OT: NCAA expands Ole Miss probe

Submitted by cletus318 on

The NCAA’s protracted investigation of Mississippi has taken a new twist within the last month – investigators have interviewed players at two or more rival Southeastern Conference schools about their recruitment by the Rebels, multiple sources told Yahoo Sports.

NCAA Enforcement representatives have visited Auburn and Mississippi State, and perhaps at least one more SEC Western Division school, this summer to speak with players who were recruited by Ole Miss. The players were granted immunity from potential NCAA sanctions in exchange for truthful accounts of their recruitment, sources said.

Those interviews indicate that the NCAA investigation has expanded beyond the spring focus on former All-American offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil.

OIe Miss officials declined comment other than to say the school is continuing to cooperate with the NCAA during the investigation. The NCAA, citing longstanding policy, declined comment as well.

Mississippi has been under investigation for years, and in late January was charged with 28 violations in three sports – 13 of them football, with the rest coming in women’s basketball and track and field. Nine of those alleged violations occurred during the tenure of current coach Hugh Freeze, who has a 34-18 record in four seasons in Oxford.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources-ncaas-ole-miss-investigation-expan…

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evenyoubrutus

August 25th, 2016 at 10:16 AM ^

Everyone makes such a big deal about how the NCAA doesn't do anything unless the feds get involved for other reasons, but is there a reason the IRS hasn't investigated any of these cases?

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NRK

August 25th, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^

Yes - they are hemorrhaging enforcement employees as they attempt to cope with mananing other responsibilities placed on them. No politics caveat on right/wrong, but the individual audit percentage is something like 0.8%, and add to that:

(1) a cash transaction that is intentionally hidden;

(2) the overall small amount compared to enforcement costs;

(3) the occurances vary (one time payments you need to catch a flash, reocurring payments are usually lower amount of money and therefore hard to track);

(4) the image/politics of going after potentially low-income individuals;

 

It's simply a pick your battles situation for them a lot of that comes back to finding systemic abusers or larger amounts of money. When you have a limited enforcement budget you need to choose what you are targeting. 
 

My guess is if there was something really egregious they might flag it, but this matters a lot more in our world than theirs.

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gwkrlghl

August 25th, 2016 at 10:16 AM ^

The players were granted immunity from potential NCAA sanctions in exchange for truthful accounts of their recruitment, sources said.
That's how you get valuable information

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Tbone67

August 25th, 2016 at 10:23 AM ^

Remeber when Rashan Gary's was offered illegal benits $$$ to sign with ??? If you think about it there were only a few other teams that he was considering. clemson, alabama, auburn, and ole miss. Take your pick.   

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True Blue Grit

August 25th, 2016 at 10:31 AM ^

bring the hammer down on a program everyone knows cheats.  But, I won't hold my breath.  Either way it will be interesting to see what happens.  The NCAA is going to look even worse (if that's possible) if they do nothing to Ole Miss.  As others have proposed here, if they're going to really clobber a program, Ole Miss would be the one to make an example of.  But, that would be logical. 

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LSAClassOf2000

August 25th, 2016 at 10:57 AM ^

So what we're saying here is that there was an implied message in Freeze staging his own funeral, correct? It makes sense given the talk about results and what you would like people to say about you when you're gone. Perhaps he was providing suggestions about what he would prefer was said regarding him when he is eventually forced out - whenever that happens, if it happens....I mean, this IS the NCAA and they might very well congratulate Ole Miss on a well-played strategy and Freeze and others remain unscathed. He was just covering his bases, his oh so obscure bases, just in case he had the chance to spend more time with his family, right? 

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readyourguard

August 25th, 2016 at 11:11 AM ^

This is the the quintessential "will not end well."

After the rivals rat out Ole Miss, how long before Ole Miss players start tweeting/snapping pocs of their gifts from Bama, LSU, Arkansas, etc?

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Elmer

August 25th, 2016 at 11:27 AM ^

I can just imagine the conversation the NCAA had with the Auburn players. "Did Ole Miss offer you more or less money than Auburn did?"

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JamieH

August 25th, 2016 at 11:37 AM ^

When I think about the two programs that I'd say are the most obvious cheaters in the country, I think Mississippi and Baylor.  Sounds like it is Mississippi's time to Pay the Piper. 

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Perkis-Size Me

August 25th, 2016 at 11:45 AM ^

While I'm not sure the NCAA has the cajones to actually lay down the law here, I can't say that any of this is surprising.

Ole Miss was, and largely has been, a tire fire for years. Then all of a sudden, Hugh Freeze shows up and they're recruiting in the same level as Alabama? Can't tel me that isn't a little odd.

Freeze was not some hot shot NFL HC or a Saban/Meyer protege that had a lot a strong, well known reputation to stand on. He was just some random guy from Arkansas State. And you can't sit there and tell me that all these recruits want to come and play for him because he's just a really nice guy. You don't turn away guys like Saban and Meyer just because someone else is really nice or looks cool.

You turn them away because you're told that when you come to Ole Miss, anything goes. You need your electric bill paid or some slush funds for a night out? You got it. There's a booster for that. You want to be treated like you're above the law? Come to Ole Miss.

Can't sit there and tell me that some really seedy shit isn't going on down there.



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drzoidburg

August 25th, 2016 at 5:37 PM ^

I'll tell you what's most perplexing of all from where I sit, something that simply a bright young coach can't remedy, is how a place like ole Miss manages to suddenly land the top black recruits in the nation. A few years ago they were hanging nooses on campus for christ sakes... Of course, this makes those recruits look like even greater sell outs

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trueblueintexas

August 25th, 2016 at 1:06 PM ^

I wonder what old Archie and Eli Manning are going to have to say about this. 

I'm sure Ole Miss will trot them out as bastions of ethics and good sport to try to make it look like the NCAA is trying to smear their alma maters good name. 

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UMinSF

August 25th, 2016 at 2:14 PM ^

There's at least some hope that Ole Miss will actually suffer some real consequences. They are the most obviously, brazenly cheating program since SMU. 

Yes, most of the SEC is a cesspool, and Baylor and UNC's scandals are perhaps even more repugnant, but when it comes to paying players, it seems pretty clear Ole Miss under Freeze has taken things to a whole new level.

It seems that every decade or so a school ratchets up the cheating so far the NCAA can't avoid doing something. Ole Miss might just be that school.

I sincerely hope so. Freeze and company deserve it.

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