The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. cleared Texas...

The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. cleared Texas A&M;’s football program of allegations that former player George Smith received “hush money,” saying it could not distinguish fact from fiction.

“The available information did not support that funds were provided to Mr. Smith in order to discourage the young man from reporting information to the NCAA,” David Berst, the NCAA’s assistant executive director of enforcement, said in a letter to school President William H. Mobley.

Smith had told the Dallas Morning News in separate interviews that Jackie Sherrill, former football coach and athletic director, paid him $4,400 for his silence about NCAA rules violations and that a university official later offered $30,000 if Smith would recant his charges. Smith later said he had made up the story to help sell a book, then denied that statement.