Thomas, Burnett at heart of NCAA investigation at Tech
Georgia Tech was fined $100,000 by the NCAA, stripped of its 2009 ACC championship in football and placed on four years of probation on Thursday for failure to cooperate with its investigation into the football and men’s basketball programs.
Those weren’t the only penalties, which stemmed from what the NCAA described as an isolated instance of former standout wide receiver Demaryius Thomas allegedly receiving $312 in impermissible gifts, and grew to Morgan Burnett allegedly taking gifts and misleading NCAA investigators. Both have denied taking improper benefits.
In addition, more penalties were self-imposed and accepted by the NCAA:
- Public reprimand and censure.
- Four years of probation from July 14, 2011 through July 13, 2015. The public report further details the conditions of this probation.
- A reduction of two men’s basketball recruiting days during the 2011 summer evaluation period (self-imposed by the university).
- A limit of 10 official visits for men’s basketball for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.
- A vacation of all contests won by the football team during the 2009 season after November 24. The ACC said Tech must return the trophy. No champion for the season will be named.
The committee stated in its report, “This case provides a cautionary tale of conduct that member institutions should avoid while under investigation for violations of NCAA rules.” It said Tech’s previous history of violations factored into its punishment decisions. After receiving penalties for the 2005 and ‘06 seasons for infractions that occurred in the 1990s, the NCAA said that if Tech committed another major infraction before Nov. 17, 2010, it would be subject to added penalties as a repeat violator.
Within the investigation, the NCAA noted the combative and confrontational attitude of general counsel, Randy Nordin. He retired in December. Paul Parker, formerly the assistant athletics director at compliance, left in April to take a job with Auburn.
The case started when Tech learned that Thomas, received clothing from a friend of someone who worked for an sports agent. Burnett and former player Calvin Booker attended the meeting when Thomas received the clothing. Burnett didn’t receive anything.
Athletics Director Dan Radakovich told coach Paul Johnson about the investigation into Thomas receiving improper benefits, but didn’t inform him that he shouldn’t talk to Burnett about the investigation. The NCAA said that conversation hindered its investigation.
The NCAA noted that Tech continued to allow one of the players to compete in the final three games of the 2009-10 football season, in which Tech won the ACC and played in the Orange Bowl, despite the NCAA notifying the school that it had questions about the eligibility of that player. Dennis Thomas, the head of the Infractions Committee, said Tech had enough information to warrant not using the player until it could investigate the players’ eligibility. Tech President Dr. G.P. “Bud” Peterson made the decision to allow both to play.
“It appeared to the committee that the institution attempted to manipulate the information surrounding potential violations involving (the student-athlete) so there would be enough doubt about its validity to justify the decision not to declare him ineligible,” the NCAA said in its report.
The committee also noted “the university took these actions despite information reported by the student-athlete, another football student-athlete and an assistant football coach regarding the potential agent involvement in preferential treatment benefits.” Tech barred Booker from the university’s training facilities and denied him access to complimentary tickets to athletic contests.
Thomas denied that he was one of the reasons for the investigation. In a text message, Thomas said he was offered things by people not affiliated with Tech, but never accepted. Burnett, a safety and third-round pick, also denied the report, texting that he “did not knowingly or unknowingly receive any gifts from any agents … These reports are baseless and false.”
Thomas and Burnett signed with Tech when Chan Gailey was the coach. Paul Johnson, who led Tech to the ACC title in 2009, was hired after Gailey was fired by Radakovich after the 2007 season after five years at the helm.
It is the second time in six years that Tech has been penalized by the NCAA. It learned in 2003 that it had been misapplying an NCAA eligibility rule and worked with the NCAA to investigate the nature and results of the error. They learned that 17 athletes, including 11 football players, who were academically ineligible were allowed to compete during the 1998 and ‘99 seasons.
