The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's board of directors on Friday denied Minnesota State Mankato's appeal of an earlier NSIC decision to nullify the Mavericks' 2012 overall and South Division football championships for a secondary NCAA rules violation.

The violation involved two student-athletes who repeated a course in the spring 2012 semester and it was self-reported. The NCAA imposed a $2,500 fine on MSU Mankato for the infraction. The NSIC applied nullification penalties to games in which the two student-athletes played.

So now instead of winning the 2012 NSIC overall and South Division football titles, Minnesota State Mankato, with its appeal rejected, will finish fourth overall — Minnesota Duluth will be the champion — and second in its division behind Winona State.

United's preseason set

Minnesota United FC will go on the road for preseason tests against Major League Soccer's L.A. Galaxy and three matches in England. United will play the Galaxy twice on its eight-day trip to the West Coast starting Feb. 23. It will play Derby County FC and two undetermined opponents on an English tour March 8-18.

• The NASL team signed defender Tiago Calvano, 32, who has played in five countries.

Etc.

• Lynx forward Maya Moore, who recently had 43 points in a Shanxi (18-3) loss, was named to the North team for the Women's Chinese Basketball Association's All-Star game on Feb. 9.

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