‘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.