Mon Dec 31 18:13:49 2007

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Arkansas' McFadden eligible for Cotton Bowl

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Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Arkansas' Darren McFadden was ruled eligible to play in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day after the university reviewed a questionable media report linking the star running back and an agent to the purchase of a car.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported on Saturday that school officials were looking into a local Little Rock, Arkansas television report earlier in the week that claimed McFadden was in possession of a new sports utility vehicle that agent Mike Conley helped him purchase.

KARK-TV Channel 4, the station that originally aired the story, then issued an apology on its web site to Conley for poor reporting but did not retract the entire story.

"We have already personally apologized to Mike Conley for our poor standards of reporting," said news director Rob Heverling in the statement. "And we want to publicly apologize to Mr. Conley for any distress he has experienced. And we also want to apologize to Darren McFadden and his family for reporting details of this story that were not accurate. Again we will follow the investigation into any compliance issues McFadden may be dealing with. But it is our job to report the news with accuracy and fairness. And in this case we did not do our job. And we will do better."

NCAA rules forbid student athletes from signing with or having improper contact with an agent and if McFadden did receive assistance from Conley in purchasing a vehicle, he would have been ineligible for the Cotton Bowl game against Missouri.

But, Arkansas released a statement Monday clearing McFadden.

"The University of Arkansas has conducted a thorough review of allegations reported in the media concerning Darren McFadden," the statement read. "Based upon the institution's review, Mr. McFadden remains eligible and will participate in the 2008 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. The University will have no further comment regarding this matter."

McFadden finished second behind Tim Tebow in the Heisman Trophy voting this year.

McFadden, last year's Heisman runner-up to Troy Smith, has run for 1,725 yards with 15 touchdowns in 12 games. He tied an SEC record with 321 rushing yards in a November 3 game against South Carolina and has averaged 143.8 yards per game -- fourth-best in the nation.

In addition, the junior has 21 receptions for 164 yards with another score, and has also thrown four touchdown passes this season. He was a finalist this year for the Maxwell Award as the nation's top player and won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back, an honor he also took home last year as a sophomore.