BYU says it is leaving the Mountain West Conference and will go independent in football while joining the West Coast Conference in all other sports in the 2011-2012 school year.

BYU and its new conference announced the moves in simultaneous releases late Tuesday afternoon, saying further details would be given at a news conference Wednesday at BYUs LaVell Edwards Stadium.

BYU said its resignation from the Mountain West takes effect June 30, 2011, allowing the Cougars to start West Coast Conference play next fall.

The announcement ended nearly two weeks of speculation since BYUs original plan to go independent surfaced, then unraveled within hours when the Mountain West Conference made a protective move and invited Nevada and Fresno State to leave the WAC for the MWC.

BYU had an agreement worked out with the WAC to join in all sports except football, which would play as a Bowl Subdivision independent. The Mountain Wests catch of Nevada and Fresno State foiled the plan and left BYU with little time to come up with something else before Sept. 1, the deadline to notify the Mountain West of any plans to leave before the 2011 school year.

WCC commissioner Jamie Zaninovich began talks with BYU after the WAC plan fell through and was able to put together the deal in just a couple of weeks.

The WCC had looked into possible expansion in the past year but decided to stick with eight teams. However, the chance to get a school the caliber of BYU was too good to pass up. The conference has just started talks to negotiate a new television deal and the new addition should only make any deal more lucrative.

With perennial power Gonzaga, an emerging program at Saint Marys that won two games in the NCAA tournament last year and programs like Portland and San Diego that have had success in recent years, the WCC is in position to be a regular multiple-bid league for the NCAA mens basketball tournament. BYU has been to 25 NCAA tournaments, including the past four seasons.

Shortly after the BYU and WCC releases, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson released his own, saying the league would continue to explore options for the future. It did not mention BYU by name or the Cougars decision to leave.

“We particularly welcoming recent additions Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada into the Mountain West,” Thompson said in the statement.

Boise State joins the Mountain West next year, when Utah leaves for the Pac-10, and now BYU departs as one of just four independent teams in the NCAAs Bowl Subdivision. The only other football teams without conferences are Notre Dame, Army and Navy.

BYU, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been looking into football independence as a way to incre and others outside The Mtn.

By going independent, the Cougars will have a challenge filling out future football schedules without the eight guaranteed Mountain West games. The agreement with the WAC included a provision for playing several league teams each year while leaving BYU free to fill the rest of the dates with any other schools.

BYU already has some future opponents in place for what would have been non-conference games in the coming years, but will still have plenty of work to round out the rest of the schedule.

The Owls are the three-time defending Atlantic 10 Conference champions.

Clarke, who used his redshirt year last season after transferring to Temple from Pensacola Junior College, has decided to transfer to Division II Morehouse College in Atlanta. Bouchman, a native of Tel Aviv, Israel, who played a total 12 minutes last season in nine games and scored two points, will remain in his native country.

The 20-year-old Lucious was pulled over early Monday near the East Lansing campus and his blood-alcohol level was 0.09 percent, according to a police report. The legal limit in Michigan is 0.08 percent.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo issued a statement saying hes aware of the ticket and was still gathering information.

Lucious made a game-winning, 3-point shot to lift the Spartans into the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament last season and helped them advance to the Final Four. The Milwaukee native was suspended for a game last season for missing class.

The junior is expected to be a key player this season.

Officials were examining whether the casino operator violated laws prohibiting drinking or gambling by minors, Nevada Gaming Control Board enforcement chief Jerry Markling said.

People under 21 often try to gamble or drink in Las Vegas, but punishment for casino operators depend on the circumstances, Markling said.

Jordans 19-year-old son Marcus Jordan tweeted Aug. 20 about spending $35,000 at Haze at Aria Resort & Casino.

“Last night was stupid… 35K at Haze,” the UCF sophomore guard said. “Totals 50K something the whole day.”

The tweet has since been removed from the site.

Jordan told a Fox Sports website last week that the tweet was a mistake and said he had conversations with both his parents about it.

“I didnt mean it the way it came across,” he said. “My family and friends know the type of person I am.”

Jordan was in Las Vegas for his dads fantasy basketball camp with his brother, Jeffrey, and teammate A.J. Rompza.

