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
Todd
July 14th, 2011
5:28 pm
FUCPJ…..yep…looks like you’re still able to get embarrased in a bowl game…..so no worries there
Charlie S
July 14th, 2011
5:28 pm
“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.” Learn to read! Nerds rule!
NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS!
July 14th, 2011
5:29 pm
LMAO!!!! NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! NERDS!
UGA OWNS gtu…
Always have, always will.
Todd
July 14th, 2011
5:31 pm
Hey MARRIED2……so tired of us calling techies nerds, geeks (you left out Jackettes) etc…..hmmm..then you must be tired of a head coach who tells his fans to punch people in the face…….
slp98
July 14th, 2011
5:32 pm
Sadly, I’m not suprised by GT’s lack of cooperation and/or cover-up. I feel sorry for the hard-working players on the team that haven’t done anything wrong.
I was a life-long GT fan and former student (and season-ticket holder), and GT chose to lie and try to cover-up an incident that occurred at a football game last season. Instead of apologizing for their actions up-front, they’d rather end up getting taken to court. I don’t think I’ll ever return to Bobby Dodd.
IMO, integrity is worth more than wins (I still supported them when they stunk).
Buzzy Bee
July 14th, 2011
5:32 pm
I cant stop laughing about this fiasco……
Pete
July 14th, 2011
5:33 pm
NCAA: 2 Nerds: 0
Jacket Man
July 14th, 2011
5:34 pm
First, telling one of your student athletes that he’s “being investigated” by the NCAA, and explaining to him what the meaning of an investigation is, and what to expect during the investigation, should NOT constitute manipulating a witness in any sense of the meaning. These kids are being brought onto campus straight from high school and put under the coaches care as their guardians. NOT talking to them would be an issue.
Second, if the kids are denying getting any perks,and the only perks that are being alleged are less than $400 (so small, how can anyone even notice them – these kids can buy a watch and a shirt with their own money, this isn’t like it was a Rolex, a car, or a trip somewhere), how in the heck did they expect GA Tech to be able to find out so quickly during the season and take the players out of commission “just in case”?
Now we have to throw in the fact that there wasn’t even an agent directly involved in this matter, but a friend of an agent, and the mess is even more complicated
What if there WASN’T any truth to the allegation? Then the ENTIRE team would have been punished for NO reason over this piddly amount.
NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS!
July 14th, 2011
5:35 pm
Don’t worry gtu faithful, you still have World of Warcraft! BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA
UGA OWNS gtu…
Always have, always will.
BullDawg Rick
July 14th, 2011
5:35 pm
I am a Dawg fan & I think (no… I KNOW) this is total BS!! What Thomas & Burnett did was akin to finding a quarter on the street & being brought to court for theft!!
If this is how the corrupt NCAA is going to hand down penalties then OSU, AU & NC will get the Death Penalty for sure (But that ain’t happening)..
That being said, I hope the GT fans quit with the BS when blogging on UGA blogs about how bad we are.. Look in the mirror Jackets..
PS – I could not believe UGA held out AJ for 4 games, for signing a jersey (his jersey) & selling it for a grand…. in hindsight, I’m glad UGA held him out, look what coulda been.. Yet Scam’s scumbag daddy (yeah, a preacher no less) gets $180,000 for selling his own sons soul… Let’s sit back & see how this panns out…
Pete
July 14th, 2011
5:35 pm
THIS JUST IN…..MORE FALLOUT FROM THE NERD DEBACLE:……..Tech loses their only season ticket holder…SLP98……….details at 11
A.J. Green's Jersey
July 14th, 2011
5:36 pm
Karma’s a biatch, ain’t it nerds?
St. Richt
July 14th, 2011
5:37 pm
slp98, go have a nice life and dont’ let the door hit your backside on the way out. We don’t need more fickle fans than we already have… Is nobody understanding that CPJ DID NOT KNOW he was prohibited from talking to the players in question? It seems to me that Radakovich screwed up by telling CPJ in the first place and especially by leaving out the part about “we absolutely cannot speak to the players about this” or “tip them off that the NCAA is going to ask them questions.”
So, even with my admitted rose colored glasses on, I’m still not seeing a “cover up” here.
Tech Who?
July 14th, 2011
5:38 pm
Paul….what would Bobby Dodd think about this kind of cheating at Tech?
SEC where overSigning Eliminates Competition
July 14th, 2011
5:38 pm
The excessive NCAA Punishment is pathetic and unjust. What is more pathetic is all of you losers calling GT cheaters for this minor infraction. And to the lawyer attacking married2GTee no one likes lawyers, not even their family members.
