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
TomB
July 19th, 2011
11:39 pm
The question to ask Mark is what is the role of the NCAA? Does it enforce their rules or does it matter how you play the game.If it is to enforce the rules then it would stand to question how a school with major violations gets fewer years probation than the school with a secondary violation. The NCAA should be judged on how it enforces the rules. It should be that simple and the reason the NCAA today is a joke and why everyone should write their congressman and demand changes to this highly political organization. But, until that happens lets all take Marks advise and hire the best lawyers and compliance staff and then cheat, cheat cheat.
Tossed Salad
July 19th, 2011
11:42 pm
It’s obvious most of you Tech guys are nerds, but do you have to be little b*tches, also?
TheAntiMe
July 19th, 2011
11:46 pm
The NCAA bylaws are like the IRS tax code. Even if you don’t cheat or violate the spirit of the law, there are a zillion other spiderweb laws that the NCAA can get you on. And if you somehow manage to steer clear of violating those, then the NCAA will just say that you are guilty of something because they can.
Paul in RDU
July 19th, 2011
11:50 pm
TheAntiMe
If the NCAA bylaws are like the IRS tax code, wouldn’t that suggest that you needed an expert in NCAA bylaws on staff in the Athletic Association? In most schools they call these people the compliance officer and legal advisor. At GT they call them resigned (to go to Auburn) and retired.
TechBury
July 19th, 2011
11:52 pm
I agree with the sensible comments on this post. BTW Mutt fans not only are you embarrassing the UGA progrem by commenting here, but your former head coach is potentially looking at some quality jail time. Is this a product of the UGA program or an aberration?
Daniel LaRusso
July 19th, 2011
11:59 pm
Tossed Salad…you & your boyfriend “Sensei John Kreese” better watch your mouths or Mr. Miaggi & myself will kick your butts!
Somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe
July 20th, 2011
12:05 am
It isn’t arrogant if it’s true, coloradodawg. #duh
Kiss up
July 20th, 2011
12:33 am
So what you are saying is that it isn’t what they Ga. Tech did but just the fact they didn’t kiss up. For not kissing NCAA’s butt they get slapped upside the head.
What the NCAA needs is a swift kick in the ………….
Tech
July 20th, 2011
12:34 am
DRAD messed up. It’s over. Let’s move on. I still hate Georgia.
Tech Engineer
July 20th, 2011
12:49 am
ADRad embarassed Ga Tech in a big way.
Chris
July 20th, 2011
12:58 am
And Georgia Tech are still acting out. Carrying on and talking about they championship is still in the closet and all that bush league behavior.
jumbo dumbo gumbo
July 20th, 2011
1:15 am
LSU can go blank themselves and so can the rest of the SEC including that so called national chumps, Auburn. Good luck with that Paul Parker working for you. Probably the one who helped Cam’s father in the big payday. Watch when NCAA comes after him and all of you. Note to Paul Parker, your day is coming. Wonder who will hire you after it is all said and done.
RED DOG 77
July 20th, 2011
1:35 am
@Bradley……..You know I’m not a big fan of yours, but this one was indeed a thing of beauty!………….I will go so far as to say , it takes away an “honest” truck load of your other so-called stories………..Best Regards, RED
SEC Rules
July 20th, 2011
3:08 am
Another case of the Rich staying rich and the mediocre/poor staying mediocre and poor. The NCAA wasnt about to hurt its cash cow which is the SEC. Auburn and now LSU get off and the ACC gets hammered. LOL
Buzz 2011
July 20th, 2011
5:14 am
Chew on Dawg bone Bark Badley.. We will see your loving Dawgs in Atlanta.. I won’t be a dream this Bark!!
dawgfan
July 20th, 2011
5:37 am
Am I the only one that noticed all the empty seats in that photograph of the press conference? LMAO. Its like one of their football games. Nobody cares. Look at the dude sitting across the aisle from Paul Johnson. He’s probably playing solitaire.
Georgia Tech=Nobody cares.
Thanks.
1962 DAWG
July 20th, 2011
6:24 am
Tech fans:
Thomas admitted taking the clothing in his interview with the NCAA in 2009 which was wrong. This = Guilty.
What don’t you Tech people understand about this interview?
The NCAA warned you not to play Thomas. If the Tech coaches would have complied this problem would have went away with minor penalties.
What did Tech gain by playing Thomas? 1 win against a conference foe in the ACC.
LSU did the right thing, offering up whatever info the NCAA asked for, plus getting rid of the guilty coach that started the problem at LSU.
Same thing that happened in the AJ Green case last season.
UGA was told by the NCAA that it was in their best interest to hold AJ out of the opening game last season while investigations were on going, UGA agreed and were punished with an additional 3 game suspension.