A video posted to Twitter by Jeffrey Jordan shows all three players hanging out at the Liquid Pool Lounge, the resorts adults-only pool.

UCF basketball spokesman Doug Richards said the school had no comment.

MGM Resorts spokesman Alan Feldman declined comment. The Aria is the centerpiece casino of CityCenter, the companys joint venture with Dubai World that cost $8.5 billion to build.

Markling said he could not comment specifically about the case. He said the control boards findings would not be made public.

Markling said punishments in general depend on the infractions scope, and could involve verbal warnings, fines, or in extreme cases suspending an operators gambling license.

Ed Davender received the sentence Friday in a courtroom not far from the Lexington campus.

Davender pleaded guilty in Fayette County Circuit Court in May to taking money for Kentucky mens basketball season tickets, but never producing them. Victims lost tens of thousands of dollars.

Davender will be eligible for parole after serving 20 percent of his sentence.

He had been on probation after pleading guilty to charges related to the scam in other counties.

The 44-year-old Davender played for UK from 1984 through 1988. He is 11th on the programs scoring list, with 1,637 points. Hes also fourth in steals, with 191.

The NBAs two-time reigning MVP and some of his new Miami Heat teammates made a surprise stop at the universitys basketball facility for some informal scrimmaging against the Hurricanes. James, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, played pickup for more than an hour.

“Just left The U hooping with the team … Great runs! Needed that,” James posted on Twitter after the workout session.

Some of Miamis players hadnt been told beforehand that James and his crew would be popping in for a workout. James and the NBA players, including injured Heat guard Mario Chalmers, stayed afterward to pose for pictures.

Its not uncommon to see NBA players working out on Miamis campus, especially those who maintain offseason homes in South Florida. As far as the Hurricanes know, Thursday marked the first time James came for a visit since joining the Heat nearly two months ago.

“No question, its great having those guys here,” Miami coach Frank Haith said. “Its a great influence for our players. Theyre some of the greatest players in the NBA, so its obviously great for our guys and our program.”

James had a variety of eye-popping dunks during the pi and with no video.

The Hurricanes hope to see plenty more of James, who has also been invited to see a Miami even if that happens to be Sept. 11, when the nations No. 13 team travels back to James homeland to face No. 2 Ohio State.

And if he wants to see a Miami football practice, thats fine with the Hurricanes as well.

James created a buzz in Cleveland last season after saying he could be “really good” if he committed to playing football, and Browns coach Eric Mangini make a half-serious offer for the 6-foot-8, 260-pound forward to “come on down” to work out with the NFL club.

“You need to come out to the football field and show ur skills for us,” Hurricanes defensive back DeMarcus Van Dyke wrote to James on Twitter as news spread of the MVPs visit to campus.

Ed Davender received the sentence Friday in a courtroom not far from the Lexington campus.

Davender pleaded guilty in Fayette County Circuit Court in May to taking money for Kentucky mens basketball season tickets, but never producing them. Victims lost tens of thousands of dollars.

Davender will be eligible for parole after serving 20 percent of his sentence.

He had been on probation after pleading guilty to charges related to the scam in other counties.

The 44-year-old Davender played for UK from 1984 through 1988. He is 11th on the programs scoring list, with 1,637 points. Hes also fourth in steals, with 191.

The NBAs two-time reigning MVP and some of his new Miami Heat teammates made a surprise stop at the universitys basketball facility for some informal scrimmaging against the Hurricanes. James, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, played pickup for more than an hour.

“Just left The U hooping with the team … Great runs! Needed that,” James posted on Twitter after the workout session.

Some of Miamis players hadnt been told beforehand that James and his crew would be popping in for a workout. James and the NBA players, including injured Heat guard Mario Chalmers, stayed afterward to pose for pictures.

Its not uncommon to see NBA players working out on Miamis campus, especially those who maintain offseason homes in South Florida. As far as the Hurricanes know, Thursday marked the first time James came for a visit since joining the Heat nearly two months ago.

“No question, its great having those guys here,” Miami coach Frank Haith said. “Its a great influence for our players. Theyre some of the greatest players in the NBA, so its obviously great for our guys and our program.”

