Amid the accusations, the NCAA removed the search function from its store last week, and on Friday ShopNCAAsports.com went offline entirely. (As of Monday, it redirects to a disclaimer on NCAA.com.) The NCAA later issued a statement saying it would no longer offer college apparel.
"Moving forward, the NCAA online shop will no longer offer college and university merchandise," the statement said. "In the coming days, the store's website will be shut down temporarily and reopen in a few weeks as a marketplace for NCAA championship merchandise only. After becoming aware of issues with the site, we determined the core function of the NCAA.com fan shop should not be to offer merchandise licensed by our member schools."
Kyle A. Richardson is the editorial director of Promo Marketing. He joined the company in 2006 brings more than a decade of publishing, marketing and media experience to the magazine. If you see him, buy him a drink.