As a result, Georgia Tech was on a two-year probation that resulted in self-imposed scholarship cuts (from 85 to 79) and a reduction in signing classes (from 25 to no more than 19) in 2005 and 2006. In addition to those penalties, the NCAA infractions committee added a limit of 79 total football scholarships for the 2006 and 2007 teams, six below the normal maximum.
The infractions committee also recommended that Tech vacate wins from seasons, 1998-2002, plus 2004, which were all winning seasons that ended in bowl trips. Tech appealed and the NCAA appeals committee agreed, allowing the results of those seasons to stand.
The NCAA has been in what appears to be a testy mood regarding alleged violations and lack of cooperation in wake of scandals at Ohio State, Southern California and North Carolina, among other places. The Trojans were forced by the NCAA to forfeit their 2004 national championship and the Buckeyes voluntarily forfeited 12 wins and their 2010 Sugar Bowl victory in an attempt to appease the infractions committee. Penalties against North Carolina’s program haven’t been announced. However, numerous players were suspended for all or parts of last season.
Please keep checking back for news.
– Doug Roberson, AJC. Follow on twitter @ajcgatech
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531 comments Add your comment
JRHD
July 14th, 2011
3:44 pm
If you have any questions about the Auburn investigation I suggest you read this story. http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2011/07/14/ncaa-to-auburns-chizik-it-aint-over-until-we-say-its-over-pal/?cxntfid=blogs_mark_bradley_blog
I don’t think the NCAA is finished w/ AU, Newton or Chizik just yet.
RamboDog
July 14th, 2011
3:44 pm
King Gator
Here is what happens to you on “Swamp People”
“Choot ‘em Lizabeth, Choot “em !!!! Good shot Lizabeth, now put that FAT Boy in the boat.
They are probably going to film an episode near your trailer soon….maybe you and Fat Charlie Weis can get on TV. (That’s funny, I don’t care who you are)
King Gator, bet you have the Gator emblem on your Rambler, see you in Jacksonville…
RoadDawg
July 14th, 2011
3:44 pm
“Where did uga kids get the idea that calling us nerds was an insult?”
See…I was going to get on here and defend GT…and say that this seemed pretty f’n harsh for $312 of extra benefits. But THEN…all these techies needed to start w/ the whole ‘nerds isn’t an insult’ line of reasoning. Still waiting for the first ‘flippin burgers’ or ‘I’ll be glad to hire some UGA grads when I get my GT degree’ blah blah blah blah.
Face it nerds…GT sucks. And if you can’t appreciate the beauty of watching an 80 year old granny chant ‘Nerds!’ at an all-male group of tech fans on their way to yet another beating at the hands of UGA, then not only are you a nerd, but you are a nerd without a sense of humor.
Nerds! Nerds! Nerds! Nerds!
cattledawg
July 14th, 2011
3:45 pm
Didnt this happen on ol bullheaded paul johnsons watch? Yet, no tech fan brings his name up.. Keep drinkin that cpj kool aid.
wrecked wreck
July 14th, 2011
3:45 pm
1951, Richt was smart enough not to let AJ play,that puts accountability onto the player who took the benefit and not the institution, green sat out 4 games and paid back the money, and thats all tech would’ve had to do if they’d been smart. All tech had to do was to err on the side of caution.
Get back to World of Warcraft, nerd
July 14th, 2011
3:45 pm
Georgia Tech vacates 2009 for less than $400,
It wasn’t the money. It was the hiding it after the fact.
gwadgib
July 14th, 2011
3:46 pm
Are you Techies that thick headed that you think the $312.00 was why you got busted??..Your administration did not cooperate with the NCAA and informed the player of the investigation….NCAA said that you prepped the player for his interview….The $312.00 was just the tip of the spear….And for all of you envious Tech fans trying to compare this to AJ Green, you forget that Georgia did not play him the first two games of the year until the ruling had been handed down….You fools played the player anyway, not knowing what the out come would be….
