Georgia has to report more secondary violations due to inadvertent calls
ATHENS — Inadvertent telephone communication once again has forced UGA to report secondary NCAA violations to the Southeastern Conference office.
This time it involves Georgia running backs coach Bryan McClendon. According to Athletic Director Greg McGarity’s Aug. 1 letter to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, obtained by the AJC via state and federal open records laws, McClendon thought he was calling a friend named Jay Harris when he accidentally called recruiting prospect Drew Harris instead. Harris is a four-star running back prospect from Exton, Penn.
What made this a violation is McClendon’s call was made on May 29, 2011. Fellow UGA assistant coach Scott Lakatos had made a recruiting call to Harris on May 3. Therefore the second call was deemed to be a violation of two NCAA bylaws that restrict telephone contact with recruits.
According to UGA’s report, “Jay Harris” appears right below “Drew Harris” in the speed dial directory in McClendon’s cell phone and he accidently hit the wrong entry. McClendon didn’t realize he’d called Drew Harris until his voicemail picked up. McClendon then left Drew Harris a message stating he had inadvertently dialed him and to not call back. McClendon then self-reported the violation to UGA’s compliance office, according to McGarity. Records show the call lasted 47 seconds.
UGA has requested relief from the mandatory two-week phone call ban to Harris and asked the SEC to not assess any penalties “given the mitigating circumstances” and because “no recruiting advantage was gained.” The SEC has not reviewed the case.
Inadvertent phone calls have been a problem for UGA athletics in 2011. The school has had to report more than a half-dozen incidents of “pocket-dialing” and sending impermissible texts rather than permissible emails due to cell-phone usage mistakes this year.
UGA also reported this week that gymnastics assistant coach Julie Clark violated NCAA phone contact bylaws when she called an unsigned prospect Brandie Jay to wish her “Happy Valentines Day” on Feb. 14.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
141 comments Add your comment
@GTBob
August 5th, 2011
4:10 pm
You are not very bright and obviously have never used or owned a cell phone.
PR
August 5th, 2011
4:10 pm
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Please wake me up when there is real news being reported
258DAWG
August 5th, 2011
4:11 pm
GTbob needs to wake up – it’s 2011 not 1984 when you had your g/f sister name and number written on your hand…..
seperate them in folders……… I just picture some dork trying to be organized with folders and sticky notes everywhere…….. Leave it to tech fan!
FYI, where are the other 998 ways bob?
UGA Insider
August 5th, 2011
4:11 pm
To AJC:
I DO NOT blame Chip Towers one bit! I do blame his bosses who are trying to make themselves look better in lou of the GT debacle. Which by the way should have been an embarrassment to everyone who works there.
Anyways, I know some liberal elite is busting Chip’s balls to dig up dirt and probably to just go ahead and send a open records letter to UGA every week to see what’s new.
I got your back Chip but those liberal elites you work for suck.
Destin Dawg
August 5th, 2011
4:15 pm
no story here.. but good things happening in Athens.. go dawgs !! can’t wait !!
Jimmy Crack
August 5th, 2011
4:18 pm
Interesting, making a speed dial entry for a number that you’re not supposed to call.
reebok
August 5th, 2011
4:20 pm
tech fan here. this is lame. the ncaa needs to find something worthwhile to do. good luck until november 26th.
charliedawg
August 5th, 2011
4:21 pm
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…some print worthy news please.
Joey
August 5th, 2011
4:21 pm
Does McClendon have to give back any of that sweet $50,000+ raise?
atltiger15
August 5th, 2011
4:22 pm
greg
August 5th, 2011
3:58 pm
good thing the ajc is using the open records act to such great success. To bad they failed to do it in Tech’s case and never knew they were under NCAA investigation. This paper has become so bad that it’s comical.
Where is the story on the 4th arrest this year of a UF football player for pot?
Where is the story about the Auburn player who was kicked off the team for selling his BCS ring for $500?
No instead we get this little nugget above about an (1!) butt dial, and then the nonstory about Troupe earlier in the week.
Stay classy AJC, and make sure to continue to use your powers of the press for such needed work!
You mean the AU player that attempted but didnt go through with selling his ring that was immediately dismissed…Know the facts before you post, that usually saves you from looking foolish
Excuses and Lies
August 5th, 2011
4:24 pm
Mad Dog One
August 5th, 2011
3:49 pm
@ Excuses and Lies You are so full of it your eyes are turning brown.
—————————————————————————————————————–
The point is that according to some quick research, this is the 5th case this year alone where inadvertant phone or text messages were sent to prospects that violated rules.
At least be smart enough to use a pay as you go phone if you are going to store prospects numbers in a phone that is owned or paid for by UGA athletics and is reportable to the UGA athletic department.
