‘Pocket dialing,’ inadvertent texts result in NCAA violations for UGA
“Pocket dialing” and inadvertent text messages have generated a pile of paperwork for Georgia, the SEC and the NCAA the past two months.
According to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday afternoon via the Freedom of Information Act, UGA had to report six secondary violations in five sports since April. Two of those violations were inadvertently committed in one instance last month by head football coach Mark Richt.
In Athletic Director Greg McGarity’s letter of explanation to the SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, dated May 27, he explains that Richt accidentally sent two text messages from his Blackberry to the father of football prospect Jordan Jenkins of Harris County on May 26th (text messages to prospects or their family members are impermissible per NCAA rules until one day after a prospect has signed a national letter of intent with the school). In the first instance, Richt received a text from Ron Jenkins asking for camp dates. Since Richt did not have the number programmed in his phone, the text was identified as “unknown.” Richt intended to forward the text to a recruiting assistant for identification but accidentally replied to Mr. Jenkins, which was a violation NCAA Bylaw 13.4.1.2.
Richt immediately reported the inadvertent violation to compliance director Eric Baumgartner, who subsequently asked if Mr. Jenkins had replied. In an attempt to forward Mr. Jenkins’ response to Baumgartner, Richt accidently replied to Mr. Jenkins again, hence he had to report another text violation.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is how the majority of your schools’ compliance time and resources are spent. During this same time period, UGA had to report:
- Men’s basketball assistant coach Kwanza Johnson sent an impermissible text to prospect Robert Carter of Thomasville on April 25. Johnson immediately reported to the UGA complaince office that he had intended to send the note to Carter via his phone’s email function (email is permissible). Nonetheless, UGA self-imposed a 30-day communication ban in May and prohibited Johnson from phoning prospects for two weeks, which the SEC accepted without adding penalties.
- A softball assistant coach had to report calling a prospect’s mother twice in the same week. The second call was a “pocket dial,” according to the letter of explanation. No further penalties were imposed.
- New volleyball coach Lizzy Stemke self-reported sending what was determined to be an impermissible email to a UGA alum who has a “prospect-aged daughter” in high school. UGA self-imposed a penalty prohibiting it from sending recruiting materials to said prospect for a period 60 days this fall.
- A gymnastics team trainer sent a text to a signee advising her about a medical exam and dorm assignment before her signed national letter-of-intent had been processed. No penalties were extended.
Georgia’s football program has had to report at least two other secondary violations this year. In March, it reported that the use of a “missing-man formation” during Isaiah Crowell’s official visit in January violated the NCAA’s rule forbidding game-day simulations. Also, in February the Bulldogs had to report a violation when former players Randall Godfrey and David Pollack attended the late-January announcement of eventual signee Ray Drew in Thomasville.
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263 comments Add your comment
GDAWG65
June 16th, 2011
12:56 pm
What a waste of time and tax payers money.
Go Dawgs!
June 16th, 2011
12:58 pm
Somebody really needs to teach Mark how to use his Blackberry.
Blackoutanyone?
June 16th, 2011
12:59 pm
I blame oversigning. Seriously these things happen all over the NCAA but for whatever reason the Atlanta media likes reporting the UGA details. Can’t wait for the season to get here. Roll Tide
Monkey on your Back!
June 16th, 2011
1:06 pm
The funny thing is that when it affects “your program” the discussion is how minor the violation is, but when it is some other program it is “cheating” or taking advantage of loop holes. Everyone knows the NCAA is a joke, but you cannot have it both ways.
I am still for dividing up the BCS schools. The schools that want to give stipens, and adding the monetary components to the equation with and academic scholarship, and then have those schools who cannot afford it stay in the old format of scholarship only. The schools that want to add the stipen will have to pay for a full time NCAA employee to work on each campus, review all phone calls, text, hand out the stipens, have access to lockerooms, practices, and any activity that is athletic related. The NCAA employee will be on campus for a 2 year max, rotate them out and bring in a new guy. By doing that the chance of becoming to friendly with a NCAA guy is somewhat eliminated. The current compliance staffs are only given information that the coaches deem they get and there is where the problems lie.
