North Carolina football players will board the team bus today at 9:30 a.m. bound for Atlanta.

Head coach Butch Davis said any players who are ruled ineligible to compete, by either the University or the NCAA, will not travel with the team to its game against Louisiana State on Saturday.

But Davis’ caveat to the rule allows players who may later be ruled ineligible to step onto the bus parked outside the Kenan Football Center.

“If there’s clear, any indication that anybody is not going to be allowed to play in the game, then they won’t travel,” Davis said.

“It’s conceivable that we might not know the resolution on some of these, if any of them, until the middle of the afternoon on Saturday.”

In his press conference on Monday, Davis said that he and his staff were preparing for the “best-case scenario.” But on Thursday, Davis changed his tune and said they are making “contingency plans.”

The NCAA’s first ruling on an agent-related case came down Thursday when it suspended Alabama’s Marcell Dareus for two games and told him he must pay back the $1,787 he received in improper benefits.

Davis has yet to comment on how many players are involved because the investigation is ongoing. The number of involved athletes has rumored to reach as high as 16, but Davis would give no credibility to the accounts.

“It’s obviously total speculation,” Davis said. “I know our administration is working very diligently to have a lot of conversation with the NCAA to try to come to some kind of resolution on the matter. As quickly as they do, we’ll know a lot more from a perspective football-wise.”

On Wednesday, Davis suspended Marvin Austin indefinitely. Austin is at the center of the NCAA investigation into possible improprieties with sports agents, but Davis reiterated Thursday that the suspension is due to a violation of team rules.

“We never discuss team policies and rules,” said Davis, who added that Austin may still compete this season.

“This indefinite suspension absolutely has zero to do with the NCAA review.”

Kevin Best, director of football communications, said that Austin will not travel with the team and cannot stand on the sidelines. Should the defensive tackle want to go to the game, he would have to pay out-of-pocket.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.