SEC Football

1. Baton Rouge police report: “Cell phone video shows LSU running back Jeremy Hill punching a man from behind and then celebrating with high fives when a second unidentified man knocked the victim out with another punch.”

2. Former Florida State quarterback Clint Trickett picks West Virginia.  Had considered transferring to Auburn.

3. Because his style of play is what the NFL craves, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel “must strike now,” according to Matt Hayes of The Sporting News.

4. Manziel and the Aggies offense will be the focus of many SEC coaches over the summer.

5. Meet DJ Double R, the man providing the soundtrack for Texas A&M football.

6. Georgia coach Mark Richt on offensive line play: I’d rather have five guys that are in sync…. than three of them that are superstars and two guys that can’t play.”

7. How Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen’s 2009 recruiting class fared – compared to Ole Miss.

8. What the NFL draft says about the Arkansas program.

9. Auburn defense end Dee Ford led the team in sacks in 2012 and defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson likes what he saw this spring: ”He is our best and, at this point, our only pass rusher that is giving us the kind of pass rush we’ve got to get to be successful.”

10. Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron will be the honorary pace car driver at the Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

11. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier and former player Sterling Sharpe the best SEC golfers at the Chik-fil-A Bowl challenge.

SEC Basketball

12. Former Rutgers guard Eli Carter is transferring to Florida.  Averaged 14.9 points per game last year before breaking his leg. Seeking a waiver to allow him to be on the 2013-2014 roster.

13. One incoming -one outgoing for the Gators.   Guard Braxton Ogbueze is leaving.

14. Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson – preseason All-American candidate?

15. Georgia and Georgia Tech scheduled to play on November 15th. In a series that dates back to 1905, the two teams have never met that early in the season.

SEC/College News

16. Expect the committee organized to review Auburn athletics to file a report “in a few weeks.”

17. An attorney vs. attorney dispute that’s generating attention from the NCAA and the NFL.

18. Which conference won realignment?  I doubt you’ll be surprised by the answer.

Extras

19. 15 candidates to be on the stage at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall for next year’s NFL draft.

20. A Tennessee State football player collapsed on the practice field and later died. Now his parents are suing the university for wrongful death.

With the NCAA facing numerous issues this offseason, there appears to be a growing rift between the academic side of college sports and the athletic side.  A group created by one (the academic side) in order to help run the other (the athletic side), the current NCAA is caught in what’s looking increasingly like a tug-of-war between the jocks and the pointy-heads.

According to Andy Staples of SI.com, “that might be the NCAA’s biggest problem” moving forward:

“Under president Mark Emmert, the NCAA has aggressively embraced a model that puts all the power in the hands of university presidents and chancellors.  That would be fine, some high-profile athletic directors said, if the presidents sought the advice of the people who work in athletics on a daily basis.  Instead, Emmert and his hand-picked group of CEOs have rammed through rules and policies with only minimal consultation of the people who must actually implement those rules and policies.  Why will much of the recently passed football recruiting deregulation probably get tabled?  Because no one bothered to ask the people working in athletics.  If they had, they might have realized a relaxation on the rules that govern how often coaches can contact recruits would be find with most ADs and coaches.  They also would have realized a relaxation on the rules that govern exactly who may contact recruits could result in a hiring spree by the wealthiest schools that would leave everyone else going further into debt while trying to keep up.  Why did the plan to offer athletes up to a $2,000 annual stipend to cover the full cost of attendance get scuttled after its passage at a 2011 presidential retreat?  Because no one bothered to check with less wealthy schools to see how they felt about it.  If they had, they’d have known it stood no chance of passing an override vote.”

Staples’ article is well worth your time, though it reveals just one new aspect of an issue we’ve discussed on this site on numerous occasions — What is the NCAA’s role in college athletics now that college athletics have become such large sources of revenue for schools?

Initially, the NCAA was charged with keeping the amateur model intact, with making sure everyone competed on a level playing field, and protecting the safety of student-athletes.  But today the amateur model is the center of its own controversy and numerous schools are pushing toward a system where all schools are not created equal when it comes to revenue, staff sizes, spending, and even extra stipends or larger scholarships for athletes.

Though talk of a breakaway from the NCAA by a number of big schools is back in the news, at MrSEC.com we continue to feel that such a grand change is unlikely.  Think of all that would be involved in creating a new and improved “NCAA lite.”  Who would make the new rule book?  Who would enforce it?  How would money be distributed?  More importantly, who in the hell could get the largest of the big-money schools all on the same page long enough to even begin answering those questions?  You better believe that Big Ten schools and SEC schools would view things like partial-qualifiers, oversigning, and admissions standards differently.  Even within the SEC, Vanderbilt would likely view those topics through a different monocle than Auburn or Ole Miss or cross-state rival Tennessee, for example.

