Memo to Georgia Tech: LSU shows how to handle the NCAA
Georgia Tech could have spared itself by being nicer. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
Here’s a quote that should be posted on the wall of the Edge Center, which is the official name of the building that houses Georgia Tech’s athletic association. It comes from LSU chancellor Michael Martin in the wake of his school’s NCAA sanctions, which were announced Tuesday:
“A situation that could have been much worse was made better by the dedicated work of the LSU athletics compliance staff and I am pleased that the NCAA recognized LSU’s effort to cooperate and be proactive. The compliance staff … made an exemplary showing of how a university should react when mistakes are made.”
To recap: LSU was found guilty of major violations involving former assistant coach D.J. McCarthy, who’d been recruiting JUCO transfer Akiem Hicks. For this, the NCAA placed the Tigers on one year’s probation.
Point of comparison: Georgia Tech took what should have been a secondary violation and turned it into four years’ probation, a $100,000 fine and a forfeited conference championship.
The difference: LSU made a concerted attempt to find out what was what. Indeed, committee on infractions chairman Dennis Thomas pointed to Miriam Segar, the school’s associate AD, and her efforts to dig into a messy situation. Said Thomas: “That was critical. If that had not been done, the institution could have really been under more severe and serious penalties as well.”
LSU, to borrow from Sir Paul McCartney, took a sad song and made it better. Georgia Tech took what the NCAA described as an “obstructionist” stance and got slapped down. Two case studies, I’d call these.
Oh, and where did Dan Radakovich work before being hired as Tech’s athletic director in 2006? At LSU.
By Mark Bradley
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290 comments Add your comment
Somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe
July 19th, 2011
8:44 pm
Seriously, Steve? You’re lecturing me on originality? You made the same tired “joke” that’s been made a thousand times before.
I explained it by pointing out that UGA has a lot of Wal-Mart fans. And they do.
JB
July 19th, 2011
8:44 pm
I this this Dunwoody mom has posters of Chisik all over her laundry room…LOL
Poopdawg
July 19th, 2011
8:45 pm
I don’t care if Tech hung the phone up on the NCCA every time they called the PUNISHMENT does not fit the CRIME! Bradley you suck!
dawg4u
July 19th, 2011
8:45 pm
It would seem that the NCAA is making an example out of GT. I am a dawg fan and have been reading some of the comments by the AD and PJ and think that Tech is just getting totally screwed in this ruling. If I am your boss or friend and I know that you are being investigated then I am going to tell you as a friend or co-worker. 312 dollars and a guy that may or may not have been eligible plus the appearance of not “cooperating” with the all powerful NCAA results in a punishment that does not fit the crime if in fact a crime was committed by Tech. I guess the lesson here is to know how to kiss the ring or another body part of the NCAA in order to lessen the punishment which LSU certainly knows how to do and GT doesn’t. The IRS has the Fair tax argument against it. We need some system that would abolish the NCAA – an alternative in the sports world to this disgraceful body.
atlTIGER
July 19th, 2011
8:46 pm
GT fans are butt hurt. That is all.
Somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe
July 19th, 2011
8:46 pm
I guess then all the folks that fought for civil rights for 100 years should have just submitted to authority, right JB? I mean, it makes no sense to fight for what you believe is right.
Godzirra
July 19th, 2011
8:47 pm
Waaaaaaaaaaaa!
GT65UGA89
July 19th, 2011
8:48 pm
Memo to Bradley:
For someone –a sports columnist no less– who knew nothing about this for some 20 months, you sure are popping your mouth off now about it now …making up for lost time I suppose.
Outcomes of NCAA investigations should be based upon the evidence that is uncovered –or in the case of this investigation involving Georgia Tech, the evidence that wasn’t uncovered. Critical NCAA decisions on scholarships, bowl games, wins and losses and conference championships should not be based upon who did –or who did not– play nicey nice with NCAA investigators.
I’m actually surprised at your stance on this one Mark.
GT65UGA89
PerimeterCenterJacket
July 19th, 2011
8:48 pm
atlTIGER, certainly not by anyone you root for. I don’t remember the last time we lost to any Tigers from Alabama (beat AU last 3 times we’ve played them…look it up). It’s a shame we don’t schedule you more. It’s a traditional rivalry for both of us, and frankly you’re a team we all still love to hate. I’d love to give Tech the same shot Clemson had of derailing that sparkly season yall bought last year!
Paul Johnson's Arrogance is a Disgrace
July 19th, 2011
8:48 pm
Once again “Fish Fry” Johnson’s arrogance is out of control. Is there any wonder why the NCAA deemed Tech difficult to deal with and arrogant during the NCAA investigation. CPJ and the attorney that Tech ran off are the two main culprits. Any chance that Tech had for an appeal just went away with “Big Mouth” Johnson. Onw has to wonder, does CPJ have a filter on his mouth. What a JERK!!!!
Somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe
July 19th, 2011
8:48 pm
Very fair post, dawg4u.
I’m bothered by many of the UGA fans that think the punishment is just because it happened to Tech. I’d be fine with people who thought the punishment was reasonable and could defend the position. I’m not fine with people who can’t get past the laundry. If it happened to Tech, it can happen to your team. And that should scare the hell out of you.
Lanier
July 19th, 2011
8:50 pm
To dawgs fans, I think you can sympathize with us with the NCAA giving out punishments not fitting of the crime- see AJ being suspended 4 games for selling his jersey, and then y’all lose 3 of those games, possibly having a different outcome with him playing.
JB
July 19th, 2011
8:50 pm
There is a group of College Presidents who rule over the NCAA and represent all NCAA athletics and schools, and with the hammer they have, and have been given, they can’t control all of college Athletics as it is now. If anything, you’ll see the screws get tighter, not the other way around.
Somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe
July 19th, 2011
8:51 pm
Get past the laundry, Arrogance. If you can’t analyze the facts here and think to yourself that it can happen to any other team, then I don’t know what to tell you.
Tigers58
July 19th, 2011
8:52 pm
Some of you guys are straight up fools. Please know the facts before making accusations.
First of all, the NCAA didn’t find out anything on LSU .. LSU Self reported the issues when they were discovered. Coach McCartny resigned (was fired) when it was discovered he was providing lodging as well as the second phone. Mr. Hicks, the recuit, was never cleared to play by LSU and subsequently left school.
LSU self-imposed scholorship limits, recruiting limits / trips prior to the deision from the NCAA. Now that the NCAA has responded .. LSU actually gets 2 of the scholorships back. All other self imposed santions were lef tin place and a 1 year probation period added.
It’s different because LSU caught the situation .. took swift action (both people involved removed from the school).. notified the NCAA of the situation .. and self imposed penalties. We hid nothing .. this has been in the waiting room for a while, it is not new news.
Chan Gayley
July 19th, 2011
8:52 pm
I am going to recommend to AD Dan Rado to make reliable Reggie Ball GT’s new Compliance Director.
bamaguy
July 19th, 2011
8:54 pm
Reggie Bush had an agent buy his mama a house and USC got games vacated and a trophy returned a Tech player gets a $312 watch and t-shirt and gets the same thing. Someone ’splain that to me?
Worm
July 19th, 2011
8:54 pm
Paul johnson is a backwoods buffon from a one redlight town in the NC. mountains..A poor man’s Jerry Glanville.
Bobby Hebert
July 19th, 2011
8:55 pm
Bottom line is, this recruit Hicks never even stepped on a football field for LSU in any official capacity. Any comparison of this to the Cam Newton and Terrel Pryor fiascos are illogical and absurd.
JB
July 19th, 2011
8:55 pm
Johnson will be at a small school in 2 or 3 years. He really belongs there, as Tech will see over the next two years I’m afraid.
Somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe
July 19th, 2011
8:55 pm
Might be true, Worm. But he’s a backwoods buffoon with a bank account you’ll never have. You’re just a backwoods buffoon.
Somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe
July 19th, 2011
8:56 pm
I think we’ll roll the dice with him, JB.
bamaguy
July 19th, 2011
8:56 pm
Reggie Bush’s mama got a house and USC got vacated wins and a returned trophy. Tech got $312 and got the same thing. Sounds fair to me.
techfan
July 19th, 2011
8:57 pm
So cooperation is more important then what you are actually being investigated for. That is a great message for the NCAA to send. Don’t act surprised Mark when Ohio State gets a punishment similar to LSU because of how cooperative they were.
GO TECH
July 19th, 2011
8:57 pm
Mark,
Is it okay to cheat as long as you are good at it? That seems to be the message the AJC and many national commentators are pushing. Convince the NCAA you are sincere and you can get away with murder. LSU runs one of the dirtiest programs in the country. LSU fans will tell you that. I am not being an apologist for Tech. If you do wrong, you will be punished. There is a culture of personal accountability at TECH and you wont find many apologists there. But when you look at the landscape of college football, rule breaking occurs at scandalous levels on a daily basis at Auburn, Alabama, and the like. They are just better at cheating and the NCAA doesn’t have the stones to go after the big boys. That makes the NCAA no better than those programs. If you ranked teams honestly in terms of the level of cheating that occurs, where would you put TECH? Honest question, because I know that you are an insider. My biased opinion from being a fan and alumnus is that we run one of the fundamentally cleanest programs in the country. I’d like to hear what you think. Thanks.
