The Auburn Tigers are 3-8 and winless in the Southeastern Conference, which already has head coach Gene Chizik’s job in jeopardy. Now, things are looking even bleaker as reports have emerged that Auburn is being investigated by the NCAA for alleged recruiting violations.

ESPN reports that the NCAA investigation focuses on recruiting violations, including the situation surrounding the recruitment of running back Jovon Robinson, who was ruled ineligible by the NCAA this season and is not currently enrolled at Auburn. The investigation, however, is not limited to Robinson.

Yahoo’s Pat Forde reports that Auburn assistant coaches Trooper Taylor and Curtis Luper are facing NCAA scrutiny and have been taken off the recruiting trail. Taylor is the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach and Luper coaches running backs and is the recruiting coordinator. When Chizik was asked to comment on which coaches were still involved in active recruiting, he declined.

Auburn is just two years removed from a national championship, winning the BCS title game against Oregon in 2011 22-19 with Chizik as head coach. Things haven’t gone as well since then. Auburn went 8-5 in Chizk’s first season with the Tigers before their 14-0 national title run in 2010. In 2011, it was right back to 8-5 and this season includes only three wins and an 0-7 record in the SEC.

Auburn’s wins this season haven’t exactly come against top notch competition either, defeating only  Louisiana-Monroe, New Mexico State, and Alabama A&M.

Reports that the NCAA has interviewed several people in connection with the investigation into Auburn recruiting violations this week provide an unneeded distraction as the Tigers prepare to take on No. 2-ranked Alabama on Saturday.

(Photo by Carol Highsmith)

NCAA Investigating Auburn’s Football Program is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Auburn University football program has suspended sophomore wide receiver Quan Bray following his arrest last week, the team’s coach Gene Chizik said Sunday.

ESPN reports Bray, who ranks third on the Tigers with 11 catches for 82 yards this season, was arrested Thursday night (September 27) during a traffic stop on the University of West Georgia campus.

Upon stopping Bray, Georgia police discovered that he was driving on a limited permit and had an open container of alcohol in the car. Police later noted that Bray had not been drinking at the time of his arrest.

In response to Bray’s actions, coach Chizik decided that Bray will not be playing for at least one week, meaning he will miss the team’s match-up against Arkansas on Saturday.

“I’ll let you know when he’ll be back on the field, but it certainly won’t be against Arkansas,” Chizik said in a press conference Sunday night.

Chizik went on to praise Bray for his character and strength, referencing recent tragedies in the 19-year-old athlete’s life.

In July of 2011, Bray’s father, Jeffery Jones, was accused of shooting and killing the player’s mother, Tonya Bray.

“He’s been a great teammate, he’s been an honor roll student. I’m proud of the way, in the last year and a half, he’s carried himself and the way he’s overcome a lot of adversity,” Chizik said.

In Bray’s absence, sophomore Trovon Reed will most likely take fill in as a slot receiver and punt returner in Saturday’s game.

“Trovon has done that a good bit,” coach Gene Chizik said. “We’ll see which other guys can step up. I’m sure another receiver will step up and be able to do the same job. Trovon will probably be the lead-in guy on that as well.”

Tigers coach Gene Chizik talks more about Quan Bray’s suspension in the video below:

Quan Bray Suspension: Auburn WR Suspended Following Arrrest is a post from: The Inquisitr

The suspect in the Auburn University shooting is being urged to give himself up by authorities. Almost 36 hours after the shooting took place, federal marshals and police are still searching for Desmonte Leonard, who is facing three counts of capital murder.

Leonard is wanted by investigators after allegedly killing three people – including two former Auburn University football players – and wounding another three at a Saturday night pool party. The dispute that led to the shootings was over a woman, according to authorities and witnesses.

Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said that the shootings didn’t seem to have anything to do with Leonard and some of the victims being former or current players on the university’s football team, which won the national championship in 2010. He told CBS News:

“The only connection that the Auburn football team has to this is they are victims of a brutal shooting. Sometimes the young men get a bad rap, I feel like, but they are the victims today. Them being football players really has nothing to do with this. They’re victims of a shooting.”