James had a variety of eye-popping dunks during the pi and with no video.

The Hurricanes hope to see plenty more of James, who has also been invited to see a Miami even if that happens to be Sept. 11, when the nations No. 13 team travels back to James homeland to face No. 2 Ohio State.

And if he wants to see a Miami football practice, thats fine with the Hurricanes as well.

James created a buzz in Cleveland last season after saying he could be “really good” if he committed to playing football, and Browns coach Eric Mangini make a half-serious offer for the 6-foot-8, 260-pound forward to “come on down” to work out with the NFL club.

“You need to come out to the football field and show ur skills for us,” Hurricanes defensive back DeMarcus Van Dyke wrote to James on Twitter as news spread of the MVPs visit to campus.

The school said Thursday the former Red Raiders basketball coach will step down in May.

“Together we have accomplished a lot since the Big 12 started in the fall of 1996 and it has truly been a team effort,” Myers said. “I feel like now is the time to turn this job over to someone else and I will be supportive of that person in every way that I can.”

Myers, 74, told the Associated Press he chose the timeline for his retirement and wanted to stay for another year to be with Tommy Tuberville in his first season as football coach. He also said the other consideration was the reconfigured Big 12, which will soon lose Nebraska and Colorado.

“I thought it was not a good to change ADs with all the scheduling and rebranding and revenue sharing and all the new issues that well face with 10 teams,” he said.

Texas Tech won two Southwest Conference titles and went to four NCAA tournaments in Myers 20 years as coach, but he put the program on the national map by hiring Knight 11 years after he left the bench.

Knight led the R and four NCAA tournaments in six years, including a round of 16 appearance in 2005.

On Jan. 1, 2007, Knight got win No. 880 on Texas Techs home court to surpass former North Carolina coach Dean Smith as the winningest Division I mens coach. He resigned in midseason in February 2008 with 902 wins.

Myers became athletic director in 1996, four years before he hired Leach in hopes that a pass-happy offense would bring life to a football program that had grown stagnant under Spike Dykes.

Leachs fan-friendly persona and high-scoring offense did the trick, culminating in the schools highest-ever national ranking at No. 2 in 2008 before a loss to Oklahoma derailed Techs championship hopes.

Messy contract negotiations, including testy e-mail exchanges between Myers and Leachs representatives, became public knowledge the following offseason. Leach was fired late last season after he was accused of mistreating a player with a concussion. Leach denied the allegations and has sued the university.

Myers recalled how he was fired as basketball coach in 1991 and was working as an administrator in the athletic department in 1993 when Marsha Sharp led her Lady Raiders basketball team to the universitys lone national title.

Myers said he always had coaching in his blood.

“I never intended to be an AD. I intended to be a coach,” Myers said. “I thought I would be one forever.”

He has come to view the job differently after 14 years at the helm.

“Looking back on it its just as rewarding and gratifying as coaching,” Myers said. “In this job somethings going to come up about every week. If you have a week and nothing happens, thats unusual.”

Guy Bailey, the universitys president, said in a statement that Myers will always be a part of the Texas Tech family.

“He is well respected by his peers throughout the Big 12 Conference and across the country, and has represented Texas Tech well,” he said.

The eastern Kentucky college announced the NCAA accepted Moreheads self-imposed penalties and did not include serious sanctions.

“We are encouraged from our own investigation and that the NCAA also believed the violations did not warrant a postseason ban or forfeiture of any wins,” said Brian Hutchinson, director of intercollegiate athletics.

Morehead State president Wayne Andrews said in the statement that coach Donnie Tyndall, the 2007-2008 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year, accepted full responsibility for the violations. This will be his fifth season with the Eagles.

Morehead State finished last season 24-11 overall and 15-3 in the OVC. In 2009, Tyndall led the Eagles to their first OVC title and NCAA tournament bid in 25 years, but they lost in the second round.

Andrews said Moreheads self-imposed penalties included the loss of one scholarship; temporary reductions in recruiting days, visits and telephone calls; and a permanent ban from recruiting student athletes in all sports from the NIA school in Newark, N.J.

“We have begun to implement changes in our compliance programs that will enable us to move forward with confidence and avoid incidents of this type in the future,” Andrews said.