JB
June 16th, 2011
1:20 pm
Notice the AJC took a tough stance on the WR to Auburn story. If they would crack down on these post, we could all talk football….and the haters would be lost.Double edge sword though. They need the hits to sell ads.
JB
June 16th, 2011
1:21 pm
@1;18 …. good example
AltamahaDawg
June 16th, 2011
1:27 pm
Yes I am very well aware of the role of personal interaction as it relates to recruiting. I am also aware as to why this was a violation, and I never claimed otherwise. BUT the “truth” is that a technical violation is a far cry from the troll accusation that this was deliberate attempt to gain an advantage (of which the impact is questionable at best) and then just claimed it was a mistake.
I think a good question is why are categorizing somebody as a blind homer for making a pretty straightforward comment, that everybody knows is true. I would say the exact same thing about your coach. Sounds like you just want this, anything, to be a big negative about Richt, and it really doesn’t matter what the actual story is.
Coach Grohbo
June 16th, 2011
1:32 pm
Can’t say I’m surprised.
The NCAA and FBI need to stop wasting their time in Columbus, Knoxville, and Auburn and go to Athens, Georgia to put an end to the culture of cheating by this desperate Athletic Department.
It is time to make an example of someone and this is the best place to start.
Anthony Weiner
June 16th, 2011
1:34 pm
Pocket dialing can ruin your career.
DawginLex
June 16th, 2011
1:39 pm
Ohio State fan says “Tressel had players getting paid and getting free stuff and selling their stuff for money but Georgia’s coach accidentally dialed his phone that was in his pocket.”
Said with tongue sticking out of mouth and saying MMMMMMMMMMMMM
Auburn fan says “We had players getting serious cash but never did we accidentally sent text messages like Georgia did.” Said with thumbs stuck in ears with the rest of the fingers waving while saying “YEEEEEEEEEEEEE”
Name (required)
June 16th, 2011
1:44 pm
That’s all you got? Gymnastics national championships? I guess if you want to be known as a gymnastics school in a football conference, it’s great. Keep on sucking, Coach Richt…..the rest of the country enjoys laughing at you.
Sam the Sham
June 16th, 2011
1:45 pm
Come on. He accidentally texted the father of a prospect TWICE? I’m sure he didn’t intend to violate NCAA rules, but he ABSOLUTELY INTENDED TO SEND THE 2 TEXTS. Quit insulting our intelligence. It’s like on Maury when the baby mama accidentally had sex and got pregnant.
Dawghater
June 16th, 2011
1:46 pm
New class at UGA. How to turn off you cell phone 101, How do use a Blackberry 101 and How to Read the NCAA rule book 101
Coach Grohbo
June 16th, 2011
1:47 pm
Ohio State, Auburn, Tennessee will fight the NCAA to death in court. It will take years to get anything done. Meanwhile the cheating will continue nearly everywhere else.
Georgia will roll over.
Athens is the place where the NCAA should assert themselves and set the example.
A former QB
June 16th, 2011
2:00 pm
As long as we ( UGA ) do not remodel a home in East Point to resemble the Taj Mahal, like another SEC school did, we will be fine. The FBI is on this and the Victoryland activities of current and former AU players.
The stuff will come out like at Ohio State.
athdog
June 16th, 2011
2:02 pm
You think the NCAA might be due a review of their arcane rules in light of the ‘electronic’ age?
Only words
June 16th, 2011
2:04 pm
Pocket dialing or pockets full of money. Hmmm.
Sort of like robbing a bank or running a stop sign at midnight, after slowing down a little bit. Wrongs do not make it right.
Yes, there are degrees of guilt and that is a fact. Ask Ohio State or the real USC or SMU alums from the 80s.
Hamco
June 16th, 2011
2:04 pm
Someone get Richt checked out on his hardware. I don’t text, twitter or do the twist so I can’t help him out.
Al the Dawg
June 16th, 2011
2:10 pm
1) CMR hit reply instead of forward twice. Once to send the original message to an assistant to identify the sender. The second time it was to send a copy of the original message to the UGA compliance office. An easy mistake to make.