Tech folks should look up the word COMPLIANCE and get a definition.
GTPak
July 20th, 2011
6:28 am
So how did LSU fully cooperate while being proactive in investigating. It sounds like more than their AD and President knew an investigation was in progress. So why was their proactive activities not considered obstructionist by the NCAA?
How do you investigate without letting your coach know what is going on? How do you suspend players (even thought the NCAA said they could play) without telling the players?
Whose contorted logic is all of this?
Mark, why didn’t you raise these questions, instead of saying this an an example to follow. I think the NCAA needs to respond about how to be proactive without telling anyone.
Scam Newton
July 20th, 2011
6:31 am
NCAA is a joke…. I don’t like Tech but give me a break… Different strokes for different folks…
Gen Neyland
July 20th, 2011
6:49 am
JAMA reports doctors at John Hopkins have found attempts to second guess judgement by the NCAA to be the root cause for ulcers, migraines, liver spots and baldness. There is an elixir known as 12 year Scotch which may ease the pain ..
JASon
July 20th, 2011
6:54 am
Paul Johnson is an arrogant, I-know-better-than-you type. This could not have happened to a better person. This is a major, major story, and tech has come off looking really bad through this whole thing.
ASG = JERKS
July 20th, 2011
6:56 am
Gtu even sucks at cheating.
ASG = JERKS
July 20th, 2011
6:58 am
If it wasn’t for Gtu general “arrogance” they might not have these problems.
» SEC: Media Days open with NCAA topic of discussion John Clay’s Sidelines
July 20th, 2011
7:34 am
[...] LSU showed how to handle the NCAA, writes Mark Bradley [...]
RedandBlackDAWG
July 20th, 2011
7:35 am
Seems to me that the NCAA made a point in these two instances. “Help me and I can help you”. LSU knew it had done something wrong, as well as tech. did. LSU penalized itself and got it’s complaince dept. to examine the incidents and recommend corrective actions, which they took. Tech. had a lawyer, advising the AD, whom it would appear was not qualified to do so. If Tech. did not feel it was wrong, they would have felt no need to hire three more people for their compliance dept. It is time to move on and just insure the same mistakes are not made again. We can complain all we wish about the NCAA, but all of the member schools bought into their philosophy and joined, so you live with the beast you feed.
btgt69
July 20th, 2011
7:36 am
does anyone know who the “whistle blower” is. Just curious as to how this all got started. I repeat that Drad and Bud should pay the fine from their salaries.
gman
July 20th, 2011
7:44 am
memo to bradley: fu
Flatulent Old Dawg
July 20th, 2011
7:49 am
Being arrogant and sanctimonious is no excuse Tech, if it was Auburn would be head of the class!!!!!
Alabama Jack
July 20th, 2011
8:04 am
Memo to Mark Bradley:
stuff it.
Sincerely
KeithB
July 20th, 2011
8:09 am
Really? LSU got hammered worse. GT didn’t lose any scholarships. LSU needs all the scholarships they can get to keep up with Bama and Auburn. GT was stripped of something that everyone knows they already won. Big deal. It won’t affect their future (not that the future is blinding).
Thomas
July 20th, 2011
8:09 am
Under the same theory if a Tech rep would have given the NCAA reps a bj or two Tech would have been given 10 extra scholarships and a exclusive ESPN contract.
gt45
July 20th, 2011
8:11 am
There are AD’s and Da’s, Mark. Wonder what category you fit under?
Coach Hewitt
July 20th, 2011
8:15 am
GREAT article Mr. Bradley, spot on. You’re 100% right in your assessment of this subject. Again, Fantastic work sir…Paul…
atlTIGER
July 20th, 2011
8:22 am
Hey PerimeterCenterJacket, I am an LSU fan, not clemson….moron and yes we whooped your techies on the field and now off. butt hurt tech fans make me suck.
GTPUG
July 20th, 2011
8:25 am
Mark,
Stop drinking on the job – - if Dan was at LSU still he would of handle the situation there the same way he handled it at Tech – - I see nothing wrong in what he did in mentioning this to his head football coach – it shows respect and the NCAA knows they got this wrong – the appeal process will fix the problem – - APPEAL!!!!!!!! Also to all the pup fans your day is coming from the NCAA.
THWG!!!!!!!!!!!!
rduck
July 20th, 2011
8:27 am
You gotta love how Mark wrote a column just before this one on “why do we still love college footbal” listing so many things that are wrong with how the system works and then writes a story saying Tech should have towed the line. Way to be hypocritical there Mark. Journalistic integrity should be the focus of your next article…
Thomas
July 20th, 2011
8:33 am
Using the same logic if Tech would have taken the NCAA reps to the Cheetah Tech would have 10 extra scholarships and an exclusive ESPN contract.