Call me what you like, that is fine, but this whole case is going to cost UGA and when it does, none of you defense attorneys will have a case.
bk
August 5th, 2011
4:27 pm
Why is it that UGA is reporting inadvertent calls when no benefit gained yet Alabama does not report potential benefits to players via mens clothing store?
meh
August 5th, 2011
4:28 pm
it’s them new fangled touchscreen phones. they need some flip phones.
RabidDawgFan
August 5th, 2011
4:29 pm
NCAA has too many stupid rules
bulldogmaniac
August 5th, 2011
4:29 pm
nothing to see here….move along.
ugafan
August 5th, 2011
4:30 pm
Unbelievable that this is even news. Its on the scale of Obama going out to ask Iowans what they think about the job situation while things are crumbling on other fronts. The Techie who wonders how many secondary violations we can have its obviously more than 5 cause that is what you had with your coaches who got suspended for far far worse secondary violations.
Excuses and Lies
August 5th, 2011
4:32 pm
bk,
The largest, biggest and most obvious differenc is the fact that recruiting players to a campus is under a major microscope and players signing items is directed to a player not a coach. These are coaches who did not follow rules and gained an advantage if ANY contact is made.
Excuses and Lies
August 5th, 2011
4:33 pm
difference
GTBob
August 5th, 2011
4:34 pm
I’m a nerd because you guys don’t know how to use modern phones? Or maybe you guys can’t afford phones that have that kind of functionality. Either way, if you have phone numbers in your contact list that could get you into trouble with the NCAA if you call them, then you might want to take a little better precaution. Maybe UGA could create a how to use a cell phone class. It would be a little more advanced then housing but could prove worth it in the end.
ugakev
August 5th, 2011
4:44 pm
gtbob…i have a gf name samantha and a regular friend named samantha. I have accidentally called the wrong samantha before. That doesnt make me stupid. Things like that can happen outside of your perfect little bubble you must be living in. People get in a hurry sometimes and they glance down at a name and hit the send button to call. Most all of us have done it. I know I have and will prob do it again before I die.
UGA
August 5th, 2011
4:51 pm
Hate to say this…but a 47 second call is not inadvertent. Count it off…1-1thousand; 2-1 thousand; 3 1-thousand; 4 1-thousand; 5- 1 thousand; 6 1-thousand; 7 – 1 thousand; That is all it takes to make the comment listed above providing you are a real slow talker. So what was the other 38 seconds used for???? Amazed how this staff feels it must cheat to be successful at UGA. My goodness we own this state and almost everyone is a UGA fan. So why can’t we get enough recruits just within our own state to be win the weakened SEC EAST???? Past time for some new coaching blood to lead us to the promised land.
bk
August 5th, 2011
4:55 pm
Thanks for your thoughts Excuses and Lies. Does it not change things when the Alabama assistant coach is also seen in the store with all the autograph stuff behind him???
Frank
August 5th, 2011
5:01 pm
Based on recent penalties it will be necessary to have 4 actual human sacrifices
dawg from a distance
August 5th, 2011
5:09 pm
LB from Florida is a bigger story. Did he qualify?
Insanity!
August 5th, 2011
5:14 pm
These man made laws by the NCAA is insane. I promise you that if coaches had to take an assessment of their understanding of the NCAA Division I athletics manual that 75% would flunk it. It’s not because they’re not smart enough to pass it; it’s because it’s to darn complicated. Analogy: US Tax Code.
Matthews Dawg
August 5th, 2011
5:14 pm
Dawgs just received great news of another lineman coming in 2012!! Go Dawgs and he is huge!!
Matthews Dawg
August 5th, 2011
5:15 pm
It’s posted on UGASports.com
Matthews Dawg
August 5th, 2011
5:16 pm
here is the website: http://uga.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1248155
Stasi
August 5th, 2011
5:20 pm
I see a pattern here…not unlike the pattern of wins per season…11, 10, 9, 7, 6, can five be far behind?
Tampa Gator
August 5th, 2011
5:24 pm
dawg from a distance……
I would not hold my breath on Turene qualifying at this late date…….and I think he would be best served….academically……by going the JC route first and then come to Georgia better qualifed to be a college student…..but I understand that a kid’s educaitonal needs are not the primary concern to some…..but should be.
Columbus
August 5th, 2011
5:39 pm
Nothing here but UGA does need to be more careful. SO not matter what all the folks on here that are getting bent out of shape have to say, this is nothing. It happens to ALL of us and more than once and is very understandable. I am sure that it happens at every college and we hear nothing about it because it is so minor of a thing or the schools do not report it and try hold themselves accountable like UGA. This I am sure of. The rest of you: STOP getting worked up over NOTHING. How mature are you? Age is irrelevant because I know plenty of 12 year olds who are more reasonable and mature than some of you.