JB
July 19th, 2011
8:58 pm
LSU did call the NCAA and self reported……………….Tech would have been wise to do the same…3 days before the Georgia game with a BCS bowl and a ACC title on the line… LOL……………..Do what’s right………………..or?
JB
July 19th, 2011
8:59 pm
That you are Bowie
doc
July 19th, 2011
9:02 pm
at docsbro, good stuff. heh heh
mark, the ncaa should represent the athlete and protect the “amateurism” in the sport. they have truly lost their way and you too as you continue to grind on this one and not point to the hypocrisy and money behind all this. in no way does this relate to the player on the field. it is only about playing a power game by the ncaa.
i hope, after all is said and done, after the fiasco at ohio state, oregon and auburn, the ncaa would have learned their own lessons and been more proactive to keep the big dogs off the field for the bowl games. now why didnt they assume guilt in those cases and in tech’s case they seemed to have? answer that one mark, honestly. i hope once the air is cleared and you have buried the hachet in something other than rad’s back you will do some investigating or see it done to come up with the real story. this is just to blow smoke around and cloud their field of vision. still laugh at a university president saying he hopes the football coach doesnt fire him. i think at tech the priorities are better than that. amazing that osu pres guy and the a d smith still have jobs. that offense is much worse than dui for evans as it suggests a lack of integrity throughout the university not within an individual’s loss of personal judgment. go after the big guys mark.
Bill
July 19th, 2011
9:05 pm
To
NCAA TP
Lsu is a moneymaker??
See USC… The NCAA destroyed USC and they are one of the biggest moneymakers in the country.
Dumbest argument ever… Try again.
Tom
July 19th, 2011
9:05 pm
LSU sucked up.
GaTech sucks.
It appears that the Bayou Bengals have now beaten the Techsters off the field as well
Seriously
July 19th, 2011
9:06 pm
obviously the GT folks forget…UGA suspended A J and still had to sit him for four games. NCAA doesnt care who you are…break a rule and you get slapped.
dawgfan
July 19th, 2011
9:07 pm
The dice have already been rolled Techie. You’ve won a mediocre 65% of your games with Big Mouth as your coach. You are 1-2 vs. Georgia and 0-3 in bowl games. You had an All Crap Conference title but the NCAA took it away from you because you are arrogant, self-rigtheous, and they just didn’t like your punk azz attitude. So what has CPJ done that is so awesome and wonderful? Please enlighten me Techies.
Bill
July 19th, 2011
9:08 pm
Bottom line is we handled it better than any of the other schools who got punished did.
gtfanfrom1951
July 19th, 2011
9:09 pm
Mark this low even for you. NCAA is all about the money!!!! Do away with the NCAA!!
Sting'em!
July 19th, 2011
9:10 pm
F@@k you………what was you name again?!
Paul in RDU
July 19th, 2011
9:10 pm
Mark – As someone who has had to deal with arbitrary people with power (try dealing with the INS or the Swiss Border Police sometime), I know the importance of saying “yes sir” to enforcement. GT blew it with their reactions to the NCAA. LSU did the right thing in dealing with the “NCAA cops”.
However, something has gotten out of whack when you get a 1 year probation for a major violation (even self-reported) and a 4 year probation (along with a $100,000 fine, vacated games and championship) for poor responses to inquiries into a minor violation.
Somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe
July 19th, 2011
9:10 pm
UGA suspended AJ for LA-La. The NCAA suspended him for the next three, Seriously.
Ramblin Man
July 19th, 2011
9:11 pm
I give credit to LSU for finding out and reporting the violation, but these are not the same so should not be looked at in the same light. Are you seriously telling me out of all the great recruits LSU has this one kid was the only one worth doing all that crap for. LSU created thief own mess to start an investigation where as GT had no part in thiers. LSU investigated then told the NCAA, GT was not allowed to self investigate as the NCAA did not want them to talk to anybody. This is clearly the NCAA trying to make a point and looking stupid in the process. In my humble opinion this sends the wrong message.
another UGA running back bust
July 19th, 2011
9:12 pm
Hey Dawgfan –you went 6-7 last season and basically got shut out by Central Florida …i repeat –CENTRAL Florida.
Until your team can beat –no, can score a touchdown– against a directional school then STFU fool.
NCAA to announce decision on LSU football investigation - Page 2 - TigerFan.com
July 19th, 2011
9:13 pm
[...] props for LSU: Memo to Georgia Tech: LSU shows how to handle the NCAA | Mark Bradley __________________ "Nothing's more annoying than someone asking a political question [...]
Somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe
July 19th, 2011
9:15 pm
I’m willing to bet last year was an anomaly, dawgfan.
dawgfan
July 19th, 2011
9:20 pm
Here’s another case study Mark.