2) These are extremely minor, ticky-tack violations, but they are violations all the same. I would much rather have the head coach immediately reporting anything even remotely out of compliance than having it swept under the rug. A coach at a certain University up north thought that he didn’t have to report “tiny violations” and look where he and his program are at now. Integrity is what you do when nobody is watching.
CecilDawg
June 16th, 2011
2:13 pm
Better check JoePa’a phone log………..
WDE
June 16th, 2011
2:19 pm
@Coach Grohbo are your freaking kidding me?? Your going to have to do better than that just to make a honorable mention in the Troll Power Rankings…your an example..but I’d get banned if I told you of what..
Coach Grohbo
June 16th, 2011
2:22 pm
I’m just so upset that my team sucks so bad! It’s good to see when someone does not know how to text. I sure wish they would fire CMR because he has been kicking our tail too much.
Oh crap, I guess that means if he is sooo bad, that means they could bring in someone even better!! Crap, my techies will never beat UGA.
Uh OH, here comes my sister. I have to leave now. If she catches me on her lap top she will beat me up and make me wear a dress again!!!
Donna Outlaw
June 16th, 2011
2:46 pm
Funny that it took less than 24 hours for the NCAA to “investigate” Scam Newton and allow him to continue playing while the 16 North Carolina players that started last season sitting out the game because of an investigation were still bench sitting at the end of the season. Money talks… Now, 3 years down the road, Auburn will have to forfeit their NC and Scam, who won’t have the class Reggie Bush had, will be returning his Heisman, kicking and screaming all the way…
GA_WISHER-WATCHER
June 16th, 2011
2:49 pm
174th.
Whatchagonna do? NCAA rules so tight a sugar ant can’t get through.
Kudos for self reporting however. If we learn from it, too, it would make life easier.
Jimmy Crack
June 16th, 2011
2:52 pm
Somebody should investigate the NCAA’s investigators.
Lane Kiffen hired hookers for recruits and we get this.
tom
June 16th, 2011
2:53 pm
So, the coach screwed up twice. I will give him the first. The second, NAW! Fire him now. Another wasted season is coming soon.
Budd
June 16th, 2011
2:55 pm
kiffin had 6 in a yr at TN. gawga has six in two mmonths Where is the probabtion?
Shields-Watkins
June 16th, 2011
3:01 pm
Jimmy Crack Corn and the NCAA don’t care about hookers.
That’s a local law enforcement issue.
WDE
June 16th, 2011
3:01 pm
@Budd its coming the NCAA will be dropping the hammer on UT soon which suxs since it was the Lamer that committed the crimes…and Budd it was NOT 6 secondaries they are talking about in UT’s case..grow up.
Bob LaBlah
June 16th, 2011
3:12 pm
Pocket dialing? That is a load of crap. Did his pocket put that text message in there? How pathetic.
DawginLex
June 16th, 2011
3:13 pm
Coach Grohbo,
Are you really THAT stupid?
I know you hate Georgia but do you really believe what you type?
DawginLex
June 16th, 2011
3:14 pm
he explains that Richt accidentally sent two text messages from his Blackberry to the father of football prospect Jordan Jenkins of Harris County on May 26th (text messages to prospects or their family members are impermissible per NCAA rules until one day after a prospect has signed a national letter of intent with the school). In the first instance, Richt received a text from Ron Jenkins asking for camp dates. Since Richt did not have the number programmed in his phone, the text was identified as “unknown.” Richt intended to forward the text to a recruiting assistant for identification but accidentally replied to Mr. Jenkins, which was a violation NCAA Bylaw 13.4.1.2.
Richt immediately reported the inadvertent violation to compliance director Eric Baumgartner, who subsequently asked if Mr. Jenkins had replied. In an attempt to forward Mr. Jenkins’ response to Baumgartner, Richt accidently replied to Mr. Jenkins again, hence he had to report another text violation.
******************************************************
Did they not teach reading comprehension to you bozos at some point during school?
JacketBacker01
June 16th, 2011
3:17 pm
Oops! I sent a text…maybe he didn’t get it…Oops!! I sent another, I hope he got it. Maybe Richt needs to attend one of those “How to use my BB” classes over there.