Charles
July 14th, 2011
5:39 pm
And, predictably, here come the Tech fans claiming it’s ok because they think their upper middle-class salaries somehow make them superior. High comedy.
Mama Says
July 14th, 2011
5:39 pm
This kind of stuff is the exact reason plyers should be comp’ed in some way. The NCAA, as it was over A.J. Green’s issue, is so worried that congress is going to take their money pie that they are penalizing players and institutions over $312 worth of clothing. If a monetary value was placed on the time students give to each member school and therefore the NCAA, the NCAA would be billions in debt. As long as the NCAA allows schools to sell tickets to any sporting event, musical event or play which is performed by a student they are defining the word hypocrite.
Making billions on the efforts of students and then punishing them for taking clothing is so typical of our society as a whole. Do as I say not as I do is not the proper thing to tech our youth nor is it a moral position which should be defended.
I wonder has a student at UGA ever used a tractor owed by a farmer. Has NASA ever given a patch to an engineering student, I am sure they have, if I am right then where is the NCAA and thier rules commitee ?
Dallas Jacket
July 14th, 2011
5:40 pm
I have been a Tech fan since 1951. I was Tech class of 1962 and I have always been proud to say that Tech is different in the quality of kids, and the way things are handled in the athletic department. Unfortunately, despite all of you who just sail along, seeing everything with rose colored glasses, Tech is not so different now, and there have been many of the same problems (maybe not as many, but more than enough) at Tech, in the last 7-8 years, that you holier-than-thou crowd like to laugh about when pointing your fingers at other schools. I’m fed up with the problems, and I’m fed up with you!
Buzzy Bee
July 14th, 2011
5:40 pm
Where do I turn in my mascot costume? I’m sick of this cheating institution.
ST. Nerd
July 14th, 2011
5:41 pm
TRAFFIC ALERT FOR DOWNTOWN THROUGH BROOKWOOD INTERCHAGE………IMMEDIATE RELEASE……….NERDS WALKING AROUND IN A DAZE……..PLEASE EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION……..VARSITY OFFERING 2 DOGS…2 COKES FOR ANYONE WITH A PROTRACTOR AND EYEGLASSES……….
St. Richt
July 14th, 2011
5:41 pm
Radakovich may have known that CPJ would immediately talk to the players in question. And then conveniently leave out the part about the NCAA warning them NOT to talk to the players. In which case, Radakovich is the one guilty of the cover up. Still not seeing how CPJ is at all involved in the cover up, if there indeed was one.
slp98
July 14th, 2011
5:42 pm
St. Richt – I don’t remember blaming CPJ? And my attendance at games from 1988-2010 isn’t exactly being a “fickle” fan.
Buzzy Bee
July 14th, 2011
5:43 pm
Dont worry slp98, I’m quitting the team too.
Rambling Wreck Kevin
July 14th, 2011
5:43 pm
Classic Dog response…..when we beat them, they swear they don’t even consider us a rival. When we lose to them, you think they’d won the national championship. When we’re in the headlines, they kick a man when he’s down. Not to mention, our most recent misstep is completely nonsensical. If we had a “t-shirt” for every thug football player driving around Athens in an Escalade, we could clothe the entire country of Africa. To all you Dog fans out there who got your degree from Truett and think parking your RV outside of a freshman dorm makes you a “Bulldog,” congrats. GFY.
St. Richt
July 14th, 2011
5:43 pm
Dallas Jacket, go back to sleep you geezer! You sound like another one of those old timer GT fans that refuse to stand up at games and get mad at the people in front of you for standing up. We have too many worthless fans like you anyway.
doug
July 14th, 2011
5:44 pm
How did Tech cheat? Poor decisions probably but this isn’t cheating.
virginia dog
July 14th, 2011
5:44 pm
i really don’t hate tech. i was at UGA when tech was our bitch late 70’s early 80’s. But my dad … he was at UGA in the 50’s during the drought. He hated the mistique “the tech man.” ( this was before rich atlanta kids started going off to school.)
dad’s dead but i know somewhere he is loving the fact that a “tech man’s” arrogant attidude got his school busted for nothing basically nothing but a few shirts.
ST. Jackettes
July 14th, 2011
5:44 pm
UFC 135….main event: St. Richt v SLP98………live on pay per view
Foxhound
July 14th, 2011
5:45 pm
Enough already, I say colleges should vacate the NCAA.
ST. Jackettes
July 14th, 2011
5:47 pm
Update: UFC 135 St. Richt v Dallas Nerd…(i mean jacket)…and SLP98…….Paul Johnson is guest ref
GSUStud
July 14th, 2011
5:49 pm
I hear where some recruits are having second thought now. How embarrassing to the State of Georgia. The good thing is…most people outside the southeast have never heard of Georgia Tech anyway. Take the banner down!