“I very much regret all that has taken place and the distraction that’s been caused,” Green said. “I’ve learned a valuable lesson and hope others can learn from my mistake. I can only focus my attention now on practicing and looking ahead to getting back with my teammates as quickly as possible.”
AJ Green on getting suspended for FOUR GAMES for selling a stupid jersey with his own name on it. Two words: CLASS ACT.
“If you went out and you did something to gain a competitive advantage, if you knew you cheated or you paid somebody, it might be easier to swallow,” Johnson said. “But when you don’t feel like you’ve done anything wrong, it’s tough to take.”
Paul “Big Mouth” Johnson on Tech’s recent NCAA probation. Three words: CRY BABY CRY.
So there’s your case study folks. A 21 year old college kid has more balls than Tech’s head coach. Why am I not surprised?
Jacob123
July 19th, 2011
9:22 pm
Spot on. LSU found the violation. Fired the coach, dumped the player and Self reported. The NCAA may never have found out. If you turn yourself in or coorporate with law enforcement people, you will find out they are only wanting to do their job like you are. Usully it works.
Ramblin Man
July 19th, 2011
9:24 pm
Dawgfan if you really believe that came from AJ’s mouth and not somebody in public relations then you are dumber than I ever thought. AJ got screwed for something stupid that should have been a slap on the wrist and I am sure he wanted to say that but Richt is good at PR and had that written for him.
GR
July 19th, 2011
9:25 pm
PerimeterCenterJacket repeats the oft repeated malarkey that Alabama was afraid to play Tech, and cancelled the game. How ignorant of him – learn the facts man before commenting.
Keeper
July 19th, 2011
9:26 pm
True story: my Old Man once had his doors blown off in Charleston by a Camaro-driving cop on I-526, but caught up to him at the exit ramp’s red light. (No lights/siren, the cop was just speeding for fun.) We turn onto a 4-lane road, cop gets slowed in right lane by turning traffic, so dad goes around legally in next lane. Annoyed, cop starts aggressively tailgating us, so dad (very stupidly) taps his breaks — sirens flash instantly, of course. Muscle-T, camo pants and gold-chain-wearing officer gives dad a lecture: “You disrespected my authority” and a reckless driving ticket.
Couple months later, we show up in court and explain this to a judge, who proceeds to pull out her dictionary to see if “disrespect” can be used as a verb. (This was 2001, before it became passe – I swear I’m not exaggerating a single detail.) Judge tells us and the chagrined officer that she understands what has transpired here, throws out the ticket.
Moral of the story: don’t piss on a power-tripping egomaniac, especially one with a chip on its shoulder, unless you have a higher and more rational authority to appeal to. NCAA is surpassed by perhaps only FIFA in its assurance of its all-encompassing might, lack of transparency/accountability, and its disdain for all lesser beings who “disrepect their authority.”
dawgfan
July 19th, 2011
9:26 pm
I have no problem listing all of the games we lost last year Techie. Do you have the balls to tell me which teams aren’t on that list Techie? Didn’t think so.
Fair enough Dwayne Bowe. I think it was an anamoly too. I think Big Mouth will be good for about 8 or 9 wins a year on average, but so what? Is anybody supposed to be impressed with that? The ACC is crap. You are 1-5 vs. Georgia and your bowl opponents. That’s about the only time you play anybody worth a crap outside of the ACC and you are getting your nuts handed to you. You couldn’t even beat Kansas last year. Big time? NOT.
Ramblin Man
July 19th, 2011
9:27 pm
Jacob123,
Try again GT found out self imposed and reported the last violation and still got punished worse than LSU just did. This is the NCAA making a statement plain and simple. If you really believe LSU only did this for this one recruit then you are CRAZY.
techfan
July 19th, 2011
9:27 pm
dawgfan, if you can’t realize the difference in the two situations then you need help. Plus I was one of the Tech fans that agreed with most UGA fans who thought AJ’s punishment was pretty excessive. The NCAA certainly isn’t a fan of teams from Georgia. You are also trying way too hard to turn this into a Paul Johnson conversation when he was really just sticking up for his kids.
Realist
July 19th, 2011
9:27 pm
MB – You sir are a piece of sh**
The committee had a couple of folks who were out for blood and trying to find something or other… This was a clear case of a couple of folks on that committee pursuing their own personal agenda and trying to beat down Tech. That said, should we have hired some competent folks to handle this situation. Answer is YES. That’s where we screwed this up… Learn from the mistake and move on. No, self righteous man who knows what is going on around the country related to violations by factory schools would have come down on us this heavily.. This is just a case of NCAA beating up a smaller fan base school that doesnt majorly impact their revenue.