Fascinating (and long) read on corruption at Auburn
November 20th, 2010 at 12:04 AM ^
Move over, GVSU! There is a new sheriff in Division II: WAR EAGLE!
November 20th, 2010 at 12:06 AM ^
That might be the best Thesis ever produced from an SEC college.
November 20th, 2010 at 12:33 AM ^
PS - this was posted here already a few days ago. It's amazing.
November 20th, 2010 at 12:06 AM ^
do people still use sparknotes?
November 20th, 2010 at 12:08 AM ^
Thanks for posting this - while we wait for the story to unfold, it has a sick sweet smell of corruption. It has all of the little stupid mistakes and dumb errors which sprinkle through real life.
When something bad goes down, often there is a strong push to blame everything on one person - make that person the scapegoat and claim he/she is the source of all evil. The nice part of such an act is that once that person is gone, it seems to clear everyone else left behind. In truth, corruption usually takes a whole environment to help foster and promote it. Behind every coach or booster who has been exiled, fired or banned, there is a whole network of handlers, 'helpers' and others.
November 20th, 2010 at 10:19 AM ^
Very well put. Anyone ever see this kind of thing in their workplace? As soon as the single evil doer is identified, everyone moves in that direction and wipes their brow that it wasn't them.
November 20th, 2010 at 12:32 AM ^
This goes way beyond Cam. They say the FBI, while monitoring the Bingo mess in Montgomery and also investigating the misappropriation of TARP funds by Colonial Bank, uncovered many, many things. Such things include guaranteed winning slot machines for AU players at Milt’s (Colonial Board member, AU Booster) Casino, unmarked ATM cards issued to AU players from Colonial Bank (Bobby Lowder-AU Board Member and Booster; Pat Dye-Colonial Board member, AU employee and Booster), forgiven loans to families, friends, donors, etc.
If true, big time jail time, loss of SACS accreditation which means expulsion from the SEC, huge financial implications for AU, removal of Dye’s name from the field and so on.
November 20th, 2010 at 12:40 AM ^
November 20th, 2010 at 2:09 AM ^
i always imagined it could be this bad
November 20th, 2010 at 12:46 AM ^
Glenn Beck thinks that guy is a conspiracy theorist.
November 20th, 2010 at 12:48 AM ^
the Bama job. Sounds like the state of Alabama is becoming a huge flushing toilet.
November 20th, 2010 at 12:50 AM ^
all of this. Maybe the SEC is not really the "best" football conference. If they all played on a level playing field, the Big Ten might just kick their asses to the curb.
I bet the Freep is wishing they were in on this story.
November 20th, 2010 at 8:40 AM ^
They only want in if they can pin something on RR...
November 20th, 2010 at 12:51 AM ^
Wonder if Kris Frost has read this... hey TomVH *wink wink*
November 20th, 2010 at 1:01 AM ^
He is probably walking to the bank with it.
/end joke
November 20th, 2010 at 1:01 AM ^
...but is there a short version?
November 20th, 2010 at 1:05 AM ^
Short version:
If 25% of this is true Auburn is f'ed. If 100% is true Auburn is really really f'ed.
November 20th, 2010 at 2:59 AM ^
f'ed as in worse than USC.
really really f'ed as a new example of the death penalty, The 11 team SEC, and AU no longer being able to function as an academic institution (they were already on probation from their accreditor).
Also if it is all true, then you are looking at more than the NCAA. So many fellonies committed. For example, according to this posting, the Cam money was laundered across state lines which is never a good thing (money laundering is bad, k).
November 20th, 2010 at 5:24 AM ^
This is a much more serious that USC. It goes much much deeper than Cam Newton or his eligibility.
