Monday, November 28, 2011

Auburn may have violated agreement with SEC and NCAA in reported visit with prized recruit

image On November 4, 2011, Auburn University released a ream of documents related to the NCAA and school investigation into the football program.

While most of the documentation was related to the highly publicized investigation into the recruitment of former Auburn Quarterback Cam Newton, a number of other documents were also released, including details on numerous secondary violations committed by the program over a two year period.

Part of the documentation of the secondary violations included the school’s report on the Tiger Prowl affair, in which the school admitted to a handful of violations regarding improper contact with prospective student-athletes. As a result of those violations, Auburn restricted its football staff from having any on- or off-campus contact with Jameis Winston, the highly regarded football and baseball prospect from Hueytown, Alabama.

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Auburn also self-imposed a 60-day period of no off-campus contact from November 2011 through January 2012. However, recent reports indicate that the Auburn coaching staff may not be keeping up its end of the bargain.

On November 28, 2011, Fox Sports Recruiting Analyst Laura McKeeman sent the following tweet:

image Ms. McKeeman has since confirmed to IBCR via email that her source was Jameis Winston himself, and that the prospect “told me point blank that AU was in his house last night.” The contact was also reported on at least one other Auburn related recruiting site.

It was not immediately clear which Auburn coaches were involved with the reported visit.

While the initial contact in 2010 resulted in a secondary violation and resulted in relatively light penalties, it is also unclear whether a violation of the self-imposed sanctions would be secondary in nature. IBCR has reached out to NCAA compliance experts and more reports are likely to follow.

Exit Question: This isn’t a nuclear detonation by any stretch. Even if this violation rises to the level of a major infraction, the likelihood of harsh penalties is slight. But given the fact that the school has just recently escaped the scrutiny of a major investigation into its recruiting practices, isn’t this somewhat embarrassing for “the best compliance department in the country?’ And, could this result in the program ceasing its recruitment of the prospect altogether?

Helmet tap to Brian Warwick on Twitter.

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1 comments :

Unknown said...

LOL!!! We are talking about a program that hands out cars and 6 figure checks like a Pediatrician hands out lollypops! I'm sure they are shaking in their boots at the prospect of being caught in a secondary violation - even one that clearly demonstrates their dishonestly. This is like catching Al Capone for Jaywalking.

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