The Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes last week to cap the college football season.

Just one day before the transfer portal window closed for players who competed in the national championship, Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney sounded the alarm over what he sees as a lack of governance in the sport.

During a wide-ranging news conference, Swinney specifically raised concerns about Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding’s alleged repeated, unauthorized contact with Clemson linebacker Luke Ferrelli. Swinney suggested Golding was working to get Ferrelli’s name into the transfer portal.

On Tuesday, the NCAA contacted Clemson about Swinney’s accusations and launched an investigation.

“The NCAA will investigate any credible allegations of tampering and expect full cooperation from all involved as is required by NCAA rules,” NCAA vice president of enforcement Jon Duncan said in the statement obtained by The Athletic. “We will not comment further on any ongoing investigation.”

The newly adopted 15-day window for other FBS and FCS athletes, including graduate transfers, opens the day after the CFP quarterfinals end. There are built-in exceptions for players who experience a head coaching change.

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“This is a whole other level of tampering,” Swinney said in reference to Ole Miss’ alleged communication with Ferrelli. “It’s total hypocrisy. … This is a really sad state of affairs. We have a broken system, and if there are no consequences for tampering, then we have no rules, and we have no governance.”

Ferrelli, a highly sought-after recruit, elected to enter the portal in January. He did visit Ole Miss but eventually agreed to a contract and enrolled in classes at Clemson. However, shortly after classes at Clemson started, Swinney said football team general manager Jordan Sorrells said “Ole Miss was going hard” after the linebacker. 

Sorrells later asked an Ole Miss official to get the school to end all communication with Ferrelli. According to Swinney, the Ole Miss official made it clear he did not support tampering. On Jan. 15, Ferrelli asked to be entered into the portal with the intention of transferring to Ole Miss.

The next day, Clemson submitted a complaint to the NCAA detailing alleged “blatant” tampering. As of Friday, Clemson athletic director Graham Neff made it clear that legal action was not off the table. 

“I’m not trying to get anybody fired, but when is enough enough?” Swinney said. “If we have rules, and tampering is a rule, then there should be a consequence for that. And shame on the adults if we’re not going to hold each other accountable.”

Swinney expressed concern about the message unchecked tampering could send to future college football players. 

“This is not about a linebacker at Clemson,” he said. “I don’t want anyone on our team that doesn’t want to be here. But it’s about the next kid and the next kid and the message that’s being sent with just blatant tampering being allowed to happen without consequences. This isn’t about our program. It’s about college football.”

Swinney said the current college football climate invites misconduct and must be fixed. The two-time national championship-winning coach backed moving the transfer portal window from January to the spring. He also called for spring football to resemble an NFL team’s OTAs and proposed limits on free transfers.

Fox News Digital contacted Ole Miss’ athletic department for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

A record 4,900 FBS players and more than 3,200 FCS student-athletes entered the transfer portal during the 2024-25 academic year.

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Wonder what Caitlin Clark thinks about the confusion surrounding Austin Reaves’ imminent return to the Lakers lineup? Or whether Jeanie Buss has turned on LeBron James? Or if she has nothing but praise for Luka Doncic?

Tune in to the Lakers’ matchup against the New York Knicks on the NBC Sports debut of “Basketball Night in America” on Sunday night to find out. Clark, the uber-popular WNBA star, will serve an analyst on the pregame show, beginning at 3 p.m. PT, one hour before tipoff.

Should Reaves return Friday or Sunday after missing a month with a left calf strain, it would mark only the seventh time the guard has played together with James and Doncic. That might be the first topic addressed by Clark, who will join the studio team of Maria Taylor and three former NBA stars: Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady.

Expectations that Reaves would take the floor Wednesday in a nationally televised game against the Cleveland Cavaliers were heightened Tuesday when ESPN insider Shams Charania posted on X that the Lakers guard would be “available to return to the lineup on Wednesday.”

A few moments later, however, the post was deleted with no explanation and the Lakers’ injury report lists Reaves as out.

Clark might stick to lauding Doncic, considering that the superstar NBA guard complimented her game in 2024, saying “that’s the women’s Steph Curry. She can shoot it better than me.”

Clark, who attended Iowa, is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. In two seasons with the Indiana Fever, she was named WNBA Rookie of the Year and is a two-time All-Star despite missing much of the 2025 season with a severe groin injury.

“Caitlin is one of the most captivating players and dynamic scorers in basketball,” NBC Sports Executive Producer Sam Flood said in a statement. “We’re excited to have Caitlin join Hall of Famers Melo, Vince, Tracy and Reggie in New York for the launch of Sunday Night Basketball.”

The Lakers-Knicks game will begin a doubleheader that also includes the Oklahoma City Thunder facing the Denver Nuggets.

Earlier this month, the Pittsburgh Steelers entered a head coaching search for just the third time since hiring Chuck Noll in 1969.

On Jan. 13, Mike Tomlin announced he would step down after 19 seasons as the franchise’s head coach.

During the search for their next head coach, the Steelers interviewed a number of candidates, many of them young assistants in the vein of Noll, Mike Tomlin and Bill Cowher, all of whom arrived in Pittsburgh as relative unknowns and left with Super Bowl rings and Hall of Fame-worthy resumes.

During an introductory press conference with the Steelers that got emotional at times, McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native, beamed with pride about his third head coaching opportunity.

“I thought I’d at least be able to get started,” the new Steelers head coach said, trying unsuccessfully to choke back his emotions while looking out at members of the McCarthy family inside Acrisure Stadium.

McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers spent several years together when both were part of the Green Bay Packers. McCarthy coached the Packers to a 125-77-2 record from 2006-18. Rodgers left the Packers after the 2022 season. He spent two seasons with the New York Jets before signing a one-year deal with the Steelers last offseason.

While Rodgers had a relatively productive first season with the Steelers, the 42-year-old quarterback is undoubtedly much closer to the sunset of his storied career than the onset. It is unclear whether Rodgers will return to the Steelers in 2026, pursue an opportunity with another team or simply step away from the game.

The possibility of a reunion between Rodgers and McCarthy was brought up during Tuesday’s news conference. McCarthy expressed optimism about potentially getting another shot at coaching Rodgers. 

“Definitely, I don’t see why you wouldn’t,” McCarthy replied to reporters’ questions about possibly working with the four-time MVP.

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In 2022, ahead of Dallas Cowboys coach McCarthy’s return to Lambeau Field, Rodgers said the passage of time had given him a greater appreciation of the seasons he spent with his former coach.

“It’s probably normal in any relationship you have,” Rodgers said at the time. “When you’re able to take time away, and you have that separation, it’s natural to look back and have a greater sense of appreciation and gratitude and thankfulness for that time.”

McCarthy oversaw the Packers’ 2010 season when the franchise won its lone Super Bowl title during Rodgers’ career, but the relationship between the quarterback and coach eventually soured. McCarthy was fired late in the 2018 season.

Neither McCarthy nor his hometown Steelers have been back to the big game since. He knows the clock is ticking.

“It’s time to bring another championship back to this great city,” McCarthy said Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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