BirdDawg
July 14th, 2011
5:50 pm
Wow it’s literally Christmas in July. At least OSU and USC are good football programs. You had to cheat to win the pitiful ACC. How will you fill your gigantic 50,000 person stadium now? You know the Japanese would kill themselves in this situation. Do you have any honor?
St. Richt
July 14th, 2011
5:50 pm
No, a fickle fan is someone who takes what the NCAA says as the gospel and doesn’t allow their own school to defend itself.
BroncDawg
July 14th, 2011
5:51 pm
JACKETfan12 get used to it..GT will have many more losing seasons…
Iliketacos1
July 14th, 2011
5:51 pm
And for everyone calling gt fans nerds? Are you saying that there successful and have really high salaries while Georgia grades have low-medium salaries? Or at you guys just jealous that were smarter then you guys?
Rambling Wreck Kevin
July 14th, 2011
5:52 pm
Thank God we have Georgia Southern/State representation on the board from GSUStud commenting on Georgia Tech being a reknowned institution…..let’s see, should I assume he’s Georgia Southern and make a comment about majoring in spousal abuse and drinking? Or should I assume he’s Georgia State and comment on the fact that the state was gracious enough to allow them to have a football team just two years ago? Yet he has an opinion on this matter? Tough call….
Chan Gailey
July 14th, 2011
5:53 pm
Even I wouldn’t come back to Tech after this fiasco.
USMC dawg
July 14th, 2011
5:53 pm
I am not a Tech fan, although I want them to win when not playing against UGA.
BUT this is completely BOGUS B.S.
Tech is the least likely school to cheat, and the NCAA has MUCH bigger fish to fry!
NCAA, Leave Tech alone!
tnursey
July 14th, 2011
5:55 pm
This for Tech and the NCAA still can’t figure out that Cecil and SCam got paid?? These cats are clowns!
DawgInaTruck
July 14th, 2011
5:58 pm
Dallas Jacket, even though today was kind of rough GT is different and rational fans of any rival recognize that. Someone earlier posted that it is impossible to know what kids between the ages of 18-23 are doing all the time and it is true.
Did the administration mishandle parts of the investigation? Sure, but with the NCAA, no administration ever knows quite what to do. The rules are arcane in many instances and communication is not always clear either.
In hindsight I’m glad CMR chose to hold AJ Green out of game one last year before the NCAA finally got around to it’s ruling. To be fair, though, the GT athletic department wasn’t specifically told to hold the players in question out of the bowl game. What do you do? The NCAA is so unpredictable, you’re kind of darned if you do and darned if you don’t. Just last December, they allowed the OSU players to compete in the Sugar Bowl while they continued to investigate…I think you see what I mean.
I don’t know why ANY school cooperates with them. They are going to do what they want regardless. Every institution out there should fight them every step of the way.
Stinger
July 14th, 2011
6:00 pm
As I said, it doesn’t matter. We will just win another title this year. Can’t say the same for all the 4 and 5 star thugs. Bottom feeders of the SEC. Even Missy State, Vandy, and Kentucky are better than you.
Chipper
July 14th, 2011
6:01 pm
It sounds like a lot of these posters are sub-teens or illiterates. What gives with that? Must have gone to secondary in Atlanta.
Chan Gailey
July 14th, 2011
6:02 pm
Stinger: Win another title? You haven’t won the first yet. Remember? It was stripped from you nerds.
NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS!
July 14th, 2011
6:04 pm
Don’t fret gtu faithful, you didn’t lose any respect over this debacle. No one ever GAVE you any respect. LMAO
UGA OWNS gtu…
Always have, always will.
NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS!
July 14th, 2011
6:06 pm
gtu = CHEATERS
UGA OWNS gtu…
Always have, always will.
Dawg Tired
July 14th, 2011
6:07 pm
This case is further proof that the NCAA is a joke. This just does not seem to warrant the punishment handed down.
NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS!
July 14th, 2011
6:07 pm
Nothing new with this revelation, everyone knew that gtu LIES and CHEATS.
UGA OWNS gtu…
Always have, always will.
The OSU Buckeyes
July 14th, 2011
6:07 pm
We are The Ohio State Buckeye and we are still better then them.
GT93
July 14th, 2011
6:09 pm
Doug … close the Comments Section.
The OSU Buckeyes
July 14th, 2011
6:09 pm
Next is the nightmare team oh I mean UGA and the dream team. Oh I guess a couple wake up and left. LMAO