Potential College Football Scandal

[GP1]

But some are saying if pay-for-play is found to run deep in the SEC and college football in general that the U.S. Congress may get involved, and it could shake the NCAA to its core.

This is no place for Congress to step in. It is a place for them to pretend they will step in, forcing the NCAA to reform itself. The NCAA does not need more rules or penalties about paying players as enough exist. They can't control college football with the current rules because they have no regulatory mechanisms. Not only do they not have any, the member institutions that matter pay their bill so they aren't going to creat any and won't be given the money to create them. The commissioner of the NCAA is no different than a commissioner of a professional sports league. The NFL commissioner answers to the the owners. The NCAA commissioner answers to the schools. The schools are most interested in money. The last thing the NCAA can afford is to have any of its member institutions leave to say...start their own league. If the top 40 college football programs left the NCAA to start their own league (in my wet dreams), the NCAA would be finished.

The NCAA needs to admit that players are going to get paid and create a structure that will allow players to have a job and those without a job to get a small amount of money. Less rules would be good for the NCAA. Maybe if there were less rules, they could focus on things like....I don't know.....helping student athletes who want to get educations get them.....call me crazy.

[Sergeant Zip]

So the title of this thread remains accurate: Potential College Football Scandal.

No news or did I miss an update somewhere else?

[Dave in Green]

I've been a little remiss in posting updates. Honestly, this thing is so broad and deep, and there's so much going on, it's really difficult to track it all and regularly summarize it here.

My last post was about the former treasurer and the former vice president of Taylor Bean both pleading guilty to bank fraud. Since then, the president of Taylor Bean has also pled guilty. That leaves only the chairman and CEO. If he pleads guilty, it's expected that the big fish he will implicate is the former CEO and chairman of Colonial Bank, Bobby Lowder, who I've previously described as the man who has controlled Auburn University athletics for nearly 30 years. Most of the wiretap tapes in this FBI case are being kept under lock and key right now, and won't be revealed for some time. But it's believed that some tapes may involve Auburn football.

Another branch of this massive tree is the ongoing discussion on various forums of Auburn recruiting known gang members. Specifically, Auburn has recruited from some Atlanta area high schools that are the center of the 30 Deep gang, a violent gang known to specialize in armed robberies. The FBI and Georgia law officials swept up nearly 100 of these gang members a week or two ago, and it was a big story in Atlanta.

Within days of that, 4 members of Auburn's football team were arrested for armed robbery in Alabama. One or more of these players came from the Atlanta high schools where the 30 Deep gang is centered.

There may be bits and pieces of news that will continue to dribble out. But I personally think this whole thing is going to take months and months to unravel and become public.

Here's a link to the story about the Auburn players arrested for armed robbery:

Fox Sports

[Dave in Green]

The potential college football scandal is slowly unraveling into a full-blown scandal, with lots of different elements starting to hit hard.

The appetizer for today, which will be shortly followed by the main course, is the expose of the Fiesta Bowl's long-running and now well-documented scandalous behavior. Following is a hint of how ugly it is:

For 30 years, John Junker was a glad-handing, canary-blazered shogun of the Fiesta Bowl, the smiling face of that event and its most passionate advocate. So grand was his passion that it overruled his judgment, which is how the 55-year-old came to find himself seated at a conference table, trying to convince investigators there was a legitimate business purpose for the $1,241 he'd charged to the bowl for a visit to a high-end Phoenix strip club on September 12, 2008. ("We are in the business where big strong athletes are known to attend these types of establishments," Junker said, according to investigators. "It was important for us to visit and we certainly conducted business.")

That pathetic quote appears on page 240 of the bowl's 276-page, 1,500-footnote "Special Committee Report" -- the result of a recently completed investigation that was launched last fall.

Full story from Sports Illustrated:

Fiesta Bowl probe results in Junker dismissal, casts pall over BCS

[Dave in Green]

As bad as the Fiesta Bowl scandal is, it's only the tip of the iceberg. The original story that started this thread was about pay for play at Auburn and other schools.

Now, 4 former Auburn players have admitted on an HBO special that they were paid thousands of dollars to play football at Auburn. They even document such details as how much they were paid for individual plays:

Kremer to McClover: “How much was a sack worth?”

McClover: “Anywhere between 300 and 400 dollars. For one.”

Kremer to McClover: “I think in one game you had four sacks, what did you earn in that game?”

McClover: “Four thousand. Against Alabama.”

Kremer: “Seriously?”

McClover: “Alabama, a rivalry game.”

Kremer: “More money because it’s Alabama?”

McClover: “Definitely. No other game matters.”