Dawson urged Leonard to turn himself in, and revealed that authorities are also searching for two other ‘persons of interest’ who were not named.

Leonard’s victims included Edward Christian, Ladarious Phillips – who had previously quit playing football – and 20-year-old Demario Pitts. The wounded included Eric Mack, Xavier Moss and John Robertson. Robertson was shot in the head and critically hurt, while Moss has since been discharged from hospital.

23-year-old Turquorius Vines, a friend of Pitts, described how he was at the pool party on Saturday when he and Pitts were approached by two other men, who immediately started arguing with them over a woman. Vines says he punched one of the men, and Pitts hit both with a bottle. Then one or both of the two men, who Vines did not recognize, started shooting. Vines later discussed Pitts to reporters, stating:

“It’s like I lost a lung. I don’t know how I’m going to survive this.”

The 22-year-old Leonard, who hails from Montgomery, has been arrested twice before on gun charges, according to online court records. Records also show he has been sued twice for child support; the most recent of these lawsuits was filed on Friday, the day before Saturday night’s shooting.

Auburn Shooting: Police Urge Suspect To Give Himself Up is a post from: The Inquisitr

A pool party at Auburn University In Alabama turned deadly last night. At least three people were killed during the Auburn shooting and several others were injured.

Turquorius Vines, 23, told the Associated Press that he was at the party when the shooting occurred. According to Vines, he was confronted, along with another friend, by two men at the party about a woman. A fight broke out and one of the men pulled out a gun.

Vines said that his friend was killed and a few other people were shot.

Vines said:

“It was about a female… It started from a female. We were trying to get away from the trouble and it ended up right in our face. (The night) went from us chilling with all these females to a massacre for no reason at all. It happened so quick, in about a second.”

Reports are circulating that two of the people who were killed were Auburn football players, but police have not confirmed this information. According to WTVM, three people were killed during the shooting and another two were taken to the hospital.

Police are currently searching for a suspect.

Auburn Shooting Leaves 3 Dead, More Wounded is a post from: The Inquisitr

Auburn University player Varez Ward is now under FBI investigation for his alleged point shaving in at least two games this season.

According to anonymous sources the FBI report focuses on late February losses Auburn suffered in Alabama on Feb. 7 and Arkansas on Jan. 25.

The investigation comes after Ward and guard Chris Denson were suspended before the teams Feb. 25 game against Arkansas. Denson was soon cleared of all charges.

In a statement released on Thursday Auburn University officials noted:

“Auburn officials were made aware of a rumor regarding an allegation two weeks ago and immediately reported it to the FBI, the NCAA and the SEC … Because of the nature of the allegation, Auburn is not in a position to make any further comment on the situation.”

In the report the FBI claims that concerns regarding point shaving were raised to an assistant coach in late February.

In its own statement the NCAA revealed:

“We are very concerned by the point-shaving allegations involving Auburn University men’s basketball program and have been in contact with the school and the FBI since the issue arose in February. The NCAA takes any allegation of point shaving very seriously because sports wagering threatens two of our core principles — the well-being of student-athletes and the very integrity of intercollegiate sport. As allegations of point shaving, if proven, are also potential federal crimes, the NCAA will defer action until any process with the FBI has concluded.”

While Ward averaged 9 points per game leading up to the teams losses he managed just three points with six turnovers in the teams 68-50 loss to Alabama during 17 minutes of play.

Between the teams two losses Ward managed to pull off a hot streak that included 53 points scored over a three-game stretch.

While Ward hasn’t publicly apologize for any wrongdoing he sent the following tweet (his last to date) on Feb. 24:

 ”Can’t win for losing smh” (shaking my head).”

Do you think Varez Ward participated in points shaving based on his two awful performances?

FBI Launches Investigation Against Auburn’s Varez Ward Over Point Shaving Claims is a post from: The Inquisitr