November 20th, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
My opinion.... the way Camgate went down Reply No insider....just a lot of time spent working on Federal Fraud cases - Miss St talks with Cecil Newton and reports to the SEC office. Cecil keeps shopping Cam. - SEC talks to the Barn/Compliance Office...they look into it and say there is nothing to it. Dont think for one second the higher ups at the barn dont know how things are done....thats why Chizk was hired to start with! (keep it down home cuz) (AU Family). *Cam and others flock to the barn and you have your top 5 recruiting class after losing 5 of 6 and going 7-5 with a no name coach. - SEC office takes their answer at face value hoping this thing just goes away after the Barn is 7-4/6-5 this year. Problem is the barn kept winning and as Brando would say on CBS threw a fly in the ointment of the BCS. - Miss St is pissed but knows they did what they were suppose to do as a SEC member. (Slive screwing with them about the cowbells didnt help the way Miss St felt either) - FBI is working on a much bigger case into political gambling scheme and through all the phone calls gets all this information about how corrupt the Barn really is. (this is why the FBI is involved) They are/were building a Federal RICO case on the gambling/Colonial Bank and in the process got tons of wiretap phone calls of the arrogant idiots at the Barn (McGregor, Dye, Trooper and God knows who else) talking about buying numerous players....and how they were doing it. (notice I said Players not one Player) - FBI contacts NCAA and ask do they know what the hell is going on at the Barn?! (this is why the FBI is involved) they were in on it first...not the NCAA. **The FBI got this info as a bonus during their investigation (it fell in their lap and they passed the info along to the NCAA). This is why this case is moving so fast as opposed to the Reggie Bush case. They giftwrapped this case for the NCAA! This is also why both agencies wanted to talk to Bond, Rogers and company to match up the stories with the wiretap phone calls. - NCAA thinks the mighty SEC office and Slive have put this to bed and nothing was going on. (this is why Slive and SEC office look like idiots and are taking the wait and see...they did not have good info...let everything play out stance) They sat on it and did nothing! Slive and the SEC office is trying to figure a way to save face and its not gonna happen. - The barn idiots on the wiretap phone calls decided before the Ga game that they were DONE....the gig was up..... and as one insider has stated....they might as well go down in a blaze of glory....SEC/BCS. * It boils down to this....the barn went into a panic mode and saw what was coming for the next decade with Saban.... after we go 12-2 with a couple of #1 recruiting classes, then have the perfect season 14-0, Heisman, Butkus, Rose Bowl/BCS. The old guard at the barn could not bare that and sold out at all cost!!!!! ****I will tell you that I work with the FEDS all the time on cases and will say that....they have all their ducks in a row before going after people!! They are not into losing court cases. The US Attorneys office will not take the cases unless it is a slam dunk! They have the goods on the barn already. Hammer time for the NCAA on the Barn! It is gonna be fun to watch the rats at the Barn turn on each other to save their own asses and to watch the SEC office do the same! More will come out this week but.....after we beat the barn next Friday the floodgates will open and the rats will start running for cover! Sit back and enjoy!!!! Roll Tide!
November 20th, 2010 at 1:09 AM ^
In a nutshell: If it's true...hell if it's only 10% true, Auburn will make USC look like Jay walking.
And the NCAA went afte us for Practicing too much??? PLEEEEAAAAASSSEEEE!!!
November 20th, 2010 at 1:16 AM ^
Where is section 1 to preach on how unfairly the freep treats Michigan compared to Auburn and their local newspaper?
November 20th, 2010 at 6:23 AM ^
You just did it for him!
November 20th, 2010 at 11:11 AM ^
Corruption, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. I know each one when I see it. Hope you do, too. Election day is almost here.
November 20th, 2010 at 1:16 AM ^
I saw "Cam's uncle in Michigan" and nearly shit my pants. Whew
November 20th, 2010 at 1:36 AM ^
Yikes. Those are rediculous accusations. If those end up being true, my God, we have our next Death Penalty on deck.
They better hope they go all the way this year, because they might not have something nice to enjoy for a long time.
November 20th, 2010 at 1:54 AM ^
title of my my post back in August, here it is:
To me, you can divide them into two groups, the perennial successful programs like Alabama that constantly cheat and get caught but continue to prosper, and the flash-in-the-pan that have temporary success (Arizona St) or usually suck (Illinois) even when cheating.
My nominations for the all-time "powers" that cheat:
Alabama, Oklahoma, FSU, Miami, Auburn....all been at it a long time.
Then there's the successful programs that excel but do it the right way...we all know who we are.
November 20th, 2010 at 2:13 AM ^
Who do you think are college football's dirtiest programs?
Answer: Any program in the SEC or ACC.
Edit: Maybe you can exclude Vandy, Duke, and Wake Forest... that or they're really not good at the whole cheating thing.
November 20th, 2010 at 4:39 AM ^
November 20th, 2010 at 5:31 AM ^
Can Boston College, NC State or Maryland be added to that list.
November 20th, 2010 at 8:44 AM ^
I can't speak for the boosters (controlling them is difficult at best), but I would bet that Mark Richt tries to run a clean program...which means he's screwed in the SEC...
November 20th, 2010 at 2:04 AM ^
It's insane how much money is involved with collegiate sports. These clowns in Alabama (and all other big-time schools) make tons of cash off of wining and dining clients at football games. Deals are closed because Bubba got Jed drunk and fucked the weekend Auburn beat LSU. It amazes me that people like the boosters in this case can sleep at night, knowing how dirty they are.
