Monetary gifts from Richt among secondary NCAA violations reported by UGA
Mark Richt has given more than $60,000 of his own money the last three years to current and former staff members when UGA's athletic administration refused to step up with compensation. (UGA photo)
ATHENS – Mark Richt’s generosity and compassion toward his staff has landed the Georgia football coach in hot water with the NCAA.
Richt made personal payments of more than $25,000 to coaches and support staff due to what he perceived as inadequate compensation for those individuals. Richt’s actions were determined to be secondary violations of NCAA rules regarding supplemental pay, according to a recent NCAA review of an lengthy internal investigation conducted by UGA.
According to those reports, obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the Freedom of Information Act, Richt paid former recruiting assistant Charlie Cantor $10,842 over an 11-month period through March of 2011, former linebackers coach John Jancek $10,000 in the summer of 2009 and $6,150 to director of player development John Eason in July of 2010. All of the payments were made by checks from Richt’s personal bank account after UGA’s previous athletic administration declined his requests for increased compensation for those parties.
However, Richt unknowingly violated the provisions of NCAA bylaw 11.3.2.2, which regulates supplemental pay for staff members. Both Richt and the staff members who accepted his payments received letters of admonishment from UGA and must undergo additional rules education, according to the documents.
Richt was unavailable for comment on Monday. Athletic Director Greg McGarity declined to discuss details about the case, but acknowledged that all the violations discovered were deemed secondary and that the NCAA considers it a closed matter as of Nov. 30th.
“The report stands on its own,” McGarity said on Monday. “There’s nothing to add. We’re moving forward.”
Richt’s unsanctioned payments were just a few of several violations discovered by UGA in an internal investigation led by attorney Mike Glazier of the NCAA-specialized lawfirm of Bond, Schoeneck & King of Overland Park, Kan. In all, the Bulldogs admitted to committing at least 10 secondary violations in separate reports submitted first to the SEC office in Birmingham.
The NCAA enforcement staff reviewed those reports and responded with its findings in a Nov. 30th letter to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. In summary, the NCAA agreed with assertions of Georgia and the SEC that all the violations were secondary. As a result of actions already taken, “no further action should be taken by the NCAA in the matter,” wrote Christopher Stroebel, NCAA director of enforcement for secondary violations.
Also revealed in the report:
- Georgia was determined to have violated game-simulation recruiting rules during an unofficial visit last January by prospective student-athlete Marshall Morgan. Morgan is a place-kicker from Coral Springs, Fla., who has committed to sign in the class of 2012. Coaches played a video of the Georgia fans’ doing the traditional cheer, “Go Dawgs, Sic ‘Em,” on the Sanford Stadium videoboard, while Morgan pretended to kickoff. Richt self-reported the incident retrospectively after learning that the “missing man formation” the Bulldogs’ orchestrated for Isaiah Crowell last January constituted a secondary violation.
- Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham had impermissible contact with an unidentified recruit in May of 2010. After signing in at the front office of a high school, Grantham walked down a hall looking for the school’s football coach. Unable to locate the coach’s office, Grantham was approached by a young man who asked if he could help him find his way. As it turned out, that individual was the prospect Grantham was there to recruit. Their “small talk” on the way to the coach’s office exceeded the NCAA’s limits for “greetings” during a non-contact period and Georgia was found to be in violation of NCAA bylaws 13.02.4 and 13.1.1.1 regarding contact. As a result, Grantham was withheld from off-campus recruiting activities from Nov. 27-Dec. 3, the number of evaluation days for the football staff for spring of 2012 was reduced from 168 to 158 and Grantham was ordered to attend a two-day rules seminar next summer.
- An unidentified football prospect (his name was redacted because he is now enrolled at UGA) received impermissible overnight lodging and transportation during an overnight visit last year. The prospect was scheduled to spend the night with a student-athlete in a university dormitory, which is sanctioned, but made a “spur-of-the-moment decision” to stay with another student-athlete at an off-campus apartment. Off-campus lodging and transportation for which is impermissible.
