Problem in college athletics isn’t kids, it’s the guys in suits
West Virginia AD Oliver Luck promoted Dana Holgorsen (rear), who recently was intoxicated and thrown out of a casino.
Given that there is a U.S. congressman tweeting women pornographic pictures of his junior senator — and to somebody out of his district, no less — maybe this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
But the worst of infectious diseases currently destroying college athletics isn’t the recruit who’s trying to play one school off the other for a signing bonus. Or the star player who’s looking for a car deal or a condo. Or the hungry but cross-eyed coach who will lie and drop-kick his values for a BCS bowl game or NCAA tournament berth. Or the booster in the shadows who will do everything to help all aforementioned parties.
Grown, secure men who seemingly shouldn’t have anything to worry about are the biggest thing destroying college athletics.
Parents feel compelled to set an example for their children. So apparently do college administrators and coaches — they’re just setting the wrong ones.
West Virginia coach Bill Stewart wasn’t a terribly popular coach but he was coming off a co-Big East championship and was nearing the end of his career. He was forced to resign last week because word leaked that he – and possibly his wife –reportedly was trying to submarine the team’s coach in waiting, Dana Holgorsen, by spreading drinking rumors about him.
Oliver Luck, West Virginia’s athletic director, a well-educated man with a law degree, responded to this in an unusual way. He forced Stewart out the door (good) but he promoted Holgorsen one year ahead of schedule (bad). He did this even though last month an intoxicated Holgorsen had to be dragged out of a casino by police escort from a West Virginia casino (and you wonder: how drunk and obnoxious does one have to be to get thrown out of a West Virginia casino?). There also are strong allegations of other drinking issues.
Luck’s reasoning must have been that Holgorsen runs a good offense. Somehow, he has escaped criticism, I guess because he wears nice suits.
In Columbus, outgoing Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor is getting slammed for actions that almost certainly will lead to NCAA probation. But what about the men who enabled the system, the ones who stalled, deflected and lied when initially confronted with the issues: The school president (Gordon Gee), the athletic director (Gene Smith) and the head coach (Jim Tressel) – all of whom should have felt secure enough to do the right thing?
Tennessee, which annually has one of the largest athletic budgets in the nation, is facing 12 major NCAA violations in basketball and football. It fired athletic director Mike Hamilton but gave him $1.33 million as a separation gift, I guess because potentially having football and basketball programs slammed with probation simultaneously doesn’t disqualify upper management from such things in Knoxville.
The new liars club: Bruce Pearl (above), Gordon Gee, Jim Tressel, Gene Smith.
Tennessee’s hearing with the NCAA’s committee on infractions lasted 11 hours Saturday. So many current and former coaches and administrators attended that the meeting had to be moved to a larger hotel meeting room, adjacent to one with a wedding reception.
Welcome to the scary remake of Wedding Crashers, staring Bruce Pearl and Lane Kiffin.
Pearl, who already has been fired and is charged with unethical conduct, showed up with an orange tie and orange suspenders. Even at this point, he apparently finds image more important than being genuine and honest.
These are the men who are supposed to lead. And we’re blaming the kids?
Last December, when Ohio State was still in firm denial mode when the players’ memorabilia-for-tattoos scandal broke, Smith said, “There are no other NCAA violations around this case. We’re very fortunate we do not have a systemic problem in our program. This is isolated to these young men, isolated to this particular incident.”
Oops.
Pryor reportedly earned $20,000 to $40,000 selling autographed items. He seemingly changed cars every time one needed a wash. Does he deserve criticism? Absolutely. But we need to look higher on college athletics food chain for the real problem. Few are fostering an atmosphere of compliance.
Before we dump on the 21-year-olds, look at the men in the suits.
By Jeff Schultz
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134 comments Add your comment
rizing star
June 12th, 2011
3:43 pm
in the past, you would call a guy that dealt in e-type porn a pervert. Now you just callem congressman.
In the past, you would call a team that opened the season against a ranked team courageous. After they lose, you just callem losers.
Bo in North Carolina
June 12th, 2011
3:52 pm
Sir Barks point taken. However, I still would not bank on Clarett for a character witness.
Delbert D.
June 12th, 2011
3:55 pm
I had a few glasses of pinot noir last night, but I was home watching the Braves, not getting tossed from a casino.
Bobby Petrino
June 12th, 2011
4:10 pm
I coach strictly for the love of the game and the kids !