Aside from infrastructure concerns, just imagine all the potential lawsuits that could result from one group of schools totally breaking away from another.

No, it’s much more likely that a new “super division” of the biggest big-dollar schools will be created as a fifth tier of the NCAA pyramid (atop Division III, Division II, the FCS, and the FBS… though those last two might somehow be merged).  We’ve written on this topic repeatedly — here, here, here, and here.

The richest NCAA schools already appear to be on the path to a new super division model.  Staples’ article reveals that the decision about this new structure will not only require university presidents and chancellors to work together, but it will also require the input of athletic directors, a group that’s been moved to the kiddie table under Emmert’s regime.

And if ADs aren’t asked for their thoughts?  Well, you can expect any new super division to be just as controversial and unpopular as the current four-tiered NCAA set-up… meaning very.

If you read this site often you know that we believe the top 70-80 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision will eventually create their own “super division” of college athletics.  The biggest schools in the biggest conferences are already pushing for the right to provide full-cost-of-tuition scholarships to their athletes.  The commissioners of the biggest, wealthiest conferences are behind the idea.  Embattled NCAA president Mark Emmert is as well.

But according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the divide between those who want to increase student stipends and those who don’t — or those who can’t afford to — is widening:

“In some ways, the issue has become a referendum on Mr. Emmert, whose attempts to get things done quickly have alienated certain factions.

‘There are some people who will oppose anything he supports, and that’s unfair,’ says Sidney A. McPhee, president of Middle Tennessee State University.  As head of the NCAA Student-Athlete Well-Being Working Group, Mr. McPhee has become chief arbiter of the stipend debate.

The issue has driven a wedge through an already divided Division I.  Some institutions, including those that don’t compete in football at the highest levels, say they simply don’t have the revenue to offset the added costs.  Others worry that making additional payments to players—no matter how small, and for whatever reason—threatens the amateur model.

Such opposition is one reason some of the wealthier programs are pushing for a further subdivision of the NCAA’s top level.  If they can’t get their way on issues like this one, some observers say, they’ll just take their ball and go play somewhere else.

The climate has frustrated Mr. McPhee, who believes that even the less-wealthy programs have an obligation to make a priority of players and their unmet financial needs.  ‘If you want to compete [in Division I],’ he says, ‘you’ve got to step up.’

It’s also a matter of fairness, he says. Institutions increase aid packages for other students all the time, so why shouldn’t they do it for athletes too?”

There are only three questions remaining, in our view.  First, when will the new “super division” be created?  Second, will athletes from all sports be paid (if not, expect litigation).  Third, if all sports are included, are we looking at a split inside the FBS or an overall split among Division I schools in every sport?

While the 70-80 largest, richest football schools would obviously be ready to start their own new branch of the NCAA, would their be some big basketball schools — St. John’s, Georgetown, Marquette, for example — that are prepared to pay athletes as well?  One would imagine so.

Rest assured, a split is coming and a new “super division” will be formed.  It’s just a matter now of when it will be formed and who will be a part of it.

No school had ever lost 11 underclassmen to the NFL draft.  Not until this past winter when 11 LSU Tigers told head coach Les Miles they would be making the jump to the professional ranks, that is.

Quite naturally, the coach has tried to turn that negative into a positive… on the recruiting trail:

“The situation is a reality in our program.  We did a great job developing our guys, and investing in them.  And what’s happening is that three-and-outs are reality.  We’re going to have to enjoy the success that those guys can have in three and out.

I still believe that there are opportunities (for players to return) to raise their draft status.  The two pieces to whether you stay is whether you raise your draft status and the opportunity to make it and stay in the NFL.  To me, when you’re ideally placed to be drafted high and to be in a position where you have to find your worth and your abilities but you will make a team — those guys are really welcome to leave (school) and, in many instances, will.”

Cut through the standard Miles doubletalk and you’ll easily grasp the coach’s message to prospects — “Hey, kid, we can get you ready for the NFL lickety-split.”

Michael Carvell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that “some are wondering if the coach works for a university… or an NFL farm system.”  In reality, the answer is both.

Miles is aware of the current college sports landscape and he’s adapting to it, not unlike John Calipari at Kentucky.  No rules are being broken.  Heck, those who abhor the NCAA might even say Miles and LSU are helping young men break free from the bonds of Mark Emmert faster, allowing them to make money sooner.