- Last month, Georgia provided two free meals to Tyriq Gurley, the 5-year-old little brother of 2012 running back prospect Todd Gurley. Meals were permitted for Gurley and his parents but not for siblings on the official visit. The Gurleys reimbursed UGA $21.33 for the child’s meals and UGA reported a violation of bylaw 13.6.7.7.
Those minor violations were added to a list that included Crowell’s “the missing man formation,” the impermissible participation of football lettermen Randall Godfrey and David Pollack in the commitment announcement ceremony of then-prospect, and the routine overpayment of four graduate assistants due to a clerical error last spring, and several instances of inadvertent “pocket dialing” of prospects during impermissible periods earlier this year.
While all the violations are minor and seem trivial in nature, McGarity was profusely apologetic in his seven-page letter to Slive.
“I want you to know that I am disappointed and embarrassed to be reporting multiple secondary violations in our football program,” McGarity wrote. “It is my hope, however, that after reviewing our self-report of each of these matters, you will come to the same conclusions that I have.”
Ultimately, Slive and the NCAA agreed with Georgia’s assessment. But McGarity is vowed to step up the Bulldogs’ educational efforts regarding NCAA policy. In addition to regularly-scheduled classes, he has instituted monthly and quarterly meetings for coaches and support staff.
Clearly the most intriguing findings were those that detailed Richt’s under-the-table payments to staff when the previous administration refused his requests. Not only does it illustrate Richt’s determination to do what he perceived as right for his staff members, it offers a glimpse into the dynamics of the relationship between Richt and former AD Damon Evans.
- Richt decided to pay Cantor money out of his own pocket after determining that Cantor was underpaid for his position compared to comparable programs against whom Georgia competed. Richt asked for a $10,000 raise. However, the University was in the midst of a campus-wide pay freeze and was experiencing furloughs, so Evans declined. Richt subsequently paid Cantor $834 a month over 13 months via personal check.
- Richt did the same thing in the summer of 2009. Richt asked the administration for a raise for linebackers coach John Jacek after he was offered the coordinator’s position in the summer of 2009. Richt’s request was declined, so he wrote Jancek a personal check for $10,000 on June 30, 2009.
- Eason received a $6,150 pay cut when Richt moved him off the coaching staff into an administrative role. Richt wrote a personal check for that amount to Eason in July of 2010.
McGarity contends it wasn’t rogue behavior on Richt’s part. The UGA AD included exhibits in his report of instances in which the athletic department sanctioned monetary gifts from Richt.
In December 2009, due to “difficult economic conditions being experienced by the University,” the athletic department decided to not provide “bowl bonuses” to non-coach staff members. Richt went to senior associate AD Frank Crumley and asked him to provide a chart of who would have normally received bonuses and in what amount. Crumley provided that list and Richt paid 10 people – sports medicine director Ron Courson, video coordinator Joe Tereshinski, strength and conditioning coaches Keith Gray and Clay Walker, football operations manager Josh Brooks, high school relations director Ray Lamb and four administrative assistants — $15,227 out of his own pocket.
Richt also paid the $15,337.50 five-year longevity bonus to former assistant Dave Johnson when Johnson left Georgia in 2008 just short of his fifth anniversary and the administration refused to pay. Richt paid $6,000 to Jon Fabris in December of 2010 when Fabris was unable to find a job after his UGA severance package expired.
In each case,the payments were not considered against NCAA rules because they were done with the knowledge of the athletic administration, according to the report.
McGarity wrote in the report that he included details of those actions by Richt because “the University believes Coach Richt acted out of a generous heart and certainly without any intent to violate NCAA rules.” McGarity explained that Richt and his wife Katharyn maintain two checking accounts, one that is used primarily by his wife for household expenses. The other, monitored by Richt, is what they call their “Giving Account.”