Auburn is in deep, deep trouble here, and if these allegations pan out (which I'm certain they will since the FREAKIN' FBI is involved!), it's lights out. A full athletic death penalty is a real possibility here. Hell, the whole institution may go down in flames.
November 20th, 2010 at 11:03 AM ^
I spent some time with a lobbyist who worked in a highly lucrative industry. He also helped arrange business deals. Basically the way things went was this: sporting event, good meal with drinks, titty bar (Bouzuki's, if you know what I mean), next day closed door session, then a repeat of the prior day's festivities. Then, viola, a deal was done.
November 20th, 2010 at 11:18 AM ^
Dad likes his Taco Bell!
November 20th, 2010 at 2:46 AM ^
If what is alleged at tigerdroppings.com is true, then this would arguably be the biggest off-the-field story in NCAA history. Some of the most loaded statements/accusations are:
- Auburn boosters (and members of their Board of Trustees) have engaged in a massive pay-to-play scheme for years that has involved many players on the Auburn football team.
- The Auburn Board of Trustees is incredibly corrupt and its members are engaged in large scale criminal conduct.
- Auburn players were given cards that allowed them to win at slot machines at a casino owned by an Auburn Trustee.
- Mike Slive, SEC commissioner, is a subject of FBI investigation.
- As a result of this criminal and widespread corruption, Auburn will be kicked out of SACS and the SEC.
This is some serious stuff. So it's fair to look at the sources. The problem is, they aren't really credible. blueTunaTiger, an LSU fan, heavily relies on Alabama fan sites and message boards for the more damning accusations. So this is being fueled by the message boards of two of Auburn's rivals...
I do give the creator of the linked thread credit for compiling all of this and it does make a fascinating read, but I'm very hesitant to believe any of it because there's nothing in the way of direct proof for the major accusations and the sources are biased. I'm not saying that what's written is false. On the contrary, most of it sounds rather plausible and sensible, considering that it explains why the FBI is investigating these people over something that seemed rather trivial from MSM coverage (a failed pay-to-play scheme isn't really worth their time; massive corruption at a public institution is). But I'm very hesitant to believe such loaded statements as Slive being in the FBI's crosshairs or that Auburn will be kicked out of the SEC.
To conclude, here's how the author prefaced the thread:
NOTE: I PREFACE ALL OF THIS BY SAYING I CANNOT NOR HAVE NOT VERIFIED ANY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING, THIS IS A COMPILATION OF, AND INCLUDING THREADS AND DISCUSSIONS ON TIGERDROPPINGS.com’s SEC RANT AND OTHER INTERNET SITES REGARDING CAM NEWTON, AUBURN UNIVERSITY’S AD, AND AU’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES. PLEASE ENJOY.
November 20th, 2010 at 7:37 AM ^
The only real question is how and why is the FBI involved?
21-year-old Cam Newton will go into the NFL draft after this season, and eventually the NCAA will take some action with regard to the apparent Mississippi State scandal, most likely declaring Cam Newton ineligible, thus vacating Auburn's 2010 season.
Other than that, an FBI investigation in and of itself doesn't mean a whole lot, because (as far as I know) we don't know anything about what they are interested in. They could easily just be involved as a courtesy to the NCAA as they look for evidence of money or business going across state lines from Auburn boosters to Cecil Newton's enterprises.
The idea that allegations of massive corruption far beyond a wink-wink with Cecil Newton explain the FBI's presence, however, is just wishful thinking. It is not difficult to make bullshit sound plausible and authoritative when you know who's who.
November 20th, 2010 at 9:22 AM ^
I think the FBIs involvement is a clear signal that there could be (or probably is) massive corruption. I don't think they get involved unless there is a big corruption / racketeering case to be won (obviously unless it involve nat'l security).
November 20th, 2010 at 5:42 PM ^
That said, there's no guarantee that Auburn is involved. For all we know, the FBI was investigating something that a bunch of Mississippi State boosters were doing or something that some Auburn boosters were doing unrelated to Auburn athletics. Or anything really.
Auburn could be a cesspool of academic and athletic corruption. Or it could be even worse than the average SEC school*. We have no way of knowing which is true.
*I couldn't resist taking a dig there, but the point stands.
November 20th, 2010 at 9:23 AM ^
Newton's father owned a small trucking company with two drivers. After Newton signed they were flushed with so many contracts that a dozen drivers were hired.
Nice way to launder money along with breaking interstate commerce and wire/mail fraud laws.
