Auburn AD: Confident in Newton case

Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said he has no reservations about erecting a statue for Cam Newton while an NCAA investigation continues and expressed confidence that Auburn will ultimately be cleared of any wrongdoing. Jacobs points to comments from NCAA President Mark Emmert, who said “there was no evidence that money had changed hands and there was no evidence that Auburn University had anything to do with it.” “Out of respect for the NCAA process, technically it’s still an open issue,” Jacobs said. “But when Dr. Emmert, the president of the NCAA, comes out in February that he’s found no wrongdoing on Auburn’s part, I’m not sure how you can be any more confident than that. “And no circumstances have changed since then.” If the Newton saga hasn’t been officially closed, Jacobs at least takes that statement as indicative of a happy ending. The NCAA cleared the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 NFL draft pick to play for the Tigers in the Southeastern Conference and national championship games— when Auburn briefly declared him ineligible—after finding that Newton’s father, Cecil, had solicited money from Mississippi State during the recruiting process. NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said Wednesday that Emmert’s comments were only related to the reinstatement decision. She said that a school is notified when an investigation is closed. Jacobs spoke to The Associated Press Tuesday about a wide range of issues for an athletic program that won a national championship in football in January while dealing with the NCAA investigation. He also said Auburn is “pretty close” to a new deal with football coach Gene Chizik that Jacobs said will be competitive with other prominent Southeastern Conference coaches as Alabama’s Nick Saban ($4.7 million annually) and LSU’s Les Miles ($3.75 million). Auburn will put up statues of its Heisman winners Bo Jackson, Pat Sullivan and Newton—who was drafted No. 1 by the Carolina Panthers—during the upcoming school year. The monument to Newton did raise questions pending closure by the NCAA in the case.