George P Burdell
July 14th, 2011
3:46 pm
Maybe Tech should pay the $100,000 fine directly to UGA. I’m guessing their football player bail money fund is probably pretty low right now. A,B,C simple as 1,2,3…unless you graduated from that alleged university in Athens.
Richard
July 14th, 2011
3:46 pm
Maybe we should have paid $180,000 for a recruit and been ready to play in a ratings grabbing game like the Sugar Bowl.
I guarantee you the NCAA lets it slide then.
Nerd@iwetthebed.com
July 14th, 2011
3:46 pm
“Came on vacation, left on probation”
Hahaha. Georgia Tech: A great place to get robbed, watch a terrrible football team and watch your dreams go down the drain.
Beat it nerds!
blakeatl@gmail.com
July 14th, 2011
3:47 pm
It’s a damn shame that ESPN, the schools as well as other people can profit off of these players but they can’t receive gifts. What exactly is an athletic scholarship by the way?
auguy74
July 14th, 2011
3:47 pm
@BamaBill….it’s ok….I’ll wake you up when you are done dreaming. The nightmare of 28-27 still hurts , huh?
George Stein
July 14th, 2011
3:47 pm
Sheesh. I thought Tech was irrelevant. Apparently UGA fans think we are highly relevant.
Chris
July 14th, 2011
3:48 pm
RX Dawg, I guess FSU was the SEC champ all those years they were dominating Florida while Florida was racking up SEC titles. And I guess FSU was SEC East champs last year cause they abused the Chickens in the Chick fil a bowl.
The Truth
July 14th, 2011
3:48 pm
Given the penalties, there’s more to this story than is being presented at this time. Either the NCAA found much more but couldn’t quite put it together, GT serioulsy stonewalled things, Fish Fry had some major involvement in a coverup, or there’s more to come. When you void a season, pay a fine, take 4 yrs probation, that’s some serious stuff.
If the AJC had been doing their job and requesting information via the Open Records Law, as they do almost weekly with the Georgia Athletic Dept, we may have learned of this earlier. However, the AJC’s beat writers covering GT are little more than cheerleaders, both of them. It will be interesting to see if DR and KS trade in their cheerleader skirts and pom poms for big boy journalist clothes and delve into what is really going on over on North Avenue. Inquiring minds want to know. What did Fish Fry know, when did he know it, why did he hide it, and how will GT discipline the man in charge of its football program for misleading and lieing to NCAA investigators? What did Hewitt do for basketball to be hit?
Rusty
July 14th, 2011
3:48 pm
There’s a new sheriff in town.
Oledawg
July 14th, 2011
3:48 pm
Somebody please call and check on P.J.——–I’m sure “Mr.Personality” is feeling a bit queasy. Perhaps he and Mark Bradley can throw up together. BWHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
GT BBall
July 14th, 2011
3:48 pm
College player makes $312 mistakes – NCAA investigate to the tune of $100,000 fine & Vacating wins.
Roger Clemons makes millions off using PED, lies to congress, has his DNA on a steroid needle and instead of a felony conviction he buys a mistrial.
Justice to all ……
UGAGrad99
July 14th, 2011
3:49 pm
Who would have guessed the GT program would be the dirtiest in GA? Cheated and still have a mediocre program.
auguy74
July 14th, 2011
3:49 pm
JRHD – - digging deep after 9 months and still haven’t found anything. It’s ok…we know you wish you were us but not everyone can win the NC.
Engineers need jobs
July 14th, 2011
3:49 pm
Losers, cheaters, crybabies, with Bulldawg envy. Oh, and jobless too!
Scott
July 14th, 2011
3:50 pm
Well done AJC!! How does this bird cage liner, two sports radio stations, four TV stations, and Chuck Oliver, not know this is going down until the morning of judgement day? Three or four days of covering that nobody that transferred to Va Tech, and you can’t sniff this out of the North Avenue Trade School? Honestly, I don’t know why anybody pays for a newspaper anymore.
