An embarrassing day for Tech, which hates embarrassment
"See this? Not any longer." (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
It’s an embarrassing day for Georgia Tech, and Tech alums don’t like being embarrassed.
The Jackets have been forced to vacate the 2009 ACC title, have been placed on NCAA probation through 2015 and have been fined $100,000 — what is this, the NFL? — to boot. We can extrapolate from this that the NCAA likewise doesn’t take kindly to embarrassment.
The NCAA has found that “staff members” not only failed to contribute to an investigation but also sought to cast enough doubt on the allegations that they couldn’t be proved. In plain English, the NCAA believed Tech tried to cover up. And the NCAA hates cover-ups way worse than it hates violations.
Update: In offering Tech’s response to the NCAA’s findings, both president Bud Peterson and AD Dan Radakovich insisted there was no intent to influence anyone’s testimony to the NCAA. Indeed, Radakovich admitted it was he who had spoken to coach Paul Johnson about the NCAA’s interest in a particular student-athlete.
I’ll have more at greater length soon, but for now I leave you with this: Until today, Georgia Tech fans had great confidence their athletic department was under sound management. I’m not sure they still do. The school that prides itself on knowing how to run things managed to take a molehill of a violation and turn it into a mountain range’s worth of sanctions. Yikes.
By Mark Bradley
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474 comments Add your comment
Big Ten Champs Nebraska
July 14th, 2011
4:30 pm
Wisconsin? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
headley lamar
July 14th, 2011
4:30 pm
UGA didn’t have an SEC Championship in 2009!!
Nope but we did in 2005. And guess what. We get to keep it LOL
DawginLex
July 14th, 2011
4:30 pm
Accept your punishment and move on
Don’t blame UGA
You covered it up
You should have gone forward as soon as you knew and also held him out
Calling us trailer park trash, bringing up Jan Kemp and telling us to go back to the Waffle House and Walmart is a pathetic attempt to deflect the real story.
Accept your punishment and move on.
You still get to play in a bowl
you can still win the ACC in 2011
Just move on
phil
July 14th, 2011
4:31 pm
Cohutta Dawgman
July 14th, 2011
4:29 pm
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And Auburn’s next.
Sweet!”
Can I get a hearty amen, please?
Haha, hehe….
JB
July 14th, 2011
4:31 pm
If the the AD & coach keep their job, we will have no choice but to move you guys to the SEC.
You’ll need some better players. You can’t beat one of our bottom feeders,Georgia.. Welcome back boys.
Tom
July 14th, 2011
4:32 pm
CPJ – “Someone just punches me in the mouth.”
HarveyUpdyke
July 14th, 2011
4:32 pm
Got someone get Zach Klein on Auburn’s trail? Evidently Zach’s good at exposing lying, cheating scandals. If tech was hit hard for Johnson’s lying just WAIT until the NCAA drops the sanctions on Chizneck.
Big Ten Champs Nebraska
July 14th, 2011
4:33 pm
@DawginLex
Well said.
WATCHGATE
July 14th, 2011
4:33 pm
I bet bey-bey drop the watch anyway
iTiSi
July 14th, 2011
4:33 pm
You just know if USC, Ohio State, and Ga Tech were all found guilty, that Auburn is next. When that shoe drops it will be a big one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s why it’s taking so long.
AtlTech2001
July 14th, 2011
4:33 pm
the thing isn’t the small amount of money for that player, but the fact that our administration tried to gain a competitive advantage by playing him when we knew he was being looked at. Johnson knew this. he made the decision to cover it up and the admin. lied to the ncaa not good
Buckeye
July 14th, 2011
4:34 pm
Nebraska Big 10 Champs,
First, we’ll see about that, won’t we?
Second, good to see you join the fray down here in SECville. It’s a tough crowd but a lot of fun along with a lot of stupidity on this blog, especially from the dog fans (6-7, Liberty Bowl Loser, “Dream” teamer, Fulmer Cupper but I digress).
Hope springs eternal in Athens but these guys are mostly delusional relative to there place in the hierarchy of top programs.
If you haven’t been shooed away or told we don’t care about Nebraska/Big 10 on this blog you haven’t been trying hard enough.
Look forward to our meeting in Norman!
JB
July 14th, 2011
4:34 pm
I’m saying this calls for a country song. Lying,cheating, Covering up. It’s easy to put a few words together. We need a tune. Ya’ll help me.
headley lamar
July 14th, 2011
4:34 pm
You can’t beat one of our bottom feeders,Georgia
All time SEC Championships.
