Memphis, Tenn. ? Former Memphis head coach and Kansas University assistant Rip Scherer told a jury Monday he did not offer a free law school education for the wife of a high school coach in exchange for getting a top football recruit to sign with the Tigers.

Scherer, who was the Jayhawks co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach under Terry Allen in 2001, was the third former college coach to challenge the court testimony of the government’s chief witness in a federal trial over a recruiting scandal.

Scherer was called as a defense witness at the trial of Logan Young, a wealthy businessman charged with paying a $150,000 bribe to get defensive lineman Albert Means to sign with Alabama.

Former high school coach Lynn Lang testified last week that Scherer made the law school offer while trying to recruit Means in 2000.

Asked by defense lawyer James Neal if such an offer was made, Scherer replied, “Absolutely not.”

Lang, Means’ former coach, has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing. He testified that Young bribed him in cash handouts each under the $10,000 threshold for IRS reporting.

Lang testified that eight schools offered inducements while recruiting Means and three — Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky — handed out money. He said former Georgia coach Jim Donnan gave him $700 cash, while Memphis, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Michigan State also made offers.

Donnan testified last week and denied giving Lang money.

Defense lawyers describe Lang as a liar who is trying to avoid a long prison sentence by testifying against Young.

Neuheisel case presented

Kent, Wash. — Rick Neuheisel’s case against the University of Washington and the NCAA started Monday, with his lawyer claiming that NCAA administrators set the former football coach up, and Washington officials fired him wrongly.

Neuheisel’s lawyer, Bob Sulkin, told jurors in King County Superior Court that Neuheisel did gamble on NCAA basketball, but did so because he believed he was authorized under a memo written by former Washington compliance director Dana Richardson.

Former athletic director Barbara Hedges fired Neuheisel in June 2003 after he lied to her about interviewing for a job with the San Francisco 49ers and about his participation in NCAA men’s basketball gambling pools.

Sulkin said that the memo stated taking part in the pools was OK, and he said Neuheisel only lied about interviewing with the 49ers because the team asked him to keep the interview confidential.

Huskers to conduct auction

Lincoln, Neb. — The University of Nebraska athletic department has created a Web site to auction Cornhusker memorabilia, with the proceeds earmarked for the school’s sports complex expansion project.

The auction will launch at www.huskers.com at 8 a.m. CST this morning, the department announced Monday.

Among the items are a Heisman Trophy football helmet signed by 2001 Heisman winner Eric Crouch, an equipment trunk used by the football team during the 1960s and an autographed replica of All-American Bob Brown’s 1962 football jersey.