OXFORD — Below are the results of a recent FOIA request to Ole Miss seeking reported secondary violations from January until now. Some of the violations, you’ll see, come from 2011, but were not discovered/reported until 2012.
The most interesting, to you, will be the football violations. It includes a former coach sending text messages to recruits, and an apparent lack of communication during the transition process resulting in more than the allowable coaches recruiting.
FOOTBALL
Sept. 7-Nov. 19, 2011 — Two former football assistant coaches made the following items of impermissible contact: 13 text messages, two additional calls and one early call. One call was made by one coach, and the rest by the other. The violations were discovered after the coaches had been dismissed. It appears to have involved four prospects. As a result, the entire staff was restricted from calling Recruit A from May 6-19, and sending him any electronic correspondence from May 6-June 4. The staff was prohibited from calling Recruit B for two periods (April 15-May 31, 2013 and the first week of September 2013). Neither additional call resulted in contact with the prospects. The new staff is not recruiting Recruit C and has agreed not to do so, and Recruit D was not recruited either (and has since signed with another program).
The university asked that any additional penalties be applied directly to the primary offender, not the school.
Nov. 30, 2011 — An unidentified assistant football coach visited Memphis University School to obtain transcripts on Nov. 28. Two days later, another assistant visited the school to evaluate prospects. The former coach was serving as an assistant during the transition period. The university reduced by two the number of coaches permitted to be on the road from Dec. 15-17.
Dec. 10, 2011 — An assistant football coach visited Southern Baptist Education Center on Dec. 9. The next day, another assistant watched SEBC play Saint George’s Independent School in basketball. The university reduced by three the number of coaches permitted to be on the road from Jan. 20-22.
Dec. 30, 2012 — A flyer promoting the birthday party for Nick Brassell (name redacted, but was reported to be him) was distributed via social networking sites. Because admission was charged, it was a violation. Brassell said he believed it was not because the promoter was his cousin. He took down the Facebook post and cease and desist letters were sent to the restaurant and the cousin. Brassell was reinstated on May 7, 2012.
Dec. 30, 2011 and Jan. 22, 2012 — A student equipment manager provided rides from Memphis International Airport and Oxford for two football players. Each athlete had to repay $34 (the value of the ride) to a charity of their choice in order to regain their eligibility.
Jan. 20-21, 2012 — While on an official visit, the father of a recruit impermissibly charged room service and long distance phone calls to his hotel room. The cost was $46.87 (room service) and $30.55 (phone calls). An amendment was submitted citing the father’s handicap as a reason he could not attend meals outside of ones at the hotel (making room service permissible). Only payment of $30.55 was required to regain eligibility.
Feb. 29, 2012 — A current football player received a club level ticket to a baseball game against Jackson State in which admission was not charged to anyone. The ticket was from a current season ticket holder, and the player also ate a hot dog. He was required to pay a $13 charitable donation (ticket plus hot dog) to charity to regain eligibility.
December-April 2012 — Involves multiple recruits and eight separate football coaches. There were 21 “early calls” — to prospects before April 15 of their junior year. Each were two minutes or less in length, and 14 were pocket dials. One call occurred because a high school coach had used the recruit’s phone to call the staff, and the staff believed that was the coach’s number.
There were also eight additional calls on Jan. 29, the day between two unlimited call periods ending and beginning. One accident call while a recruit was an official visit, and two more to another recruit on an official visit on April 21.
There were 43 calls made from a nonmember of the coaching staff from Jan. 13-Jan. 31. Ole Miss’s claim is this stemmed from the hire of a noncoaching staff member in December 2011, but him being placed on the countable coach list during the transition. When the final coach was hired in January, he was supposed to remain a noncountable coach until after signing day. Miscommunication resulted in both making calls from Jan. 13-31, including three over two minutes in length.
One coach could not call recruits from May 30-June 2, and the entire staff cannot contact one prospect from Sept. 1-Oct. 30. They were also prohibited from calling another recruit from May 6-19. Another coach was prohibited from calling any prospects from April 15-May 31.
TRACK & FIELD
Dec. 20, 2011 — Two calls were placed to a prospective women’s track and field athlete within the same week. One was a return of a dropped call. The staff could not call the recruit for two weeks (Dec. 25-31, Jan. 1-7).
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Jan. 31, 2012 — Two calls were placed to a women’s soccer recruit because it was thought it was permissible to do so during the week of national signing day. There was a one-week phone ban from Feb. 26-March 3.
MEN’S GOLF
Nov. 7-8, 2011 — Same situation with the men’s golf team with too many phone calls on the week of signing day to several prospects. A three-week ban on call calls was the punishment.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Nov. 10, 2011 — A former women’s basketball coach (Renee Ladner) sent a text message to a recruit six days before the recruit signed with Georgia. It was not discovered until after the coach’s employment had been terminated, and there was no penalty because of that fact.
April 2012 — A women’s basketball coach sent a text message to the mother of a prospect, and more text messages with a recruit after a letter of intent had been signed. The first was accidental, and the second a misinterpretation of a rule. No penalty.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
April 12, 2012 — A men’s basketball recruit began his official visit prior to the conclusion of a dead period. The staff asked the compliance office for direction on when to start the visit, and was misinformed. As such, there was no penalty.
Feb. 20, 2012 — A basketball coach sent a text message to a recruit who had informed him he was committing elsewhere, wishing him well. No penalty.
SOFTBALL
Feb. 20, 2012 — A softball coach made an impermissible call to a recruit (who is a verbal commit). The text message was to offer condolences for the passing of the recruit’s mother. Given the circumstances, Ole Miss asked there be no penalty. The SEC denied that request, and instituted a 60-day phone ban on the prospect.
VOLLEYBALL
March 23, 2012 — A volleyball coach placed an impermissible early call to a recruit, but did not contact the prospect and did so on mistake. No penalty.
BASEBALL
Nov. 7, 2011 — A baseball coach sent a text message to a signed prospect, believing he was sending an email. The staff could not recruit or send correspondence from May 13-27.
RIFLE
March 19, 2012 — A rifle coach sent a text message on accident to a recruit. No recruiting calls or correspondence from May 13-27.