Jacket Man Regardless!
July 20th, 2011
8:34 am
More AJC crap!
Tennis Rodman
July 20th, 2011
8:38 am
Mark: Nice job. Gtu Nerd football is terrible and their academics are equally as bad.
Joel
July 20th, 2011
8:42 am
It’s interesting to see the ajc completely gloss over the fact that it completely missed this story. Is there any internal dialogue within the sports department on how GT could have had a hearing several months ago and you all found out about it at the same time the public did? What a massive failure by the local news to do their jobs and uncover news.
Objective
July 20th, 2011
8:45 am
Tech’s reaction was the same as just about all programs would have had with the infraction occurring right before their arch-rival game, conference championship game and BCS Bowl.
If the player never wore the clothes or kept them, where is the foul?
A “friend” pulled one on him.
The NCAA is full of it.
Players who worked for the Championship should not be punished because they did not like the AD.
RambleOn84
July 20th, 2011
8:46 am
To all the people saying Tech should have reported…
How exactly were they supposed to know something happened? Should they take note every time a player is wearing a different shirt and require them to present a receipt for it?
Even if Tech had this stance, it wouldn’t have worked…Thomas never wore the clothes outside of the shoes.
But I’m sure St. Mark Richt does this with his players…he runs such a tight ship up in Athens, right?
Sutton's Fro
July 20th, 2011
8:47 am
How can I get a job as an AJC blogger??!! You can write the any lame/idiotic thing you want, give “Kudos” to the first commenter, and then ignore every other comment made about your column. And then collect what I’m sure is a very nice paycheck!
MB, don’t ever write about Sharp in Detroit (or any other blogger) writing shock (schlock) columns just to get page views again…you are either the pot or the kettle in this situation.
VC
July 20th, 2011
8:56 am
Well said GT GRAD! I agree 100% and I think the NCAA with their investigation of the Cam Newton situation was due to all the revenue that they would gain for the National Championship game. This continues to make GT sound like they didn’t cooperate when the only non-compliance was that DRAD told Johnson about the investigation which I think most AD’s would have also done to keep that relationship intact. Besides, is the NCAA a bunch of “girls”? I’ll tell you but you can’t tell so and so?
GT
July 20th, 2011
8:58 am
Mark I find you tone deaf in this. The reason LSU reacted the way they did is because they understood they had violated the rules. When there is a dead body on the floor and a smoking gun in your hand, any damage control at all is an improvement in your position. Now since the “killer” has handled himself admirably and been polite he is given his gun back. Is the purpose of the NCAA to run a school of etiquette or at the end of the day to make sure the real violators are punished.
Tech hard as it may seem did not think it had done anything wrong. They didn’t feel they needed to kiss the rump of the NCAA over 312 dollars that is deputed in the first place. Maybe next time they can just give the 100,000 to a Cam Newton type ballplayer and be real polite and get more for their money and less time for the crime. Innocent people act differently in a plea bargaining situation.
Tennis Rodman
July 20th, 2011
9:02 am
Boy, you NERDS sure do get upset when you get caught with your pants down pleasuring yourself.
Jonah
July 20th, 2011
9:02 am
Mark,
Tech clearly had plenty more they were hiding. They were very fortunate to get the little bit that they did. If the NCAA deemed Tech a successful program they would have thrown the book at them for not allowing investigators on campus, so obviously they were covering up much more. But since in fact it is only GT, the NCAA figured their sheer existence is punishment enough.
St. Richt
July 20th, 2011
9:07 am
Exactly, GT. Mark Bradley obviously doesn’t understand the difference between LSU knowing they violated the rules and GT being highly skeptical that any rules were broken. Even the NCAA has said that they had no concrete evidence whereas there was a full audit trail of the improprieties at LSU. These cases are night and day. And as others have said, LSU got points for sucking up to the NCAA- which they had to do because they KNEW they had screwed up. And Tech gets hammered for not rolling over.. Great work NCAA! You’re an absolute joke.
rocketide
July 20th, 2011
9:14 am
So its OK to buy a player as long as you make nice with the NC2A
WnE...
July 20th, 2011
9:17 am
The NCAA didn’t do anything to impact Georgia Tech going forward. They didn’t touch scholarships, they didn’t restrict coaches’ recruiting efforts, they didn’t sanction them in any way. The only lasting effects are the removal of a banner, the stuffing of a trophy into a coat closet, probation, and a fine. Now, I suppose you can make the argument that $100,000 could cripple the Yellow Jacket program, but in all seriousness, Tech 2011 hasn’t been damaged in any way. Will the probation scare away recruits? Probably not any more than the triple option has…