Rick
July 14th, 2011
3:50 pm
Ohio State didn’t forfeit 12 games and the sugar bowl. They vacated them – BIG difference.
doc
July 14th, 2011
3:50 pm
This isn’t about $312, just like Ohio State’s problems aren’t about tattoos.
The NCAA is trying to make a statement for the second time this summer: you can cheat/screw up, just don’t lie about it.
Can you imagine how much trouble UGA would be in right now if they had lied about the AJ Green jersey mess?
Eye on Uga
July 14th, 2011
3:50 pm
Somewhere…. Lewis Grizzard is smiling.
dumbass tech player
July 14th, 2011
3:50 pm
@T3….maybe tech should offer REMEDIAL EDUCATION coursework to its athletes. Then maybe your dumbass players in tech uniforms wouldn’t be ineligible.
Nerd@iwetthebed.com
July 14th, 2011
3:51 pm
Enter your comments here
phil
July 14th, 2011
3:51 pm
Too funny….
You guys manage to actually win a title in something and can’t hang onto it for more than a few years….
Ha ha ha….
uga ocho
July 14th, 2011
3:51 pm
Well, who knew that the ACC was the dirty conference. Way to go boys. If you can’t compete with the SEC in Football, then cheat until you can. HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Nerd@iwetthebed.com
July 14th, 2011
3:52 pm
Where is St. Simons now????
Dennis
July 14th, 2011
3:52 pm
for my money, the NCAA is a slight bit hypocritical, with all the money they make off sports/players..while there should be regulations, they can get a bit picayune. That being said, there’ll always be teams that go right to the edge or push the envelope, some knowingly, some unknowingly
billyBobjacket
July 14th, 2011
3:52 pm
SEC: Yes, a player was suspended four games. The difference? Neither the player nor the school lied or tried to hide the facts from the NCAA. Also, UGA was not on probation at the time. We have to take our lumps on this one, I’m afraid. NCAA is not in a jovial mood right now, with two of their “signature” programs (OSU and USC) in deep trouble, and both teams from last yea’rs championship game under heavy scrutiny. We may just be collateral damage! Bad time to trip up.
J-Black_Ice
July 14th, 2011
3:52 pm
Once again the NCAA shows how useless it is when it comes to justice. I’m a UGA Fan…but you have got to be kidding me Auburn and Mississippi State are prime examples of blatantly cheating during the Cam Newton ordeal… yet $312.00 from a friend who has an agent for a friend! Please!
What kills me is they impose all the sanctions and then on top of that they want $100,000.00 tell me this isn’t extortion at its finest.
While we’re at it …. can someone tell me why we don’t have a National Championship Tourney instead of the BCS Bowl Series again?
I equate the NCAA with British Royalty BS…. We give them the world just for living and being snotty!
What the h...
July 14th, 2011
3:53 pm
What a crock. OSU is 0-9 vs SEC BUT SEC is 9-1 vs OSU. Arkansas should get the win. A forfeit is a win for other team or opponent right.
RxDawg
July 14th, 2011
3:53 pm
@Chris… fair enough
P.S. who was the Offensive coordinator at FSU during those years?
Don't have a dog in the fight, but
July 14th, 2011
3:53 pm
From my experiences in dealing with students from both schools, a nerd is a nerd, but a UGA co-ed is a H O.
Too Funny
July 14th, 2011
3:53 pm
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Seriously with all the other stuff most of these schools do and are NOT punished – this has to be a JOKE! The punishment DEFINITELY DOES NOT fit the CRIME!
phil
July 14th, 2011
3:54 pm
George Stein
July 14th, 2011
3:47 pm
“Sheesh. I thought Tech was irrelevant. Apparently UGA fans think we are highly relevant.”
Wrong again, doof…you aren’t and never were.