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690 comments Add your comment
Drew
December 20th, 2011
11:13 am
Just another example of the ABSURDITY AND HYPOCRACY OF THE NCAA and the LACK OF INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT AT THAT LIBERAL, COMMUNIST, AND ATHEIST INFESTED JOKE OF A UNIVERSITY IN ATHENS. Also, YOU CAN MOLEST PEOPLE AT PENN STATE AND THE NCAA DOES NOTHING, SCAM NEWTON, 108 SIGNEES AT ALABAMA, AND YOU CANNOT BUY A KID A BIG MAC!!!!!!!!!! FOR GOD SAKES! NO WONDER THIS COUNTRY IS GOING DOWN THE TUBE.
UGA STUDENT
December 20th, 2011
11:14 am
So todd gurleys little brother takes a free meal, I wonder all the violations Ole Miss or Bama broke while “recruiting” SJ from the Blind Side
Reggie
December 20th, 2011
11:15 am
Wow!
NCAA is out of control!!! “Worried about the wrong shat!
boots
December 20th, 2011
11:16 am
Add mine to the chorus of disbelief at the NCAA. They should be focused on Penn State coaches raping children instead of UGA buying breakfast for a five-year-old. Seriously, and the NCAA complains of being overworked? They are vacant of common sense.
G27au
December 20th, 2011
11:18 am
LOL. The defensive coordinator of the state university signs in at the office to see the head coach and they send him wandering aimlessly down the halls to seek out the football coach on his own. This is opposed to them paging the coach to the office or sending an administrative escort with him. And Hallelujah, the student he happens to bump into is the recruit he is there to discuss. Totally believable. The whole recruiting process is hilarious.
Preston
December 20th, 2011
11:18 am
A five year old ate $21 worth of food in two meals? Where were they? A Braves game?
Jason H.
December 20th, 2011
11:19 am
Another Tech fan here expressing support for Mark Richt and his actions. The NCAA should be the ones embarrassed and apologizing here, not Richt or UGA.
NCAA, Can You Explain A Few Things? « The Grit Tree
December 20th, 2011
11:20 am
[...] Blutarsky linked to an AJC Story that listed several secondary violations committed by the UGA coaching staff. I have a question [...]
THE CURIOUS INDEX, 12/20/2011
December 20th, 2011
11:21 am
[...] RICHT IS TOO NICE. It’s a problem, actually, just like the dip in players’ grades when they go pro in winning games and [...]
llf
December 20th, 2011
11:22 am
Cracker Jack reporting, Chip. Out of curiosity, what do other Universities, Colleges, and trade schools do with internal investigations of there own compliance and with self reporting of violations?
Kevin
December 20th, 2011
11:25 am
I’ve never been a Richt fan as a coach(called for him to be fired on this blog more than once) but he is one damn fine human being. This also shows how much of a piece of sh** Evans was. hope Mc Garrity does the right thing and pays CTG, b/c CTG is very well thought of. Saban qoute wk. of SEC Champ. when asked if he were surprised by CTG’s success at UGA. “I have always considered Todd Grantham one of the best coaches I have had on a staff anywhere” Saban offered him the DC job at Dolphins, and while I may not like Tricky Nick, he knows a thing or two about defense. And for any moron who thinks richt is paying players, get a freakin life.
Isiah Crowell
December 20th, 2011
11:25 am
I hope CMR doesn’t forget to write checks to my dope dealers.
reality DAWG
December 20th, 2011
11:25 am
Sounds like the tax code… who can figure it out?
Richt is a great man. This is amazing how as you read the story innocent acts took place yet some want to hangem. Get a life. Glad for the story it just makes me feel sorry for the NCAA and enforcers and those trying to figure out what’s what.
Go DAWGS!
O and Merry Christmas DAWG nation
MEA1956
December 20th, 2011
11:33 am
…..the tax code is too complex?
2007Dawg
December 20th, 2011
11:35 am
This headline is unbelievably misleading and completely mischaracterizes the story. The clear goal is to drive website hits and make UGA look bad.
