him to a five-year contract that will pay him a base salary of $1.6 million a year.

Strong's sturdy defenses helped Florida win two BCS national championships and for most of the past decade he has been considered a potential head coach.

Louisville ranked 67th nationally in both total defense and scoring defense this year, only good enough for seventh in the eight-team Big East.

■ Authorities charged nine Michigan State players with assault and conspiracy yesterday after a dormitory brawl last month that has already left the team short-handed for its Jan. 2 bowl game.

All nine players were charged with conspiracy to commit an assault and battery, according to the Ingham County prosecutor and the campus police chief. Each player was also charged with at least one count of assault or assault and battery.

Coach Mark Dantonio has suspended 11 players, up from eight after the Nov. 22 incident. He also dismissed running back Glen Winston and defensive back Ashton Leggett, both of whom have been charged in the incident.

The players could face up to a one-year maximum sentence on the conspiracy charge, and up to 93 days on the other charges.

The suspensions come as Michigan State (6-6) prepares for a Jan. 2 game with Texas Tech (8-4) in the Alamo Bowl matchup of Big Ten and Big 12 teams.

■ Dwayne Harris, a junior kick returner at East Carolina, was named Conference USA's special-teams player of the year yesterday, as determined in voting by league coaches.

Harris, also a first-team All-C-USA receiver, has 2,002 all-purpose yards this season, the second-highest single-season total in school history, and 932 yards on 34 kickoff returns. He also is the first player in ECU and C-USA history to return three kickoffs for touchdowns in one season.

Harris is the second ECU player in three years to win the award, following Chris Johnson in 2007.

■ Quarterback Willy Korn announced yesterday that he won't play for Clemson next season. Korn, a redshirt sophomore, said he will graduate in May with a degree in communications, then transfer to another school in hopes of winning a starting job.

He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Korn arrived at Clemson in January 2007 as one of the country's top prospects but played sparingly, completing 46 of 66 passes for 406 yards and three touchdowns in his career. He was injured early in the 2007 season, played in six games in 2008 and had surgery last December to fix damaged cartilage in his right, throwing shoulder. He has played in six games this year, completing 12 of 17 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown.

He will continue to practice with the team and be available when Clemson plays Kentucky in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 27.

■ Alabama was criticized in 2007 when it agreed to pay Nick Saban as much as $32 million in an eight-year deal, with a $4 million-a-year salary that set a record at the time.

But the gamble seems to have paid off. Despite the recession, federal records show that Alabama football turned a profit of more than $38 million in the last academic year -- a gain of almost 40 percent from the year before Saban was hired.