November 20th, 2010 at 10:59 AM ^
Your question reminds me of those who asked "Why is congress getting involved in the Roger Clemens doping scandal?". I also wondered about that myself. However, the alleged facts in this case are quite different. There are many possible violations of Federal (and State) laws here. Were payments made to Cam Newton and his family deducted on any federal and state tax returns as business expenses (deductible business expenses are those encountered in one's normal line of business. Paying college football players is not an expense in any line of business). Were payments received by various parties properly recognized as income on their federal tax returns? Does rigging a slot machine to give payouts to an individual violate any state and/or federal gaming laws? Shouldn't we worry about athletes getting involved with individuals involved in gambling (Ed Martin anyone?)? There are very real possibilites of criminal violations here, unlike in Roger Clemens' case, where his only real legal violation was lying to a bunch of politicians. The involvement of the FBI in this case may not be entirely fatuous.
November 20th, 2010 at 11:07 AM ^
I've written so much sql code over the years I've forgotten words like this.
select * from obvious where Auburn="Dirty" and FBI="Uh Oh"
November 20th, 2010 at 11:23 AM ^
November 20th, 2010 at 2:47 AM ^
This has to be as bad as what happened at SMU. Death Penalty 2.0!
November 20th, 2010 at 3:47 AM ^
above, if any of this is true auburn is screwed... but how hard will the NCAA come down on them??? the NCAA has pretty much said they will not go the death penalty route again and i can't see them doing that to a big name school like auburn... but since the FBI is involved, and we all know how that goes, the NCAAs hand might be forced...
November 20th, 2010 at 8:57 AM ^
I was of the impression too that the NCAA would probably never use the death penalty again.
However, the timing of events in the Auburn case might force them too. With an investigation taking place while the season is still in play, you'd expect Auburn to do the honorable thing and bench Newton and at least appear like they are trying to be cooperative. Instead, it looks like Auburn is going to go for broke and try to win the mythical national championship on the field regardless of what the investigation turns up (and, maybe when you're already in this deep, I don't blame them). But that is really flaunting the NCAA and, from a long term perspective, I just don't think the NCAA can allow that precedent to happen (i.e., winning a championship when you know you are cheating and have even been caught in the act).
Personally, I'm kind of hoping that Auburn does run the table, wins everything...and then has it all stripped away in the most embarrassingly public fashion. That would be a huge blow to the SEC and all of their bullshit publicity.
November 20th, 2010 at 9:24 AM ^
The way Auburn/Chizik/Newton are flying the self righteous indignation flag is going to blow up in their faces. You would really expect nothing less from Chizik and Newton, but as an institution Auburn really needs to take a step back from the "he said, she said" and evaluate the risk that something very sleazy may have happened, and the potential long-term risks for the program. Newton is most likely gone after this year, so he doesn't care what happens to Auburn. How much can you really care about a school that you attended for one year, that may have had to pay you several times my own salary just to get you there? Chizik, he probably doesnt care about Auburn's long-term future either. He's really only been there like what, two years? How many bankers during the financial crisis set up deals they knew would blow up, just to secure fat bonuses? I have this image of their AD sitting at his big oak desk, with a bunch of fat, bald old boosters sweating in grey suits and chomping cigars and making vague threats against him should he decide to sit Newton.
November 20th, 2010 at 7:51 AM ^
Auburn coaches and boosters that were around when Auburn got probation the first go round, are again involved heavily with the current football operations.
Boosters have used an elaborate scheme of paying players and/or family through casino winnings and/or ATM cards linked to a banks slush account. The bank and casino were/are run by Auburn boosters. Former coach and boosters were also important figures at this bank.
The bank is no longer in operation, but the CEO of that bank is now in charge of finance at auburn.
The FBI is really involved because the Casino has also had some improper dealings with corrupt politicians in Alabama, some of which have already been indicted.
The FBI's wire taps were really for the Casino and politicans stuff, but they discovered all the Auburn stuff as colatteral damage.
The former coaching staffs were not deaf to the situations, but the boosters were not able to control them well enough, and thus, a 5-16 coach at Iowa State with former ties to the universties under-the-table workings was hired to become the boosters new puppet.
NCAA and SEC front office may have been asked to be quite by the FBI, and that may be the delay in all the rulings on Cam Newton. FBI wants to bust Casino people and didnt want Cam Newton affecting their work while they compiled their evidence.
This may run on for quite some time, but when the dust settles, Auburn will most likely at least have to vacate any wins and titles acquired this year. That is probably the best Auburn could hope for at this point
November 20th, 2010 at 8:06 AM ^