It’s just fun to fire back a little after the crap from you guys the other day on poor dumb caleb king….
ha ha ha….enjoy the vacant spot where the removed banner was when you attend games in your reduced in size stadium in a few months….pathetic.
thwg
July 14th, 2011
3:54 pm
“And if you can’t appreciate the beauty of watching an 80 year old granny chant ‘Nerds!’ at an all-male group of tech fans on their way to yet another beating at the hands of UGA, then not only are you a nerd, but you are a nerd without a sense of humor.”
oooh, so we’re SUPPOSED to think it’s funny when we get chanted at? good, because we do.
also, I’m a girl.
Taint Timons
July 14th, 2011
3:54 pm
I knew they were cheaters. Geeks Rule!!!
phil
July 14th, 2011
3:55 pm
Scam Newton and Fraudburn will get its turn at being stripped….just give it time….
Sid Vicious
July 14th, 2011
3:55 pm
It’s just a matter of who gets caught…Every team has a situation that can lead to crap like this…
Go Tech!!!
Ted
July 14th, 2011
3:55 pm
It is time for the major conferences to leave the NCAA and return common sense to rules.
BartowDawg
July 14th, 2011
3:56 pm
Another example of the self-righteous nerds thinking everyone is against them, so they do not have to deign to cooperate or come clean when they break the rules. It exemplifies the culture of “Holier Than Thou” over on The Flats.
Sick of the NCAA
July 14th, 2011
3:56 pm
As a UGA fan, I’m tired of hearing about the NCAA imposing penalties to a whole program for the mistakes made by a few. I understand the, “you win and lose as a team”, but these infractions are becoming comical. The NCAA governs themselves and makes millions off these kids and programs all while preventing everyone else from earning a penny. Did receiving $312 change the players age or performance? No. The team won and that can’t be changed. Reggie Bush won the Heisman. USC won the National Championship and OSU won the Sugar Bowl. Players and coaches move on after being caught and the only ones penalized are the ones which played by the rules. That’s screwed up. Additionally, what is so wrong with a player selling his jersey if someone wants to buy it? The NCAA sells thousands without penalty.
Kenny
July 14th, 2011
3:56 pm
Not condoning any of this but This is coming from the NCAA who let all those ineligible Ohio State players play in a bowl game
Lets face it …The only reason they did that was for the bowl (money) $312.00 dollars cost all these kids their wins and Championship
Who is pimping who…The NCAA already has a rule book that no one can keep up with or understand
The GT Flag Boy
July 14th, 2011
3:56 pm
fewhhhhh! When I heard cheating I thought it was Sebastian cheating on me. Then I find out it was the athlectic dept they were talking about.
geeezzz!
kisses,
GT Flag Boy xoxoxo
Producer
July 14th, 2011
3:57 pm
Stripped of their title for $312.00 in violations? What a crock of s**t!!!!!! This Bulldog says that’s totally unfair. It’s time to reign in the NCAA. What is the saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely? The NCAA is a bunch of totalitarian thugs! $312.00 wouldn’t even cover taking the team out to the Varsity after a well-earned win! Total BS!
Dawg 1
July 14th, 2011
3:58 pm
Not a good day for anyone.
Seems awfully harsh to me.
Let’s face it – Big 10, Pac 10 and Notre Dame are not treated as everyone else is. Those same violations at Ohio State and USC would have meant the end of football to a SEC or ACC school.
Atlanta public schools and GT are the same
July 14th, 2011
3:59 pm
A football jesey being sold is just a dumb thing but almost understandable, aware that AJ Green got $1,000. He was dirt poor. Does not make it right …………….but young and dumb as they say.
GT is caught yet again …………….. caught twice lying and cheating in TWO SPORTS!!!!!
The Atl school system and GT however, are much more scandalouus, in that these institution are cheating from the top down …………..within the top echelons of management. THIS is what is so disgusting.
GT and Atl schools are the same ilk. LOSERS.
Obama would be proud.