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Freeze's defiance could lead to Ole Miss' downfall
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Dey Just Dumb Hillbillys
Feb 24, 2017, 8:00:39 AM2/24/17
to
At the time, Hugh Freeze thought he was standing up for his
program. A proud father of a brand-new, near-perfect recruiting
class back in 2013, Freeze was offended by all the ruthless
cheating accusations hurled at him and his Ole Miss program.
So he did what any reactionary parent would do when he felt his
family was threatened -- he lashed out. He went on the
offensive, sending out a tweet directing anyone and everyone who
felt he and his staff cheated their way to signing the nation's
No. 5 recruiting class to email Ole Miss' compliance office with
their grievances and evidence.
Freeze's since-deleted tweet infamously read: "If you have facts
about a violation, email compl...@olemiss.edu. If not, please
don't slander the young men."
That tweet, whether Freeze knew it at the time or not, will
define his Ole Miss coaching career. That tweet, which Freeze
felt was in good faith, now serves as an embarrassment after the
school announced Wednesday it was self-imposing a one-year bowl
ban for the 2017 season for major recruiting violations. The
university received a new NCAA notice of allegations (NOA) that
accused the school of lack of institutional control and that
Freeze failed to monitor his coaching staff.
The amended NOA alleges eight new rules violations to go along
with that crushing lack of institutional control charge. That
now brings the number up from 13 football rules violations from
last year's NOA to 21 by current or former members of Ole Miss'
football coaching staff.
In a painful 20-plus-minute video announcement Wednesday, Ole
Miss athletic director Ross Bjork said the school agreed there
was sufficient and credible evidence to support at least three
of the new charges, but also he said the school would contest
the allegations of lack of institutional control and the charge
against Freeze for failure to monitor.
Freeze, Bjork and Ole Miss chancellor Jeff Vitter stood by one
another. In the face of what could be a major NCAA hammer
dropping on the Ole Miss football program, these three sat
together, saying they would fight to clear what they felt the
NCAA got wrong while admitting fault to some new charges.
At the end of the day, Ole Miss admitted it was wrong. It
admitted it cheated, and all the defending and defiance Freeze
showed in the face of accusations is now coming back to haunt
him.
No coach would come clean in the public domain that Freeze so
adamantly defended his program in, but Freeze will now be
skewered in the court of public opinion -- and possibly by the
NCAA -- for how outspoken he was. Whether he knew if anything
improper was taking place under his watch or not, the arrogance
some people think he showed during this could hamstring him when
he and the school lay out their case in front of the NCAA.
It's hard to fault a coach for defending his program, especially
when cheating is alleged, but Freeze's constant public
opposition to critics and perceived moral high ground is now in
total question. His honesty is now in doubt.
Fair or not, that's where Freeze and Ole Miss stand right now.
"The people over there live in their own world and believe that
because they think they believe certain things that it will all
work out fine," a former Ole Miss assistant told ESPN. "They all
believed they were invincible."
An invincibility complex is something the NCAA will have to
wonder about as it decides how to further punish Ole Miss, which
already lost 11 scholarships, fired coaches alleged to have been
involved in wrongdoing and took coaches off the road during peak
recruiting times. It also will lose close to $8 million after
forfeiting its share of SEC postseason revenues for this coming
season.
The fight will persist as the school prepares its official
response to the NCAA within the next 90 days, before going in
front of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions later this year.
But Ole Miss is now backed into a corner, at the mercy of what
could be a merciless NCAA.
There's a charge that a former Ole Miss staff member provided
improper recruiting lodging and transportation to two prospects
who enrolled at other schools. A former staff member also
allegedly committed unethical conduct by providing false and
misleading information to Ole Miss and the NCAA about his
involvement in the recruiting violations.
"They all believed they were invincible."
Former Ole Miss assistant coach
Then there's the charge that a former Ole Miss staff member
arranged for a recruit, who signed elsewhere, to receive cash
payments from two boosters totaling $13,000 to $15,600.
The funny thing is that all of the NFL draft night drama
surrounding star left tackle Laremy Tunsil didn't even make the
NCAA's new NOA, likely meaning that the NCAA was still
investigating the school before that colossal flub came up.