KZGuy
June 16th, 2011
3:25 pm
Man, we should all be able to sleep soundly tonight knowing that the NCAA is really looking for serious violations. Oh but wait! Ohio State has known major violations and the NCAA delays ‘punishment’ until after the bowl game.
George P. Burdell
June 16th, 2011
3:41 pm
Good grief. This is a college. Aren’t colleges supposed to be places where leading edge technologies are created, used, and taught?
Oh…I forgot. This is UGA.
Never mind.
rs
June 16th, 2011
3:44 pm
this is a big joke
WDE
June 16th, 2011
3:45 pm
@KZGuy stop it your making logical sense and you can be banned for that!
Well, Well...
June 16th, 2011
3:46 pm
It looks as if UGA is cheating as well. With all the stones being thrown at Ohio State and Auburn from UGA fans, I thought uga was squeaky clean. Unles the text messages read gjdkeopagpcuyeesghjelgigauyep, then the text were intentional. Uga is just as dirty as everyone else, sweep your own porch before you worry about everyone else.
WDE
June 16th, 2011
3:49 pm
@ Well, Well… yeppers texting mistakes self reported surely equals multiple violations and a COVERUP…you Sir win the Moron of the Day award..wear it with pride.
Somebody's already said it
June 16th, 2011
4:08 pm
At some point the NCAA is going to hammer UGA/Mark Richt for making these minor mistakes.
To the poster earlier who said that the Sports Talk guy in Montgomery reported as he was signing off that the NCAA had two attorney’s at the hearings in Montgomery. Yes, it was reported on Tuesday that they were in attendance.
shane#1
June 16th, 2011
4:47 pm
The NCAA is made up of university presidents. In other words, academics. Thus they can’t find their butts with both hands, but they can find the money. The rules are many and so complicated that even the NCAA cannot understand them. This means that the NCAA gets to interpet the rules in a way that brings in more money. I wonder how they feel now that Pryor will not serve his five game suspension? What a joke! Did anyone actualy believe that Pryor wasn’t going pro?
B-town Buzz 61
June 16th, 2011
4:48 pm
This just goes to show that when you have historically run a crooked program your every move is watched very closely.
AltamahaDawg
June 16th, 2011
5:00 pm
And what would “hammer” entail?
What they aught to do is make Richt fess up to it, force the university to investigate, have the AD actually have to write a letter to the Conference president explaining what went wrong, and how they intend on fixing it going forwards. You know make the hassle factor of dealing with it disproportionally larger than any actual event. That’ll show em.
7576DAWG
June 16th, 2011
5:10 pm
The NCAA let the five on Ohio State team play in the bowl game last year. Why? I have no idea. The NCAA is a joke and the 5 kids that broke the rules were suppose to serve a five game suspension but all five will not be around.The NCAA went light on Ohio Sate and was stabbed in the back.When they hand out the penalty I hope they will remember how bad Ohio State made them look. PAY BACK IS HELL.
J W
June 16th, 2011
5:26 pm
(1) yes, it is a silly rule, but, a rule nonethless. (2) in compliance with full disclosure guidelines, let’s see a copy of the contents of those messages; only then can it be decided just how “accidental” they were.
Innocent unless and until proven guilty but let’s see the evidence from both sides.
Dawghater
June 16th, 2011
5:32 pm
UGA and NCAA Violations go togther like Peanut Butter and Jelly.
Say it isn’t so???????????
South GA Dawg
June 16th, 2011
5:43 pm
I think the NCAA should be investigated by the FBI. They are the real crooks here.
South GA Dawg
June 16th, 2011
5:45 pm
GA had the balls to take the NCAA to court over Media coverage and won. Since then the NCAA has declared war on UGA and a blind eye to everyone else.
South GA Dawg
June 16th, 2011
5:47 pm
Dawghater why dont you go lick the gnats off your butt. It would be the best thing you have done with your tongue.
It Ain't Rocket Science
June 16th, 2011
5:51 pm
DAWGGHATER,
It isn’t so. Now do you feel better?