College football notes

Published 11:14 pm Thursday, February 14, 2008

CINCINNATI: The NCAA on Thursday turned down Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk’s request for another season of eligibility, a major setback for the up-and-coming Big East team that finished with a No. 17 ranking.

The quarterback overcame a career-threatening shoulder injury while leading the Bearcats to 10 victories last season.

Mauk threw for 31 touchdowns and 3,121 yards in Cincinnati’s no-huddle, spread offense.

Mauk broke his passing arm and dislocated his shoulder in the 2006 season opener while playing for Wake Forest. Doctors inserted a steel plate in his arm and metal anchors in his shoulder.

Mauk missed the rest of that season, and still wasn’t sure if he would play again when he transferred to Cincinnati for his graduate studies.

By the time football practice started, Mauk’s arm was getting better. He won the starting job, but had to sit out one game and parts of others because scar tissue in the shoulder was bothering him. The shoulder got better as the season went along. Mauk led Cincinnati’s unexpected rise into the Top 25.

Under NCAA rules, a player has four years of sports eligibility that must be used up within a five-year window. Mauk took a redshirt season as a freshman, then missed almost all of his senior season because of the injury. He asked the NCAA to give him a sixth year to exhaust his eligibility.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Former Southern Illinois football coach Jerry Kill sued the school, disputing claims he owes nearly $58,000 for breaking his contract. Kill coached the Salukis for seven seasons. He resigned in December to coach Northern Illinois less than a week after guiding the Salukis (12-2) to the semifinals of the Football Championship Subdivision.

Associated Press