Ridly
December 20th, 2011
11:36 am
NCAA doesn’t allow for siblings lunches………..what a load of crap! NCAA….HA! I think we the Sports fans of college sports need to over-see the NCAA and lets look at THEIR VIOLATIONS which I would guess would be MANY!!!!!!!! How much money do they have lining their pockets from the Alumni of the schools in the NCAA????? Oh yea thats right,…..that money goes into off-shore numbered accounts. NOT INCOME–> SO NO TAXES!!! Let’s see if this makes the Post Board?????????
GT Man
December 20th, 2011
11:37 am
If someone would ever let PJ do a commercial, then maybe he could make extra money to supplement his coaches and maybe make enough to entice a Defensive Coordinator to come to GT and rid ourselfs of the dinosoar we have.
jarvis
December 20th, 2011
11:39 am
The NCAA oversees payments to payments to non-athletes? WTF?
They need to be sued right out of existence.
I can’t wait for the day that they end up in front of a Federal judge for something. Their demise will come with great pleasure for me.
########
December 20th, 2011
11:40 am
Cheater U
The Grinch
December 20th, 2011
11:44 am
########
December 20th, 2011
11:40 am
“Cheater U”
The University of Miama has become irrelevant.
Stiffneck
December 20th, 2011
11:46 am
Aunt Edna: Why don’t you just ask him for the money, Eddie? He sure as Hell can’t take a hint.
Cousin Eddie: Well, I didn’t want to ask you, Clark, you know, but could you maybe spare a little extra cash?
Clark: Sure, Eddie, how much do you need?
Cousin Eddie: About $52,000.
Wreckmaniac
December 20th, 2011
11:49 am
If the NCAA pinheads can take away Tech’s ACC champ for $300 in clothing then they can punish UGA for these CMR payments as well. My point here is that neither act is worthy of any concern. The NCAA needs a job. Since the BSC took over the bowl system the NCAA has nothing to do other than take money from the members and run March Madness. For an outstanding expose’ of the NCAA read the July edition of Atlantic Magazine which ran a 20 page article on how the NCAA has built its house of cards.
PANSYTECHIESCHEDUAL
December 20th, 2011
11:50 am
BTG69 — You are one sorry piece of sh!t. You are to sorry to walk on the face of this earth. You are the scum of this earth. You are lower than whale sh!t As Paul Johnson said anyone that see you on the street they should punch you in the nose. I would like to be the first..
What a joke the NCAA is.....
December 20th, 2011
11:54 am
What a joke the NCAA is concerning who they go after…$cam’s Ol’ Man shops his services to Miss St and they must have thought it was too much work to go after, and prove, a violation if the parties don’t cooperate, have some scruples, own up to it, and don’t lie, cheat, scam, and have no honor what-so-ever….NCAA are bullies, until someone lawyer’s up and gives them a rough go.
big g nasty
December 20th, 2011
11:55 am
Dogs Smell
go fornicate yourself in the face.
Dawg '88
December 20th, 2011
11:56 am
Earlier this year from the ajc:
CMR talking: “Within the last year, I read this book, “The Hole in Our Gospel,” written by Richard Stearns. He’s the president of World Vision, U.S. I think people understand who World Vision is but, basically, they help the poor. Through their organization, you can help children, you can help build wells, you can buy them donkeys, whatever people need. World Vision helps people across the world. Well, anyway, there was a lot of statistical data in there about the amount of people that live on a dollar a day around this world. Billions of people. So I’m reading this book and it really affected me. It helped me realize that what we have is way more than we need and that our ability to give is hindered by this property. I guess that’s the best way to tell you. We just wanted to be in a better position to give and bless people that don’t have anything. We felt like this was one way to be able to do that.”
The house and surrounding acreage was listed for $1.99 million on May 17. Richt had the Hart County home built in 2009, about the time his oldest son Jon Richt signed a scholarship to play football at nearby Clemson University. Jon Richt transferred to Mars Hill College shortly after Tommy Bowden was dismissed as Clemson’s coach.
Richt makes more than $3 million a year as Georgia’s coach and has earned more than $25 million in income from UGA since being hired in 2001. So it’s not like he can no longer afford it or is concerned that, without the Georgia job, eventually won’t be able to.