Alabama 22
Tennessee 13
Georgia 12
LSU 10
Florida 8
Auburn 7
In now way whatsoever has UGA ever been or will ever be a “bottom feeder” in the SEC
iTiSi
July 14th, 2011
4:35 pm
HarveyUpDyke, looks like you and I were on the same wavelength just a minute apart.
tekphan
July 14th, 2011
4:35 pm
I have been a loyal GT fan for years. I am thoroughly disgusted with the athletic program, the way alumni are treated with regard to bowl tickets and seating is ridiculous. The very fact that they can even sell out our home stadium seats, should be a huge warning for the AD et al….I am very sorry I renewed my 30+ years of season tickets. This will be the LAST for me. My family has been loyal for years and this is the last straw. Paul Hewitt should have been fired at least 2 seasons ago. Now we have cover ups of NCAA violations. I am sick of keeping the faith as a GT fan. Georgia Tech-You have now lost a loyal family
UGASlobberknocker
July 14th, 2011
4:35 pm
Tech cant even cheat properly. Then when they do cheat , they still suck.
GT Dork
July 14th, 2011
4:35 pm
Ok, we’ll take the probation and the vacated wins, just please don’t take “Zombie Nation” from us!
Beast from the East
July 14th, 2011
4:36 pm
Any program can have kids make stupid decisions at any time. Whoever is responsible for trying to cover it up should be fired immediately. If Tech doesn’t do that, then I say make them repay all the monies they received for the ACCCG and the Orange Bowl. This is an administration issue…..not about a kid getting $300 worth of stuff.
ZachKlien
July 14th, 2011
4:37 pm
So tech basketball and football cheated and covered up lies, I am assuming tech baseball did as well? I’m on the case, texting Danny Hall as we speak.
Damon
July 14th, 2011
4:37 pm
Were there any gold panties involved in this fiasco?
JB
July 14th, 2011
4:37 pm
Should of banned them yellow wigs for a year and really hit’em where it hurts.
Buckeye
July 14th, 2011
4:37 pm
I think the NCAA should go ahead and vacate the entire history of college football. Then, they’d have no more reason to investigate and vacate the past.
And remember, Chris Weber did not call that time out………………….but Urbane Meyer did.
TIME OUT TIME OUT TIME OUT (Makes ya cringe just thinking about it, ey dogs?)
Always a Jacket
July 14th, 2011
4:38 pm
Mark
Please find out the following;
1. Who inside GT communicated with the ‘player’ about the investigation, ie coach Johnson, or someone under him. Was it simply a miscommunication or was there intent to ‘coach’ the player’s responses to the NCAA. No one can have an informed opinion if we don’t know the details. If there was intent to ‘coach’ the player’s reponse’s this is reason for head coach to resign and YES, we are embarrassed. If it was miscommunication, then it needs to be explained and there needs to be an appeal.
2. Given the basketball violations under Hewitt, does this have an impact on the future salary payments to Hewitt?
DawginLex
July 14th, 2011
4:38 pm
Beast you are dead on
$312 ain’t the issue
DIT
July 14th, 2011
4:38 pm
@ Beast… – Well said!
NCAA Critic
July 14th, 2011
4:38 pm
I still think that the cost/benefit ratio still favors “cheating” for major football programs. There is too much money to be gained to not try to bend or hide from the rules. Also, it doesn’t help that the rules are borderline ridiculous at times.
It would be easier to chuckle at GT’s situation if I was confident that my Bulldogs were squeaky clean.
Big Ol Stinger
July 14th, 2011
4:38 pm
If we’re going to cheat like the big boys, then win like the big boys damnit. Give ‘em signing bonuses, Z cars, tattoes, whatever it takes to get the 5 stars on campus.
Just don’t get caught, and if you do, don’t cover it up for God’s sake.
And congratulations to Clemson.
Get It Straight
July 14th, 2011
4:39 pm
I would like to know who the General Counsel was. I sure as heck would never want that idiot representing me. D-Rad screwed up period. I hope that he gets his azz kicked too. The compliance officer was also an idiot.
JB
July 14th, 2011
4:39 pm
Beast, you are correct. somebody with some authority looked the other way.
Eric
July 14th, 2011
4:39 pm
hahaha yes!!!!! gt fans keep talking trash to uga fans to make yourselves sound even worse. honestly, this doesn’t really affect you that much because your recruiting classes suck anyways. it sucks to not be the perfect angels of college football like all you idiots have always asserted. gt was a joke before this, and they;re going to be a bigger joke now.
DawginLex
July 14th, 2011
4:39 pm
As Dawg fans we should be somewhat concerned though
As Jackie Sherrill said “The more NCAA investigations, the closer you are to a national title.”
GT65
July 14th, 2011
4:40 pm
I love GT~~~~but if we are guilty, fire the ones responsible, pay the fine and make damn sure we don’t screw up again.
JoeFan
July 14th, 2011
4:40 pm
These penalties are all based upon circumstantial evidence and likely will be overturned on appeal. The NCCA has no real evidence and only stated there “appears to be” disregard of the pre-interview directive. As for the basketball violation still don’t understand where this came from but if CPH was involved then GT may be able to eliminate his buyout. So maybe there is some good news out of all this.
DawginLex
July 14th, 2011
4:40 pm
Strikes me as funny as to the makeup of the committee
A guy from the SEC
A guy from Oregon
I guess crooks do know how to spot em better????????????
