Score One for the NCAA as Judge Overturns $5 Million Verdict

An Alabama state court judge has granted the NCAA’s motion for a new trial, throwing out a $5 million verdict that a jury awarded to a University of Alabama booster in a defamation case.   A Jackson County jury awarded plaintiff Ray Keller $5 million on Nov. 29, 2007, agreeing with the plaintiff that the NCAA’s 2002 report of its investigation of him and two other Alabama boosters into alleged recruitment violations destroyed Keller’s reputation and resulted in his losing more than $5