“Our ability to own this home, to have this home, that’s not an issue,” Richt said Wednesday. “It has absolutely nothing to do with anything that has to do with football. It has to do my wife’s desire and my desire to give.
“I was actually compelled to do this much earlier,” he added. “I made the decision to do it a while ago but I didn’t want to do it during the season or during recruiting because I knew it would be blown out of proportion. But it’s been on my heart for a long time, so we’re just going ahead and doing it.”
As for the book that served as Richt’s inspiration, you can read about it HERE. Stearns writes that 40 percent of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day and 15 percent of the world’s people, about 1 billion people, live on less than $1 a day. The United States, on average, lives on $105 a day, the book claims.
“I’d challenge anybody to read this book and not be affected by it, Richt said. “We just live in such wealth here in America. And I’m talking about everybody. Anybody who’s making 30 grand a year is extremely wealthy compared to rest of the people in the world. These kids, these families will walk two or three miles, half a day or more, to get water that’s really not healthy. They’re drinking stuff that’s not safe for them. Then children die of AIDS, they die of malaria and they die of dehydration. Kids end up dying or the parents die and they’ve got nothing.
“This book just talks about how much of that is going on around the world and, if it was sitting right outside our door, what would we do about it? It’s a very compelling book. Compelling enough for me to say, ‘you know what, I don’t want to pour money into a home like that when I can use it for better things, for eternal things.’ It was just very alarming to find out what’s going on out there and we need to do something about it.”
As has been Richt’s style, he’s doing more about it than selling off his property. He and his family are taking a trip to Honduras this summer with World Vision to observe and assist in the construction of water wells.
“If this situation gets people to read this book and gets people more interested in helping the poor, then I’m happy about it,” he said. “I hope other people respond. It’s a very compelling book and if people read it, I think they’ll understand where I’m coming from.”
UGAgirlFAN
December 20th, 2011
11:57 am
I completely agree with “Yeahyeahyeah”…………..So what?
Richt’s generosity part of several secondary NCAA violations reported by UGA | CollegeFootballTalk
December 20th, 2011
11:58 am
[...] Journal-Constitution, made personal payments to assistant coaches totaling over $25,000 because Richt believed his they weren’t being compensated enough. From the AJC: Richt paid former recruiting assistant Charlie Cantor $10,842 over an 11-month [...]
joe t
December 20th, 2011
11:59 am
Richt is a crook and should be fired. Everybody knows he’s paying players. The truth will set you free, coach, come clean and move on so UGA can return to its glory days like when Donnan and Goff were there.
AltamahaDawg
December 20th, 2011
12:03 pm
Logical you are purposely overplaying the “we have rules for a reason” and you know it. As usual , your post are much more about partisan opinion than logic.
I absolutely agree that the rule is in place for a good reason. Things need to be held in check so that good, bad, or otherwise intentions don’t have to be determined. (except that the NCAA does indeed do that on random and varied occasions, while claiming not to, but that’s another story). So yes technically , you are correct. Nobody believes you are hanging on a technical point though.
But you are trying to describe the “act” as a much bigger issue, when in fact the school simply choose to report a technicality as a violation. READ the report. Richt has a history of compensating his staff out of pocket and it has always been perfectly fine in the past. With the NCAA. This was a case of the current AD just deciding to report it as a violation, because it wasn’t handled properly by the previous AD.
DawginLex
December 20th, 2011
12:04 pm
joe t
Go back to watching TV. Your mommy is back and wants the computer
Timmy Dog
December 20th, 2011
12:04 pm
I’m somewhat surprised that many of my UGa brothers think it’s no big deal that Richt wrote checks under the table for thousands of dollars. Commendible? Yes. Illegal? Yes. I agree the meals for the 5 year old are rediculus. But the illegal lodging and transportation and illegal recruiting contact are somewhat alarming. These under the table payment issues could potentially open the door for further NCAA issues. This will complicate matters with regard to recruiting down the road.
DawginLex
December 20th, 2011
12:05 pm
altamaha
Logical disappeared. He can’t support his statements other than to say “I hate UGA.”