Tutor
July 14th, 2011
4:41 pm
When you do something bad always say “the other guys are dirtier”. That makes it OK.
RedandBlackDAWG
July 14th, 2011
4:41 pm
Big Ten champions,
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/758540-nebraska-football-add-cornhuskers-to-the-list-of-ncaa-violatorshttp://bleacherreport.com/articles/758540-nebraska-football-add-cornhuskers-to-the-list-of-ncaa-violators
Waterboy
July 14th, 2011
4:41 pm
James Harrison and mama say that the NCAA is the devil!
UGASlobberknocker
July 14th, 2011
4:41 pm
What did we do wrong to get the Nebraska dude hanging on this board?
1/who cares about the Big 10? nobody
2/who cares about Nebraska except the 12 people who live there? nobody
3/ why does Nebraska think they are so great when they havent been worth a crap in 15 years? I dont know
4/why do Nebraska fans like to trash talk on this board? . I guess because other than shucking corn, what the hell else is there to do in Nebraska?
5/ when are they going to enlarge that tiny stadium they have? it would rank in the lower half of the SEC capacity wise.
6/on second thought, maybe hold off on that stadium expansion with home games like Minnestoa and Indiana every year woooooo!
re:AlwaysAJacket
July 14th, 2011
4:41 pm
Bottom line is AJC reporters could not expose this story early, why would the be able to answer the points you raised? I’m just glad Hewitt is gone!
NCAA= DISGUST.
July 14th, 2011
4:42 pm
I don’t care who you are or what team you pull for. The NCAA has become nothing but organized crime. They are like the mob. If they aren’t getting their cut they lean on you. At some point enough has got to be enough. What will it take to make the nessecary changes to allow theses kids some sort of compensation?
Actually
July 14th, 2011
4:43 pm
This is almost like a burgler getting caught for stealing 75 cents!
Buckeye
July 14th, 2011
4:43 pm
Nebraska,
And know this, It it’s not a positive for the dogs they ride the SEC coatails….. You know, it’s the entoire conference vs. Ohio State.
Here’s one for you dog people, Ohio State AND Nebraska will out rank you at season’s end.
Glass House Rocker
July 14th, 2011
4:43 pm
What was the final score? Jan Kemp $23,000,000 – UGA 0?
headley lamar
July 14th, 2011
4:44 pm
Hope springs eternal in Athens but these guys are mostly delusional relative to there place in the hierarchy of top programs.
Team↓ Won↓ Lost↓ Tied↓ Pct.↓ Years↓ Total Games↓ Conference↓
Michigan 877 302 36 .736 131 1216 Big Ten
Texas 845 318 33 .720 115 1196 Big 12
Notre Dame 837 292 42 .732 119 1173 Independent
Nebraska 832 341 40 .701 118 1208 Big 12 Big Ten in 2011
Penn State 811 351 42 .691 122 1204 Big Ten
Oklahoma 802 302 53 .716 115 1157 Big 12
Ohio State 797 308 53 .717 118 1180 Big Ten
Alabama 792 308 44 .695 113 1172 SEC
Tennessee 773 327 55 .694 111 1153 SEC
USC 761 307 54 .694 115 1132 Pac 10
Georgia 732 389 54 .646 117 1175 SEC
Id say being 11th all time NCAA in wins puts us pretty much at the top of the hierarchy.
GT77
July 14th, 2011
4:44 pm
Hopefully this will speed up Johnson’s departure…he will leave us totally devoid of bonafide Div I athletes…
o_well
July 14th, 2011
4:44 pm
NCAA= Union, that tells it all.
GT
July 14th, 2011
4:44 pm
Last year was a strange year, this year may be stranger. Tech generally does not have the kind of players to cheat. I mean by the end of last year we could not find a man on the team that could field a punt. Our best backs have been transfers from other schools where they could make the grade, with the exception of Dwyer. I think the NCAA should save itself some trouble. If a team like Tech or Georiga are so bad they can’t even have a winning year and the amount of the money is less than 500 dollars save the investigators for the Auburns and Ohio States. One more thing. A lot of Johnson critics claimed Johnson won with Gailey’s talent and since Johnson has been here he doesn’t recruit the talent Gailey does. Maybe there is now a reason for that. Johnson does not need this kind of talent to win.
phil
July 14th, 2011
4:44 pm
AtlTech2001
July 14th, 2011
4:33 pm
the thing isn’t the small amount of money for that player, but the fact that our administration tried to gain a competitive advantage by playing him when we knew he was being looked at. Johnson knew this. he made the decision to cover it up and the admin. lied to the ncaa not good
***************************************
Finally, a Techster who can admit reality…
Eric
July 14th, 2011
4:44 pm
hahahaha yesssss! all you techie nerds keep talking trash to all us uga fans. you sound great! don’t worry, these sanctions won’t affect the gt program in any way. your recruiting classes were a joke already! i bet you all are so shocked to find out that gt isn’t the perfect, law-abiding athletic program that all you idiots thought it was. sad day for gt. my condolences…