Bevo’s Daily Roundup: Former Texas men’s tennis coach gets six months in prison for role in college admissions scandal

Former Texas men’s tennis coach Michael Center was sentenced to six months in prison for taking a $100,000 bribe as part of an intricate college admissions scandal. “I just want you to know how sorry and ashamed I am that I have been a part of this,” Center stated as part of his guilty plea in court last year, according to a report in the Associated Press.

From the AP’s report: “In 2015, Singer gave Center $40,000 for the school’s tennis program and later flew to Austin, where he gave the coach about $60,000 in cash for himself during a meeting in a hotel parking lot, prosecutors say. Center was among 50 people arrested last year in the case dubbed Operation Varsity Blues, in which wealthy parents were accused of paying bribes to cheat on their children’s entrance exams or get them admitted to selective schools as fake athletic recruits. He is one of a handful of coaches and parents who have been cooperating with prosecutors in the hopes of escaping a lengthy prison sentence and could potentially testify against other defendants at trials. He is the second coach to be sentenced for his role in the scam.”

WHAT THE WISE MEN ARE SAYING ABOUT THE LONGHORNS

Austin American-Statesman: The Dotted Line: Ranking the recruiting importance of each offensive position for Texas

Austin American-Statesman: The Dotted Line: Texas’ recruiting wishlist for the 2021 cycle

Dallas Morning News: Texas OL outlook for 2020: The Longhorns return talent, but will they show signs of improvement?

Dallas Morning News: Breaking down the rosters: A position-by-position look at Texas, Texas A&M and other local schools ahead of the 2020 season

Dallas Morning News: Longhorns keep NCAA Tournament hopes alive with upset win over No. 20 West Virginia

247Sports: Where Texas stands with the top 10 prospects in Texas

247Sports: Early enrollee spring football preview

USA Today: Texas is now an NCAA Tournament team according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi

USA Today: Texas basketball: Three takeaways from winning streak

USA Today: Texas wide receiver Devin Duvernay’s meetings at NFL Combine

NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE IN LONGHORN LAND AND THE BIG 12

• What’s that you’re saying about the Texas men’s tennis team? That they’re ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive ... with a win over the No. 20 West Virginia Mountaineers last night. That makes three in a row (better late than never.) It also keeps alive the hope that head coach Shaka Smart’s squad can miraculously qualify for the NCAA Tournament this year.

• No. 3 Texas softball split a doubleheader with the No. 10 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns last night. Louisiana bested Texas in the first game (score: 3-2) before the Longhorns doubled back and took it to the Ragin’ Cajuns in game two (score: 2-1), making Texas’ first test in 2020.

• Texas baseball freshman pitcher Pete Hansen is proving his left arm is the real thing. In his first start against the Sam Houston State Bearkats on Tuesday night, Hansen struck out six batters while allowing just two hits over five innings at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The Longhorns as a whole proved successful as they clinched the game with a score of 4-1. Their next test will come at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic this weekend, where they’ll face the No. 11 LSU Tigers and the No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks.

• Despite the team’s winning record, the XFL’s Dallas Renegades have opted to move on from former Longhorns quarterback-turned-receiver Jerrod Heard, replacing him with Armanti Edwards, who, like Heard, is a receiver convert. Unlike Heard, though, he’s spent time in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, the Cleveland Browns and the Chicago Bears.