Still, if Miles were to be honest, one would guess he’s not thrilled about having to replace so many players ahead of schedule.  Faced with that issue, however, he has to put a proper spin on it.  And he has.  So anyone upset with Miles’ comments regarding three-and-outs should first ask themselves this question: “What was Miles supposed to say?”

Day after day, week after week, more coaches, more athletic directors, and more conferences are speaking out against the NCAA’s decision to deregulate recruiting.  After years of complaining about the NCAA’s rulebook being too thick, the complaint now is that college sports’ governing body is ripping out way too many pages.

Somewhere NCAA prez Mark Emmert sits in a dark room mumbling to himself, “I can’t win.”

This summer, dead periods will become a thing of the past.  Coaches can contact prospects whenever and however they like.  They can mail anything they like, too.  Take it from South Carolina recruiting coordinator and receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr.:

“I think there’s going to be some more stuff this summer that the SEC is deciding on (about the rule changes). But you can mail out anything. I’ll start mailing out Fatheads (wall stickers) of our best players. I’m going to mail them to everybody. It’s perfectly legal. You can mail out whatever you want. Because we’ve got to think about what Alabama’s doing, and they will absolutely press the envelope, regardless of calls. You can send out whatever you want. Last year, you couldn’t mail out media guides. You can send out anything now.”

Ah, yes.  Alabama.

In addition to the anything-goes policies now on the way, colleges will also be allowed to hire as many people to help with on-campus recruiting as they like.  Alabama has already employed former Baylor head coach Kevin Steele as its director of player personnel, a czar of sorts to oversee the 28-man Bama bunch that can text, call, and mail recruits as often as it likes.

Other schools with cash aplenty will surely follow Alabama’s lead.  So those schools trying to build programs or climb past football’s reigning juggernauts, well, good luck.  The bullies on the block will be able to call in reinforcements.  Good ones.  Lots of them.

But that’s if the NCAA’s planned rulebook burning begins on July 1st as scheduled.  The chorus of figures against the plan is growing by the hour.

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Missouri athletic director Mike Alden was out of the country last week when the NCAA announced that it had bungled parts of its investigation into the Miami athletic department.  One of the ex-Miami coaches who was reportedly on the verge of being charged with unethical conduct is current Tiger basketball coach Frank Haith.

Yesterday, for the first time, Alden addressed the NCAA’s botched investigation:

“I’d look at this nationally first.  I’ve never seen anything like that before in my tenure in college athletics.  So, I think it certainly raises lots of questions.  I appreciate the fact that the NCAA has come up and they’re addressing it.  We’ll kind of have to see how that plays out…

Based upon the conversations I heard that were taking place yesterday (during a conference attended by NCAA president Mark Emmert and a number of athletic directors)… there’s a significant amount of concern nationally relative to the integrity of the process and the transparency.  How that impacts other institutions, whether it’s us or whatever, time will tell.  We’re just going to have to continue to monitor it.”

Alden said he has no insight on when the NCAA might wrap up its sleuth work.

Whether the governing body drops the hammer on Miami, its ex-coaches and Haith remains to be seen, but you can bet there will be some serious appeals if they do.  Further, the screw-ups in the investigation could also open the door to actual court battles — can you say Jerry Tarkanian? — if things go poorly for those currently under the NCAA’s microscope.

The NCAA rule book is too thick.

To quote Dan Aykroyd as Bob Dole: “You know it, I know it, and the American people know it.”  NCAA president Mark Emmert knows it, too.

At yesterday’s NCAA convention in Grapevine, Texas, Emmert admitted the following:

“It turns out we know how to write rules.  One of the problems is sometimes we write lots and lots and lost of rules…

Just as the shiny side of the competition has the side that can also bring dysfunction to it, so too can the regulatory side.  And we have to recognize that as we try to balance that coin on its edge.”

Emmert’s comments come as the NCAA is re-working its rule book and trying to make things simpler.  Coaches and fans have been yelping for such action for years.

But there’s a problem that comes with ripping pages from the NCAA manual — less rules will mean more loopholes.  Less black-and-white will mean more gray.

Let’s look back at the Cam Newton situation as an example.  As Auburn was roaring toward the BCS title in 2010, all eyes focused on Newton as it became clear that his father had asked some Mississippi State boosters for cash in exchange for his son’s signature.  But Newton was not punished.  First, he supposedly had no idea of his father’s actions.  Second, Newton signed with Auburn, not MSU.  Third, no smoking gun was ever found tying Auburn to alleged payments.  So Newton played.  Auburn won.  And everything — especially on The Plains — was hunky-dory.