"I am extremely disappointed to learn that any member of my
staff violated any SEC or NCAA rules, and as the head coach, I
regret those actions," Freeze said Wednesday. "Any behavior by
my staff that is inconsistent with that commitment to do things
the right way simply does not reflect the emphasis I personally
place on NCAA compliance."
And that's what Freeze will have to sell to the Committee of
Infractions if he hopes to get that possible career-killing lack
of institutional control wiped from the record. It's important
to note that Freeze is not named in any of the violations, and
the university -- along with Freeze -- must be able to keep the
head coach's direct distance as far from the allegations as
possible. However, the constantly mocked-and-ridiculed NCAA is
going to be under immense pressure to drop the proverbial hammer
on Ole Miss: The program's meteoric rise under Freeze was too
suspicious for people inside and outside of the conference to
accept.
That brings us to Freeze's future at Ole Miss. The lack of
institutional control charge could have a profound effect on
Bjork's future with the school and the futures of other Ole Miss
administrators, while the violations of coaching responsibility
by Freeze could at the very least deliver a suspension to Freeze
during the upcoming season. Ole Miss has imposed a one-year bowl
ban, but the question now becomes whether the NCAA feels one
year is severe enough. There's a point to drive home in order to
deter this sort of behavior in the future, and if the NCAA deems
that Ole Miss' own punishments aren't enough, another postseason
ban -- along with the possibility of more lost scholarships --
could be crippling for Ole Miss.
Could Freeze -- and even Bjork -- survive a two-year bowl ban?
Who knows, but Ole Miss has to be prepared to weigh its options
when it comes to the future of the program. One SEC assistant
wondered whether cutting ties with Freeze early could help send
a strong message to the NCAA about how seriously the school
takes this, which could result in a more lenient punishment from
the NCAA.
Maybe that's too rash, but no options can be scrapped by Ole
Miss at this point. While it lawyers up even more in the coming
days, the school is left scrambling to right its wrongs, as it
tries to lessen the eventual blow from the NCAA.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18748815/hugh-
freeze-ole-miss-rebels-defiance-lead-their-ncaa-downfall
program. A proud father of a brand-new, near-perfect recruiting
class back in 2013, Freeze was offended by all the ruthless
cheating accusations hurled at him and his Ole Miss program.
So he did what any reactionary parent would do when he felt his
family was threatened -- he lashed out. He went on the
offensive, sending out a tweet directing anyone and everyone who
felt he and his staff cheated their way to signing the nation's
No. 5 recruiting class to email Ole Miss' compliance office with
their grievances and evidence.
Freeze's since-deleted tweet infamously read: "If you have facts
about a violation, email compl...@olemiss.edu. If not, please
don't slander the young men."
That tweet, whether Freeze knew it at the time or not, will
define his Ole Miss coaching career. That tweet, which Freeze
felt was in good faith, now serves as an embarrassment after the
school announced Wednesday it was self-imposing a one-year bowl
ban for the 2017 season for major recruiting violations. The
university received a new NCAA notice of allegations (NOA) that
accused the school of lack of institutional control and that
Freeze failed to monitor his coaching staff.
The amended NOA alleges eight new rules violations to go along
with that crushing lack of institutional control charge. That
now brings the number up from 13 football rules violations from
last year's NOA to 21 by current or former members of Ole Miss'
football coaching staff.
In a painful 20-plus-minute video announcement Wednesday, Ole
Miss athletic director Ross Bjork said the school agreed there
was sufficient and credible evidence to support at least three
of the new charges, but also he said the school would contest
the allegations of lack of institutional control and the charge
against Freeze for failure to monitor.
Freeze, Bjork and Ole Miss chancellor Jeff Vitter stood by one
another. In the face of what could be a major NCAA hammer
dropping on the Ole Miss football program, these three sat
together, saying they would fight to clear what they felt the
NCAA got wrong while admitting fault to some new charges.
At the end of the day, Ole Miss admitted it was wrong. It
admitted it cheated, and all the defending and defiance Freeze
showed in the face of accusations is now coming back to haunt
him.
No coach would come clean in the public domain that Freeze so
adamantly defended his program in, but Freeze will now be
skewered in the court of public opinion -- and possibly by the
NCAA -- for how outspoken he was. Whether he knew if anything
improper was taking place under his watch or not, the arrogance
some people think he showed during this could hamstring him when
he and the school lay out their case in front of the NCAA.