It isn't just Auburn, either. Other schools are called out, including our dearly beloved tOSU:

Kremer voiceover: “But McClover says there were money handshakes from boosters at other football camps too. At Auburn for a couple hundred dollars and at Michigan State. All the schools denied any wrongdoing. And things really started heating up a few months later when he went to Ohio State for an official visit where schools get a chance for one weekend to host prospective athletes. McClover says there were money handshakes from alumni there too. About a thousand dollars. And something else to entice him.”

McClover: “They send girls my way. I partied. When I got there I met up with a couple guys from the team. We went to a party and they asked me to pick any girl I wanted.”

Kremer: “Did she offer sexual services?“

McClover: “Yes.”

Kremer: “Did you take them?”

McClover: “Yes.”

Kremer: “McClover committed to Ohio State right after that weekend. The recruiter at Ohio State who says he dealt with McClover that weekend denied the school was involved in any wrongdoing.”

On what caused McClover to sign with Auburn over Ohio State:

Kremer voiceover: “McClover says what he asked for was money. A lot of it. And that he got it. Delivered in a bookbag, exact amount unknown.”

I expect there will be more dirt flooding out from the dark corners of the college football world in the coming weeks and months, and that it will have a profound effect on college football as we know it.

Following are links to stories at CBS Sports, Sporting News, ESPN and Sports By Brooks (NOTE -- The last link below is to the Sports By Brooks story, which is the one with extensive quotes from the HBO script. Hilltopper said his antivirus program had a problem with Brooks' website. But I've had no problem there and the CBS Sports site links to Brooks' site, which I don't think they would do if there was a problem with that site.):

Ex-Auburn players tell HBO they were paid

Ex-Auburn players say they received thousands in payments

Report: Four ex-Auburn players got cash

Ex-Auburn Players Claim Systematic Pay-To-Play

[Dave in Green]

The Colonial Bank fraud trial began earlier this week. So far, no direct references to the failed bank's former CEO, Bobby Lowder. I won't bother reporting on the ongoing trial unless there is a direct connection made involving Lowder's management of Auburn athletics. So far the testimony only hints at the fact that the level of corruption at the bank was so deep that Lowder, known for his micromanagement style, is unlikely to have not known about it.

More directly related to college football, it appears that the rumor about the NCAA starting to tighten up on enforcement of recruiting rules is starting to come true:

NCAA classifies Rivals as a recruiting service

[GP1]

Now, 4 former Auburn players have admitted on an HBO special that they were paid thousands of dollars to play football at Auburn.

There is one thing I remember about the HBO special that I found funny and the average fan was probably appalled by it because they don't understand how things really are.

There is a player telling a story about what an assistant used to tell them after practice every day and it cuts to why these guys are actually there to play football and not get an education. The coach would say: "Remember guys (holding up two fingers), academics come first...and (holding up his index finger) football comes second." Auburn got picked on about this, but it goes on everywhere.

[Dave in Green]

Things are heating up.

Earlier this week, Lee Farkas, former chairman of the bankrupt Taylor Bean & Whitaker, one of the nation's largest mortgage companies, was found guilty on all 14 counts of fraud. Farkas was responsible for over $3 billion in fraud, representing one of the most significant prosecutions to arise from the nation's financial crisis, and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

Taylor Bean's failure contributed to the collapse of Alabama-based Colonial Bank, the sixth-largest bank failure in U.S. history. Both Colonial and Taylor Bean were applying for TARP money when their multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme was uncovered by federal investigators.

During the trial, Farkas said under oath that all of the questionable transactions were approved by officials of Colonial Bank. Up until its failure, Colonial was run by founder and chairman Bobby Lowder, who has been characterized as a micromanager who had his finger in every aspect of Colonial's business. Louder is a longtime member of Auburn University's board of trustees who has micromanaged Auburn athletics, and who has presided over a number of major rules violations in Auburn's football program over the years.

With the Farkas/Taylor Bean case resolved, speculation s that the feds will be going after Lowder/Colonial. It's believed that some of the wiretaps of the Taylor Bean/Colonial Bank case may involve conversations relating to Auburn football program and illegal payments to players. It's further speculated that the NCAA's current investigation of the Auburn football program is awaiting information that may come out of the Taylor Bean/Colonial cases.

Moving on to the Alabama gambling scandal case, Ronnie Gilley has just pleaded guilty to 11 counts of conspiracy, bribery involving a program that uses federal funds and money laundering. Gilley could be a key witness for federal prosecutors attempting to prove VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor, two sitting state senators, two former state senators and others tried to buy and sell votes for a gambling bill before Alabama lawmakers last spring.