His blog handle should be
IllogicalUS
joe t
December 20th, 2011
12:06 pm
DawginLex. Google sarcasm.
DawginLex
December 20th, 2011
12:07 pm
This will complicate matters with regard to recruiting down the road.
*************
No it won’t because all of this is secondary stuff and the NCAA was notified by the school voluntarily.
NCAA is busy looking for folks hiding stuff
Bobbydawg
December 20th, 2011
12:07 pm
Great Man and a Great Coach, Go Dawgs!!!
Jacket Man
December 20th, 2011
12:07 pm
Once again, more money and time is wasted on innocent acts by an NCAA member school. Mark Richt should be commended for trying to take care of his “employees,” not penalized…At this point, the NCAA is trying to find a reason to justify its existence by looking for these irrelevant matters.
DawginLex
December 20th, 2011
12:08 pm
joe t
Hard to distinguish it on these blogs considering the IQ of some of the haters.
sorry to offend
WONDERING
December 20th, 2011
12:08 pm
He did what he did, but after all these years does he not know the rules. Before he does something again, he should look it up in the rule book. If Al., Aub., Lsu or Gt did this would the comments be different? Just WONDERING
Whiskeydawg
December 20th, 2011
12:08 pm
Giving a free meal to a kid is a violation of NCAA rules, but taking a shower with a kid at a NCAA facility is not a against the rules. Got it. Thanks.
joe t
December 20th, 2011
12:12 pm
DawginLex
I agree. 25 years from now, CMR will be seen as one of the best coaches we ever had. (If not THE
best).
Tech Fan
December 20th, 2011
12:13 pm
This sucks! As an avid Tech fan i was looking forward to mocking UGA for committing violations. Instead all i can do is give credit to CMR for taking care of his assitants. The NCAA is like a really bad Dictator -always looking for any reason to punish someone. I will always be a TECH fan and firmly believe The Good Word (THWG), but kudos to a coach who willingly gives of himself to take care of his staff.
NorthGaDawg
December 20th, 2011
12:14 pm
The NCAA needs to get over itself. If they would worry about things they should really be worrying about, college sports would run a whole lot better. I wonder if anyone ever looks into their compensation……..
78Dawg
December 20th, 2011
12:16 pm
So what…..Look at all SEC schools and you will find this little crap…CMR is a great man and coach..Just look at what Auburn does every year, and we still don’t know about the Cam Newton thing, is it being ignored? Are people being paid to shut up? Where’s the uproar? And you want to bring you this little crap about UGA? I suggest someone get off their ass and do some serious reporting.!!!!!
SEC ALWAYS
December 20th, 2011
12:16 pm
Dawg fans are at it again, broken rules and they stick up for their coach saying “man he’s a great guy”. Rules are rules people. If it were any other coach in the Nation ya’ll would be ALL over that program. Double Standard U gets away with it though. True class, you bunch of backwood redneck, sleepin with your sister inbreds!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
NorthGaDawg
December 20th, 2011
12:17 pm
Whiskeydawg, you’ve got it right. The NCAA would rather spend its time punishing people like CMR than taking care of problems like Penn St. But of course, with the NCAA it depends on where you stand with ESPN and Herbstriet’s “eyeball test”.
Hmm
December 20th, 2011
12:20 pm
“Inadvertent pocket dialing”
Please..give me a break
Dick
December 20th, 2011
12:24 pm
The NCAA is so screwed up it must be the Fourth Branch of Government.
WDE
December 20th, 2011
12:27 pm
@SEC ALWAYS please take just a second to read the article, CMR and UGA reported the violations once they understood they were violations.If he wanted to break rules he would have just given cash. Now please take a deep breath and relax you worthless piece of dog poo you…
awbuzz
December 20th, 2011
12:27 pm
As a Tech fan AND as a person I commend CMR for doing what he thinks is the right thing to do. I don’t think he “hurt” anyone not did he commit any recruiting violations with those payments. Good for him stepping up and walking the walk regarding payments to various staff members rather legal or not according to the NCAA.