It's hard to fault a coach for defending his program, especially
when cheating is alleged, but Freeze's constant public
opposition to critics and perceived moral high ground is now in
total question. His honesty is now in doubt.
Fair or not, that's where Freeze and Ole Miss stand right now.
"The people over there live in their own world and believe that
because they think they believe certain things that it will all
work out fine," a former Ole Miss assistant told ESPN. "They all
believed they were invincible."
An invincibility complex is something the NCAA will have to
wonder about as it decides how to further punish Ole Miss, which
already lost 11 scholarships, fired coaches alleged to have been
involved in wrongdoing and took coaches off the road during peak
recruiting times. It also will lose close to $8 million after
forfeiting its share of SEC postseason revenues for this coming
season.
The fight will persist as the school prepares its official
response to the NCAA within the next 90 days, before going in
front of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions later this year.
But Ole Miss is now backed into a corner, at the mercy of what
could be a merciless NCAA.
There's a charge that a former Ole Miss staff member provided
improper recruiting lodging and transportation to two prospects
who enrolled at other schools. A former staff member also
allegedly committed unethical conduct by providing false and
misleading information to Ole Miss and the NCAA about his
involvement in the recruiting violations.
"They all believed they were invincible."
Former Ole Miss assistant coach
Then there's the charge that a former Ole Miss staff member
arranged for a recruit, who signed elsewhere, to receive cash
payments from two boosters totaling $13,000 to $15,600.
The funny thing is that all of the NFL draft night drama
surrounding star left tackle Laremy Tunsil didn't even make the
NCAA's new NOA, likely meaning that the NCAA was still
investigating the school before that colossal flub came up.
"I am extremely disappointed to learn that any member of my
staff violated any SEC or NCAA rules, and as the head coach, I
regret those actions," Freeze said Wednesday. "Any behavior by
my staff that is inconsistent with that commitment to do things
the right way simply does not reflect the emphasis I personally
place on NCAA compliance."
And that's what Freeze will have to sell to the Committee of
Infractions if he hopes to get that possible career-killing lack
of institutional control wiped from the record. It's important
to note that Freeze is not named in any of the violations, and
the university -- along with Freeze -- must be able to keep the
head coach's direct distance as far from the allegations as
possible. However, the constantly mocked-and-ridiculed NCAA is
going to be under immense pressure to drop the proverbial hammer
on Ole Miss: The program's meteoric rise under Freeze was too
suspicious for people inside and outside of the conference to
accept.
That brings us to Freeze's future at Ole Miss. The lack of
institutional control charge could have a profound effect on
Bjork's future with the school and the futures of other Ole Miss
administrators, while the violations of coaching responsibility
by Freeze could at the very least deliver a suspension to Freeze
during the upcoming season. Ole Miss has imposed a one-year bowl
ban, but the question now becomes whether the NCAA feels one
year is severe enough. There's a point to drive home in order to
deter this sort of behavior in the future, and if the NCAA deems
that Ole Miss' own punishments aren't enough, another postseason
ban -- along with the possibility of more lost scholarships --
could be crippling for Ole Miss.
Could Freeze -- and even Bjork -- survive a two-year bowl ban?
Who knows, but Ole Miss has to be prepared to weigh its options
when it comes to the future of the program. One SEC assistant
wondered whether cutting ties with Freeze early could help send
a strong message to the NCAA about how seriously the school
takes this, which could result in a more lenient punishment from
the NCAA.
Maybe that's too rash, but no options can be scrapped by Ole
Miss at this point. While it lawyers up even more in the coming
days, the school is left scrambling to right its wrongs, as it
tries to lessen the eventual blow from the NCAA.
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18748815/hugh-
freeze-ole-miss-rebels-defiance-lead-their-ncaa-downfall
Damon Hynes, Cyclone Ranger
Feb 24, 2017, 11:27:33 AM2/24/17
to
$EC would lose too much from Ole Miss getting DP'd. Alabama playing Georgia State might work once a year, but *two* cupcakes?...Ole Miss might lose two schollys, tops.