It's believed that some of the wiretaps in this case may also have captured discussion about Auburn's football program, as McGregor is a big Auburn booster and close friend of Lowder. One of the theories is that McGregor's gambling establishments had machines set up to pay off Auburn football players in an illegal pay-for-play scheme.

This is taking a long time to play out in the courts, as the bank fraud and gambling bribery cases are much bigger than the possible Auburn football element. We probably won't know for many months whether or not the football scandal will eventually come out of this.

[GP1]

It's believed that some of the wiretaps in this case may also have captured discussion about Auburn's football program, as McGregor is a big Auburn booster and close friend of Lowder. One of the theories is that McGregor's gambling establishments had machines set up to pay off Auburn football players in an illegal pay-for-play scheme.

There are lots of illegal acts involving the Auburn boosters. Can anyone name the illegal acts by the players at Auburn? Not NCAA violations, but illegal acts? There is at least one illegal act, and unless the NCAA allows players to make money while in school, this illegal activity will continue.

[Dave in Green]

Amazingly, Alabama Governor Dr. Robert Bentley ( R ) has reappointed Bobby Lowder to a fifth consecutive 7-year term to the Auburn University board of trustees. Lowder was confirmed by a 3-2 vote, which means that by the end of this term he will have effectively micromanaged Auburn athletics for 35 years.

There's a pretty serious backlash in the state of Alabama by those who have grown weary of how, under Lowder's guidance, Auburn has been embroiled in one controversy after another, including multiple major NCAA investigations and penalties. Many believe Lowder will not even be able to serve out another term as he's likely to be going to prison for his role in the failed Colonial Bank.

Some of this outrage is expressed in a letter to the editor published in today's Opelika-Auburn News:

Letter: Lowder must be stopped

[Dave in Green]

No wonder some of the kids playing football expect to be paid under the table for their college services after being raised in this type of environment:

Adults bet thousands on youth football

[Dave in Green]

Interesting development in Alabama. The head of the Alabama State Senate has pushed back against the Governor of Alabama, freezing the process of appointing a new board of directors for Auburn University and calling for reopening nominations later this year. While he says it's not about any individual but rather the process, there has been much anguish in Alabama about Bobby Lowder being reappointed.

Governor Bentley had allowed only one week for nominations to be submitted, the committee received more than 200 nominations, and the committee made its recommendations just 10 days after the nomination deadline without conducting any interviews. It was also noted that Lowder's wife contributed $25,000 to Governor Bentley's election campaign.

Del Marsh: Reopen nominations for Auburn board of trustees

[Sergeant Zip]

Lowder will not seek reappointment to the board.

[Dave in Green]

Some of those in Alabama who are celebrating on sports forums about finally getting rid of Lowder from the Auburn board of trustees are also expressing a little caution. They're saying that several other board members are beholden to Lowder, and that he could continue to influence board decisions on Auburn sports through his surrogates on the board if they end up being reappointed.

Then again, some are expressing the belief that Lowder will soon be too busy in court to have time to micromanage Auburn sports. With the Taylor Bean & Whitaker trial over, it's likely that Lowder's now-defunct Colonial Bank will be next up for trial on bank fraud. Also, the judge in the Alabama gambling corruption trial has ruled against the defense's motion to suppress FBI wiretaps. Some believe that Lowder will show up in the gambling corruption wiretaps and also be drawn into that trial.

In Auburn football player news, the 4 players accused of armed robbery have now been formally indicted. Also, another Auburn football player was caught by police driving a car without license plates or registration, and without a valid driver's license. One person responding to this story suggests that perhaps the Auburn player was driving a "loaner car" from Columbus, OH.

Auburn's McCalebb arrested on vehicle charges

[ZachTheZip]

One person responding to this story suggests that perhaps the Auburn player was driving a "loaner car" from Columbus, OH.

Auburn's McCalebb arrested on vehicle charges

A cheap shot of a joke, perhaps? Or something with more substance...

[Dave in Green]

Doubtful that any car dealers in Columbus are interested in helping out Auburn players.

[ZachTheZip]

The SEC is looking into outright banning the practice of oversigning. If it goes through, it would change things in the recruiting world quite a bit. The SEC wouldn't be able to stockpile as much talent, and you wouldn't see around 20 highly talented kids every year forced to go JUCO or transfer to the FCS and instead sign with other FBS teams, something that would affect the talent parity of the entire sport. The SEC presidents are coming down hard on this, despite the protests of most of their ADs and coaches. I think they sense a major controversy brewing and are looking for easy fixes to gain themselves on a better moral standing before the hammer drops.

http://www.cbssports.com/#!/mcc/blogs/...895818/29562510

[Dave in Green]

Previously mentioned in this thread were the possibility of gang members from certain Atlanta area high schools being recruited by Auburn, and also concerns among other SEC schools about the way Auburn was recruiting some HS players. Some schools were said to be wondering how Auburn was able to recruit some HS players who they didn't believe were academically qualified enough to be recruited.