PMC
June 12th, 2011
4:22 pm
Bryce, I don’t really care at all whatsoever about the goings on in Morgantown, best of luck to you all. Seems like the police escorting a coach out of a casino for drunkenness is a step beyond… “Welp, I think I’ve had enough, guess I’ll go home and call a cab”
The Plain Truth
June 12th, 2011
4:22 pm
Speaking of outrages, UGA has made the state a laughingstock with its reputation as one big party school with so many job opportunities for lawyers and bail bondsmen, and decent people are fed up with this. Get rid of the illiterate, undisciplined drunks and me-first jerks that Mark Richt recruits, and get rid of Richt too. Even with these morons, he can’t even win the division, much less the SEC, so what’s the point?
San Marco
June 12th, 2011
4:24 pm
South Carolina 37, Georgia 17.
Buh bye, Saint Mark.
Yeltsin
June 12th, 2011
4:27 pm
“Buh bye, Saint Mark.”
AND GOOD RIDDANCE TO THE LOSER!
rs
June 12th, 2011
4:55 pm
The sad thing about all of this stuff is its going on all over the place,in every sport in college.And the powers to be know it.
borogirl54
June 12th, 2011
4:59 pm
I agree it is not the kids’ fault. Rather, the fault lies in a combination of coaches, administrators and out of control boosters. Many of these kids come from low income backgrounds and all of sudden, they have college coaches basically throwing themselves at them to come and play for their school. The sad thing is that many of these kids will complete their eligiblity and leave school without a degree.
FCB
June 12th, 2011
5:03 pm
Charles, that academic progress rate report is a bunch of crap. The reason why schools like Stanford rank lower is because they don’t give their football players a pass or send them to the easier classes. Those players have to take the regular curriculum at top notch institutions.
Jeff, I think you left out that in the defense of some of the administration, they may not know because they have been lied to as well. I think once they get full information they take appropriate actions, but if they’re working on only partial or misinformation, then things get tricky. The presidents’ of these universities have far more things on their plate than their athletic programs.
Paul N Destin
June 12th, 2011
5:07 pm
Just wait to the guys in the suits from AU take the stage. College football is on he downhill folks and the reason is the player pool is getting worse every year. The easy button/ESPN me bunch will ruin what most of us old times consider the best game going. Add in today’s coaches and we have about 10 years left. Think about it ..OSU has as many as 30 guys in on the free stuff for tats and do you think for a minute they gave a rats azz about the tradition of those that came before them or those still on the team? Really. Until the NCAA makes the teams have to return TV money if caught cheating then good luck. Mike Slive looked like a New Orleans pimp the way he handled the Cam Newton deal and the folks across this country (sports) have little respect for the SEC because gave the go ahead due to money and the chance for a SEC to get into the show. Enjoy our game while we have them but their is no doubt it’s going south in the future. Hell…the conferences and the coaches pass on to the officals the responsibility of controlling the players when scoring a TD…now that is taking the bull by the horns. Maybe we need to get the presidents from UGA and UF to handle that for us? Maybe send to players to the jails in athens and gainesville at least the presidents know something about those are located. Hypocrites.
DAWG
June 12th, 2011
5:32 pm
I was with 82nd Airborne for years and one word comes to mind FUBAR. As long as the NCAA has a blind eye, this crap will never stop. Some programs are crafty enough to hide their butts and no paper trail. All I can say this has to stop.
Paul's Johnson
June 12th, 2011
5:36 pm
This garbage has become an everyday occurence. We see it so often, I think we’ve come to expect it. Shameful.
OSU Fan
June 12th, 2011
5:43 pm
Say what you want….Tressel lied. He should be removed. But to blame him or anyone else for something a 19-22 yr-old did is BS. The players know right from wrong. Coaches are wrong for knowing about it and ignoring it…as well as lying about it. But, initially, the kids who take the money, etc are to blame. The system stinks…and people are idiots to think it’s not happening in most (if not all) major DI football and basketball programs.
Beast from the East
June 12th, 2011
5:47 pm
Gators came back to take game 3 of the Super Regional and are heading to Omaha! MSU played a great series and gave the Gators all they could handle. What a game today!!!
Go Gators!
Beast from the East
June 12th, 2011
5:50 pm
“The system stinks…and people are idiots to think it’s not happening in most (if not all) major DI football and basketball programs.”
OSU Fan,
I usually don’t buy that. However, with all we keep hearing it’s beginning to feel that way.
Mr. A Weiner
June 12th, 2011
5:56 pm
Just let the guys in the suits do thier jobs. Thats the only thing that should matter these days anyway. Just Win baby!
Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog
June 12th, 2011
6:08 pm
Gordon Gee and Gene Smith need to be following Tressel out the door in Columbus, just like Hamilton followed Pearl in Knoxville.
When an employer’s regulatory agency catches an employee lying red-handed, that employer must fire the lying employee immediately. Otherwise, the regulators have no option to conclude anything but that the employer approves the lying.
That Gee, Smith, and Hamilton did not act swiftly against Tressel and Pearl makes them equally complicit in the coaches’ lying.
Gee and Smith must go!
5150 UOAD
June 12th, 2011
6:42 pm
As this country has forgotten God our morals, ethics, and values have continued disappearing. Many of your friends maybe nice and respectful to you, but I bet they are screwing over somebody. I used to think that for the most part people are good and care about each other. I find that harder and harder rationalize everyday. I fear as the economy gets worse we will see the worst in man not the best. We have been taught to be the best and to get to the top at any cost. The Public Education System is making it even worse. Schools can’t teach Christian Values, Patriotism, or Moral without somebody being offended and bringing a lawsuit. There is no Right or Wrong, but only what you can Prove or Litigate.
Do the world a favor and kill a Lawyer or Politician. We would all enjoy a better less crap filled life.
The Love of Money is the root of all evil and college football is just another big money business.
juice sourcer
June 12th, 2011
6:42 pm
The system is completely broken and totally hypocritical. Coaches and universities making millions and players get nothing. Needs to be blown up.
NCAA Division I Football = Money = Corruption
June 12th, 2011
6:44 pm
Greed. Corruption. Rule breaking. Agents. Arrests. Selling jerseys. Scalping tickets. $60 parking at game. Traffic jams getting home. Huge coaching salaries. Large athletic budgets.
=
NCAA Division I Football.
NCAA Division I Football = Money = Corruption
June 12th, 2011
6:44 pm
Greed. Corruption. Rule breaking. Agents. Arrests. Selling jerseys. Scalping tickets. $60 parking at game. Traffic jams getting home. Huge coaching salaries. Large athletic budgets.
=
NCAA Division I Football.
NCAA Division I Football = Money = Corruption
June 12th, 2011
6:44 pm
Greed. Corruption. Rule breaking. Agents. Arrests. Selling jerseys. Scalping tickets. $60 parking at game. Traffic jams getting home. Huge coaching salaries. Large athletic budgets.
=
NCAA Division I Football.
LakeDawg
June 12th, 2011
6:55 pm
You are right on, Jeff! This is typical of how America works in general. The men in suits orchestrate the whole thing, walk away with a bundle, and then deflect the public’s attention by pointing at A) the athlete or in politics pointing at B) poor people. The sad thing is the public falls for it hook, line, and sinker to their own detriment. BTW I have to give you kudos for the “junior member” line.
Tidewatch
June 12th, 2011
6:57 pm
SEC fan,the titles are not bogus.
5150 UOAD
June 12th, 2011
6:58 pm
Isn’t Oliver Luck Stanford’s QB Andrew Luck’s dad?
heartofdarkness
June 12th, 2011
7:06 pm
A fish rots from the head.
Abolish HHS
June 12th, 2011
7:08 pm
5150 – Yes, the AD at wvu is Oliver Luck jr’ dad. Oliver sr played for wvu, then Huston in the nfl. Even when he was in the NFL, I would periodically see him in the bars of Sunnyside.
Dawg Jones
June 12th, 2011
7:08 pm
Shultz…so close to getting this right. The suites take some of the blame…but keep in mind they are just trying to protect the the stupid coaches they hire. Keep in mind they have to protect them because if they go against them too early…the coach can have them removed very easily. So really its the blind leading the blind. Will anyone out there step up and do the right thing? The answer is no when too much money is involved for the individuals (coaches and AD’s) They are both like CEO’s and we see that they have all done on Wall Street!
SEC Fan
June 12th, 2011
7:17 pm
C’mon Tidewatch get real. A couple of the years y’all claimed Nat’l Titles, you weren’t even the best team in the SEC.
Do you seriously think any knowledgeable fan outside of your myopic, parochial fan base really believes that?
SEC Fan
June 12th, 2011
7:21 pm
Here you go Tidewatch
http://spittingfire.wordpress.com/2008/01/13/alabamas-12-national-championships/
And you Bammers are all married to Morgan Fairchild, yea, that’s the ticket.
LakeDawg
June 12th, 2011
7:22 pm
I think Bama has claimed a couple of Birmingham News national titles in the 20’s. What is their count up too now? 30 or 40 national titles? I can’t keep track.