But should a parent be able to ask for cash in exchange for his son’s services on a football field or basketball court?  Obviously the answer is no.  So the NCAA closed the so-called Newton loophole at last year’s convention.  The rule-makers decided to expand the definition of an agent to include third-party influences including parents.  Meaning that if a player’s parent — acting as an agent — has his or her hand out asking for loot, the player will be ruled ineligible just as quickly as if an agent had tried to broker a deal for him.  No cash has to even change hands.  Ask for money, your kid is ineligible.

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The folks over at Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal have ventured to rank the most influential people in college football.  Their top pick is no surprise — SEC commissioner Mike Slive:

“If the ultimate test of influence is getting everyone else to do what you want them to do, Slive is clearly the most influential figure in college football today. A little more than four years after he presented that initial playoff proposal, it came to pass this year. The format, which goes into effect for the 2014 season, looks very much like the model that Slive first presented, with two semifinal games being played in bowl venues, followed by a national championship game a week later.”

Others on the list…

* Big Ten commish (and occasional SEC critic) Jim Delany ranks #2 just behind Slive

* John Skipper and Burke Mangus of ESPN rank #3 right above…

* NCAA president Mark Emmert at #4

* Alabama coach Nick Saban comes it at #15, the highest ranking for any coach

* Florida AD Jeremy Foley is #22

1.  NCAA president Mark Emmert does a Q&A with The New York Times.  (He again denies having had any conversations about returning to LSU.)

2.  Don’t expect any quick playoff solutions to come out of Chicago.

3.  AthlonSports.com has posted their SEC football predictions.

4.  Care for some basketball recruiting rankings?

5.  If you’re not a fan of bizarro uniforms then you probably won’t like what Maryland is rumored to be considering for its new football field.

6.  The alleged shooter in the murder of two former Auburn football players and another man turned himself in to authorities last night.

7.  Proving that there are always two sides to a story, Desmonte Leonard has his share of supporters.  Amazing.

8.  Meanwhile, funeral arrangements have been set for those killed in Saturday night’s shooting.

9.  Sadly, Auburn isn’t the only SEC school that’s had to deal with the death of athletes in recent years.

10.  Gene Chizik said yesterday his emotions over “an incredibly difficult 72 hours” have included “disbelief, outrage, and devastation.”

11. The fans figure to play an important role at Mississippi State during Dan Mullen’s fourth year on the job.

12.  Meet Ole Miss linebacker Ralph Williams… the 55th most important Rebel in 2012.  (Yes, this countdown basically includes everyone.)

13.  Former Texas A&M and MSU coach Jackie Sherrill believes the SEC will go to 16 teams and a nine-game schedule sooner rather than later.  (Does anyone know why Sherrill has become the go-to ex-coach for SEC speculation?)

14.  Florida is working hard to sell season tickets for football.

It’s a big news day in Athens apparently…

15.  Georgia and Georgia Tech are going at it Twitter style…

16.  Former cornerback Chris Sanders is hoping to return to UGA…

17.  And the discipline for current corner Branden Smith still hasn’t been disclosed.

18.  Derek Dooley says his staff has “done a lot of things (to improve) leadership and team chemistry” at Tennessee.

19.  UT and Xavier have officially lined up a home-and-home basketball series.

20.  Missouri officials are confident that a fan charged with drug offenses — a fan who on occasion traveled with the basketball team — did not have any improper influence on players and did not give players gifts.

The BCS title game is set and it features a rematch of a regular season game between two teams from the same conference, one of whom technically didn’t win a single prize all year.

To folks inside that conference — the SEC — it’s no big deal.  To people outside the South, it’s darn near conniption time.  For that reason, none other than NCAA president Mark Emmert expects the current BCS system to get a few more tweaks this offseason:


“After this season, I think there will be the beginning of a great debate on what the model looks like.  It’s changed a couple of times in its short history and I wouldn’t be surprised if it changed again.”


When asked if a playoff might be in the offing, Emmert said no.


“That becomes a demand that is physically enormous for these students.  It becomes a huge academic strain on them because you’re playing ball right through final and into the next semester.”


Someone might want to inform the prez that the 2011-12 FCS playoff schedule began November 26th and runs right through its championship game on January 7th of next year.

Double-talk and excuses aside, the best fans can hope for is a plus-one model at this point.  And a seeded plus-one model — a Football Final Four, if you will — should allow any squad with a legitimate claim at the title to vie for it on the field.