Now comes a stunning admission from the outgoing superintendent of Atlanta schools in her final message to school administrators that a criminal investigation by the Governor of Georgia has discovered that "educators cheated to help students pass state-mandated achievement tests," and that the findings of the criminal investigation "will be alarming” when made public.

Some of the high schools involved in the cheating scandal have been primary targets of the SEC in general and Auburn in particular for recruiting top football talent. As more information on this cheating comes out, it's believed that some colleges may be pulled into the scandal.

One of the Atlanta area high schools in question produced none other than Cam Newton.

Atlanta superintendent acknowledges cheating

[Zipmeister]

Previously mentioned in this thread were the possibility of gang members from certain Atlanta area high schools being recruited by Auburn, and also concerns among other SEC schools about the way Auburn was recruiting some HS players. Some schools were said to be wondering how Auburn was able to recruit some HS players who they didn't believe were academically qualified enough to be recruited.

Now comes a stunning admission from the outgoing superintendent of Atlanta schools in her final message to school administrators that a criminal investigation by the Governor of Georgia has discovered that "educators cheated to help students pass state-mandated achievement tests," and that the findings of the criminal investigation "will be alarming” when made public.

Some of the high schools involved in the cheating scandal have been primary targets of the SEC in general and Auburn in particular for recruiting top football talent. As more information on this cheating comes out, it's believed that some colleges may be pulled into the scandal.

One of the Atlanta area high schools in question produced none other than Cam Newton.

Atlanta superintendent acknowledges cheating

I have said it before, and I will probably say it again. One of the toughest things about being a division I basketball or football coach is convincing young men who don't belong in college to come to theirs. It's probably easier when a tattoo parlor operator or car dealership will help out.

[ZachTheZip]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6623466

SEC presidents override the coaches to ban oversigning. Coaches voted unanimously to keep it.

They also eliminated basketball divisions, something the MAC should look into.

The five proposals passed are:

- Reducing the scholarship ceiling from 28 to 25 prospects. Additionally, the league has done away with back-counting, meaning a junior college player who signs in December would count toward the number in the February signing class.

- Eliminating the graduate-student exemption to the rule the league has had in place for years whereby a student-athlete must have two years of eligibility remaining to transfer to an SEC school. The previous rule allowed former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to attend Mississippi last season.

- An SEC school cannot sign a prospect to an SEC financial-aid agreement until that prospect is enrolled in school and a full-time student attending classes. "It's a way of dealing with early enrollees," Slive said. "It would not permit other institutions to talk to you. We want to know that our prospects are coming to our institutions."

- The conference will oversee the administration of medical hardship exemptions. The league will review each case and decide the outcome.

- Prospects attending summer school will count against the 25 scholarship total that year.

[GP1]

They also eliminated basketball divisions, something the MAC should look into.

They can do this right after they cut the league back to 10-11 teams.

[Dave in Green]

Auburn coach Gene Chizik's new contract allows him to be paid if there is an NCAA investigation into possible major rules violations, a departure from his previous deal.

Auburn will pay Chizik even if there is an NCAA investigation

[Dave in Green]

Here's an interesting new wrinkle in the ongoing Auburn investigation, which many believe will uncover more dirt than at tOSU. A savvy investigative reporter dug deep into the Auburn official website, and found financial records showing that Auburn has paid tens of thousands of dollars to attractive coeds to act as escorts for football prospects. Auburn immediately removed the cited financial information from their website, but not before it was captured and exposed. The NCAA will no doubt find this of some interest.

Auburn Payroll: Tens of Thousands To Hostesses

[GP1]

Here's an interesting new wrinkle in the ongoing Auburn investigation, which many believe will uncover more dirt than at tOSU. A savvy investigative reporter dug deep into the Auburn official website, and found financial records showing that Auburn has paid tens of thousands of dollars to attractive coeds to act as escorts for football prospects. Auburn immediately removed the cited financial information from their website, but not before it was captured and exposed. The NCAA will no doubt find this of some interest.

Auburn Payroll: Tens of Thousands To Hostesses

This is very common at big time programs. Not really a scandal.

[Dave in Green]

Since details are now out in the daylight, we'll see if the NCAA thinks Auburn's escort program is common or excessive. Along with the ongoing NCAA investigation into Cam Newton and other Auburn issues, there are also many investigative reporters digging away down in Alabama.