SEC Fan
June 12th, 2011
7:30 pm
LakeDawg why do they even bother to stop at 13 – even if they have to count on both hands and part of a foot to get there?
Oh, I forgot they can’t count past 5 very well since their other hand is up their azz.
LakeDawg
June 12th, 2011
7:39 pm
SEC Fan
I’m gonna help them out. I’ve started a new ranking system that is very scientific. It’s called the Lake Poll. I rank teams based on the amount of kool-aid drinkers in each fan base. I’m retroactively giving Bama ALL previous national titles!
5150 UOAD
June 12th, 2011
7:41 pm
The Only Teams that can claim a REAL National Championship are the ones that finished the year Undefeated. Michigan has like 50 NC if you count all the old newspapers and things that called them that from 1900 on. The BCS MNC is a real Champion either. Until they split all leagues up evenly, play every team in the league to get a champion, and then all league champions play in a Tournament it is just people running their mouths and nothing more.
5150 UOAD
June 12th, 2011
7:42 pm
LakeDawg followed by the UGA fan base. Too bad UGA’s teams don’t have the wins on the field like Bama does.
LakeDawg
June 12th, 2011
7:50 pm
5150 UOAD
No, UGA doesn’t have the wins on the field that Bama does, but we aren’t claiming 50 national titles either.
BTW UGA does own GT though. LMAO
SEC Fan
June 12th, 2011
7:54 pm
5150 UOAD
Based on your criteria, ie undefeated season, the Bammers will try to schedule all lower-level teams like UL-Monroe in a desperate attempt for yet another.
Oh, that’s right, they already did and lost to them.
5150 UOAD
June 12th, 2011
8:11 pm
LakeDawg where did you go to college?
SEC Fan you don’t read very well then do you? I said the Undefeated teams from the past. I told you how to win a NC now with all league champions playing in a tournament. I hope you are just an SEC fan and not a Grad of any college in the SEC.
5150 UOAD
June 12th, 2011
8:12 pm
SEC fan Auburn would have more National Championships than UGA and that is for sure.
5150 UOAD
June 12th, 2011
8:13 pm
If we counted Undefeated seasons.
LakeDawg
June 12th, 2011
8:15 pm
5150 UOAD
I graduated from UGA. What year did you drop out at Tech?
5150 UOAD
June 12th, 2011
8:22 pm
I guessed you would say you graduated UGA but then there is no way to prove it now is there? I graduated from NGC and Kennesaw State. My Father is the Tech Grad. I started going to games with him when I was 6.
SEC Fan
June 12th, 2011
8:28 pm
5150 UOAD
I read extremely well and my COMPREHENSION is equally as good. You need to be better in your criteria. Undefeated teams of the past…wtf does that mean? An MAC school OF THE PAST may be the only undefeated team in Major College Football. Do you, 5150 UOAD, then award them the Nat’l Championship? If so, you’ll be like some of those Bammer alleged championships – awarded by people noone has ever heard of and years after the season.
LakeDawg
June 12th, 2011
8:30 pm
5150 UOAD
I guess you will have to take my word for it, or not. BTW I have a lot of respect for NGC.
SEC Fan
June 12th, 2011
8:35 pm
5150 UOAD
BTW, I graduated from UND and have an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellog School of Busness.
5150 UOAD
June 12th, 2011
8:49 pm
Then why the SEC fan if you are a gold domer?
And yes that would make the MAC school a National Champ. It makes as much sence as the way it has always been done. like I said you can go back and see the Michigan has like really 20 something NCs if you see the different papers and wire services than published it’s final poll. Any of those people are as good as the BCS of any other fake way NC’s have been decided for over 100 years.
Is that Kellog as in the Food company? I didn’t know The family had a school named after them. Nice.
SEC Fan
June 12th, 2011
9:03 pm
5150 UOAD
1. Look at the drivel you attempt to write: “The BCS MNC is a real Champion either.”…It makes as much sence…” ? wth man???
2. We’re called “domers”, not “gold domer”.
3. Northwestern’s Kellog School of Business is top 5 in MBA programs in the country. Nice.
4. An MAC school Nat’l Champ? Really?
5.Glad you graduated from somewhere…NGC – what’s that, a health food store?
Wonderful Ohio on the Gulf 'Dog
June 12th, 2011
9:04 pm
5150,
“I didn’t know The family had a school named after them. Nice.”
Pretty ignorant of you, then, don’t you think?