Michael Press
Feb 24, 2017, 12:38:16 PM2/24/17
to
In article <afa4467a123eb326...@dizum.com>,
--
Michael Press
"Dey Just Dumb Hillbillys" <knuc...@draggin.com> wrote:
> At the time, Hugh Freeze thought he was standing up for his
> program. A proud father of a brand-new, near-perfect recruiting
> class back in 2013, Freeze was offended by all the ruthless
> cheating accusations hurled at him and his Ole Miss program.
>
> So he did what any reactionary parent would do when he felt his
> family was threatened -- he lashed out. He went on the
> offensive, sending out a tweet directing anyone and everyone who
> felt he and his staff cheated their way to signing the nation's
> No. 5 recruiting class to email Ole Miss' compliance office with
> their grievances and evidence.
>
> Freeze's since-deleted tweet infamously read: "If you have facts
> about a violation, email compl...@olemiss.edu. If not, please
> don't slander the young men."
>
> That tweet, whether Freeze knew it at the time or not, will
> define his Ole Miss coaching career. That tweet, which Freeze
> felt was in good faith, now serves as an embarrassment after the
> school announced Wednesday it was self-imposing a one-year bowl
> ban for the 2017 season for major recruiting violations. The
> university received a new NCAA notice of allegations (NOA) that
> accused the school of lack of institutional control and that
> Freeze failed to monitor his coaching staff.
>
How many scholarships do they lose?
> At the time, Hugh Freeze thought he was standing up for his
> program. A proud father of a brand-new, near-perfect recruiting
> class back in 2013, Freeze was offended by all the ruthless
> cheating accusations hurled at him and his Ole Miss program.
>
> So he did what any reactionary parent would do when he felt his
> family was threatened -- he lashed out. He went on the
> offensive, sending out a tweet directing anyone and everyone who
> felt he and his staff cheated their way to signing the nation's
> No. 5 recruiting class to email Ole Miss' compliance office with
> their grievances and evidence.
>
> Freeze's since-deleted tweet infamously read: "If you have facts
> about a violation, email compl...@olemiss.edu. If not, please
> don't slander the young men."
>
> That tweet, whether Freeze knew it at the time or not, will
> define his Ole Miss coaching career. That tweet, which Freeze
> felt was in good faith, now serves as an embarrassment after the
> school announced Wednesday it was self-imposing a one-year bowl
> ban for the 2017 season for major recruiting violations. The
> university received a new NCAA notice of allegations (NOA) that
> accused the school of lack of institutional control and that
> Freeze failed to monitor his coaching staff.
>
--
Michael Press
agavi...@gmail.com
Feb 24, 2017, 3:13:48 PM2/24/17
to
Ole Miss won 2 of last 3 and lost a squeaker this year.
Ole Miss's mistake was beating Mark Emmert's favorite team.
Ole Miss's mistake was beating Mark Emmert's favorite team.
darkst...@gmail.com
Feb 25, 2017, 2:17:01 AM2/25/17
to
On Friday, February 24, 2017 at 8:27:33 AM UTC-8, Damon Hynes, Cyclone Ranger wrote:
> $EC would lose too much from Ole Miss getting DP'd. Alabama playing Georgia State might work once a year, but *two* cupcakes?...Ole Miss might lose two schollys, tops.
Another school made big by violations.
> $EC would lose too much from Ole Miss getting DP'd. Alabama playing Georgia State might work once a year, but *two* cupcakes?...Ole Miss might lose two schollys, tops.
It's time to just make major college football about 25 schools and be done with it.
Mike
J. Hugh Sullivan
Feb 25, 2017, 9:37:06 AM2/25/17
to
On Fri, 24 Feb 2017 23:17:00 -0800 (PST), darkst...@gmail.com
wrote:
That would be a nice increase in the number of teams that play quality
football.
Teams in the wasteland north of the Ohio and west of the Rio could
play soccer and basketball.
Hugh
wrote:
football.
Teams in the wasteland north of the Ohio and west of the Rio could
play soccer and basketball.
Hugh
Michael Press
Feb 25, 2017, 4:03:25 PM2/25/17
to
In article <rubrum-F221AF....@news.albasani.net>,
Unless they lose a dozen scholarships for ten years I call foul.
--
Michael Press
--
Michael Press
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