1,000 ways to avoid this GTBOB? Shutup. Just like there is 1,000 ways to know that your professors are pedophiles and carrying it out on campus while “working” for years but you Einstein’s did not utilize one of them.
Who is the bigger screw-up? Oh yeah the same school that is the 3rd best team in it’s own state but in a couple of years it will be the 4th best if Curry stays at State.
P. Bull Terrier
August 5th, 2011
5:41 pm
Those suggesting UGA coaches remove the phone numbers for recruits from their phones have solved one problem, but created another. Without the recruit’s name and number stored in the phone there is a chance a coach could answer a call from an unknown number and commit a recruiting violation that way.
The real problem isn’t UGA coaches’ cell phone usage. Imagine if we all had to report every single misdialed call we made or received and every inadvertent text message that we sent or received during the last year to the newspaper, along with the results of a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the error. The problem is that the NCAA has so many rules that it’s almost impossible to avoid breaking one from time to time. The NCAA spends so much time dealing with reports of trivial matters like mis-dialed phones that they don’t have time to investigate the real cheaters who are giving players cash and other gifts under the table.
Likewise, the AJC spends so much time sending open records requests to UGA so they can report this junk and generate page views that they didn’t have time to find out that Tech was under NCAA investigation for the last year. I’m not sure which was worse: the over the top penalty that Tech received for a minor infraction, or the fact that the AJC had no idea there was even an investigation until it was over.
ugakev
August 5th, 2011
5:50 pm
uga….lmao at how stupid you are!! The phone counts the time while the phone is ringing so the 47 seconds makes perfect sense. it probably took 30-35 seconds for the voice mail to pick up. Some people dont use their brains.
WONDERING
August 5th, 2011
5:51 pm
How many times or how long can we say–woooops, an accident? JUST WONDERING.
P. Bull Terrier
August 5th, 2011
5:53 pm
47 seconds might sound like a long time for those who don’t understand how cell phone billing records report calls. It can take 5 – 10 seconds from the time the call is placed until the first ring tone. That 5 – 10 seconds is included in the call record. It can take another 15 – 20 seconds for the phone to ring long enough to go to voice mail. That time is also included in the call record. Add in the time it takes to listen to a message, listen for the beep, and then leave a quick apology for the mis-dialed call and 47 seconds seems like a very short amount of time to complete the process.
George O'Leary
August 5th, 2011
5:54 pm
I guess the University of Cental Florida gets to keep the Liberty Bowl Trophy
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . after giving up two field goals and a cloud of dust to Bobo.
BG
August 5th, 2011
5:56 pm
Wow what a violation!
Delbert D.
August 5th, 2011
6:02 pm
No, not the Fulmer Cup. These count in the Alexander Graham Bell Derby.
Dostoyevskiy
August 5th, 2011
6:15 pm
Must be those fat, fleshy fingers.
Coach
August 5th, 2011
6:19 pm
Get them a Jitter-Bug phone. Maybe then they won’t have these “mistakes” (wink, wink)!!! Everybody believes that too right?
Bob
August 5th, 2011
6:50 pm
I think the self-imposed penalty should be the immediate dismissal of McClendon…what value has he added the past three seasons? And he just received a raise, too! What a comedy of errors…who’s in control in Athens?
Burma Shave
August 5th, 2011
7:06 pm
Richt is a cheater
And a phony saint
He’s so overpaid
I think I’ll faint
BURMA SHAVE
Bob
August 5th, 2011
7:13 pm
Burma…LOL, good one. I think Richt came to UGA with good intentions, but was corrupted by the money and blinded by unfounded friendships. Just my opinion.
dawgfan
August 5th, 2011
7:22 pm
A couple of UGA coaches accidently butt dial some recruits and the AJC is on it like flies on you know what with all of their open records requests. Meanwhile, the Techies are being investigated by the NCAA for nearly TWO YEARS and it goes completely unnoticed. Has any AJC windbag ever attempted to explain this blatant double standard? I doubt it.
J Clay
August 5th, 2011
7:34 pm
The real story is the gym coach wishing another lady Happy Valentine’s Day…um maybe she should not be in the locker room, know what I mean?
GATA
August 5th, 2011
7:45 pm
NCAA IS WAAAAAAAACK!!!!!
longdog
August 5th, 2011
7:57 pm
GT Bob your professors must not know how to use a computer as he got caught with kiddie porn what a hack
GTBob
August 5th, 2011
8:03 pm
Is attacking some ex associate professor the best you guys have? Maybe if he would have shot his wife and a few other people he could have taught at UGA.
dawgfan
August 5th, 2011
8:08 pm
GT Bob, is one win in 10 years the best your piece of crap football program has?
UGA Law Dawg
August 5th, 2011
8:08 pm
Our coaches are coaches for a reason! They are not very bright.