NY Times: NCAA investigating Tennessee recruiting, hostesses
Updated 2:05 PM EST: Clay Travis has a very solid take on the situation and the NY Times article itself.
8 months ago
Will
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Was going to post this
The NCAA is interviewing committed recruits of UT who have yet to sign about the role “hostesses” played in the recruitment process?
NCAA trying to prove the hostesses are representatives of UT and therefore cannot recruit off-campus.
Reggie Bush, $250,000 and USC get swept under the rug, while the NCAA is messing with the UT hostesses. What a surprise.
Ball, oskie, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle... for this is the WINNING EDGE.
No way!
The NCAA is treating some schools differently than others?! That never happens.
"So I want everybody to think here for a second, how much does this game mean to you? 'Cause if it means something to you, you can't stand still. You understand? You play fast! You play strong! You go out there and dominate the man you're playing against, and you make his ass quit! That's our trademark! That's our M.O.... as a team! That's what people know us as!" - Coach Nick Saban before the 2008 LSU game.
by 12NationalChampionships on Dec 9, 2009 9:02 AM EST reply actions
Well . . .
It is an excuse for some NCAA geek to getto have a “private interview” with some UT chickas isn’t it?
Aw, come on Will. I had you scooped by a good two hours!
Simulated Gameday Experience - just like the real thing, only we have smoke machines.
He did. He really did.
I commented and everything
A belated hat tip to you sir
We’re all in busy real life mode ‘round these parts this week, and I just saw the story on my way out the door and just fired the full NYT link up there before leaving. Mike Hamilton is supposed to make a statement at some point today, so perhaps we’ll know more of the appropriate level of concern then. I’m sure, though, that everyone else is enjoying the headline alone at our expense.
That's wrong on so many levels !!! But very funny !
Dan Willmams and Hardesty are the real deal ! Go Vols !
Have they talked to anyone who is signed with UT?
I remember the phrase they used in journalism school for a source like this kid from South Carolina that isn’t going to sign with UT: “unreliable sources.” Gives new meaning to the phrase “witch hunt”.
I just recently graduated
and I knew quite a few hostesses while I was there. Some of them signed up to meet football players, and others just liked being involved in the program. Most of them are nice girls, but the NCAA is acting like UT is pimping them out. That’s rediculous. They are essentially glorified tour guides.
Can someone explain something to me?
The rule says “institution’s athletics interests are prohibited from making in-person, on- or off-campus recruiting contacts.”
How is it that any contact on campus is not equally an infraction? Does their status change from university rep on campus to athletic department rep off campus such that it’s a violation?
You're full of crap.
The NCAA does not comment on ongoing investigations. Nor does Tennessee. In fact, Tennessee knew nothing of this review, until they were contacted last night by the newspaper.That makes it seem likely that this story was the result of a tip from a rival program. Why would a rival program tip off Lane Kiffin and Tennessee?
lol, turnabout is fair play, but he’s still making quite a logical leap. You have investigators going around and interviewing the families of recruits, so there are many ways in which this story could have gotten out. And he keeps talking about how Tennessee didn’t even know about the investigation until the story ran, but the NYT article seemed to suggest otherwise
Tennessee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton confirmed that an investigation was under way but declined to elaborate.
Another one of his main points is that the hostesses are not part of the athletic department but rather the admissions office. Well, how come the application process involves a written exam on football and the UT football team? Come on Clay. Don’t pee on my face and tell me it’s raining. Seems to me that Travis is just being his usual #$^ clown.
What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.
-Hank Hill
that is, the application process for the Orange Pride hostess program
That’s why before you’re allowed to work your first game, you have to score 95 on a written test on the basics of football and team personnel.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/web/COM1051336/index.htm
What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.
-Hank Hill
Probably because the application is for hostesses for the football program.
Working through the admissions office is an administrative move that has a lot to do with funding because UT’s athletic departments are funded independently of the university. It’s really not much of a difference-maker either way.
It’s really not much of a difference-maker either way.
that was my point. Actually, the NYT author just said on Finebaum that the NCAA has a rule stating that these types of programs must be run through the admissions office. The rule was put in place along with the no fog machine, no official introductions, no simulation game day experience rules to take out the “rockstar aspect” of recruiting. He made the point that having a bunch of Orange Pride members drive 200 miles to make an appearance at recruit’s high school games might be looked at as skirting the intent of the rule that divested the groups from the athletic department.
What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.
-Hank Hill
If we only had this for Orange Nation....
…wait, it would’ve been the exact same trainwreck it was. Never mind.
Simulated Gameday Experience - just like the real thing, only we have smoke machines.
And
more from the AJC suggesting the NCAA is also interested in UT’s use of the dreaded social media
The author of the NYT article is going to be a guest on Finebaum.
you can get a streaming version of the show at finebaum.com if you’re interesting in seeing what this guy has to say.
What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.
-Hank Hill
heh
Finebaum is exactly where I like to go for analysis of breaking-and-still-incomplete news. Count me out. I’ll tune into this story in about a week or so. Much simpler that way.
I think you mean steaming version...
Lou Brock loves Lamp.
by birdjam on Dec 9, 2009 4:30 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
That Pete Thamel guy said UT has had a ton of secondary violations
where is that article (i think by christ low) showing Ohio State and Florida having committed more secondary violations than anyone else in the last year?
he did note that it is very unusual for the NCAA to contact kids who haven’t signed with a school yet.
-This seems an awful lot like tampering to me, especially on such flimsy accusations.
yeah that is main thing that bothers me about the whole thing
It seems pretty clear that the most that will come out of this is another secondary violation (if that). The main damage will be from them grilling kids that haven’t committed fully yet
Living in Alabama is like living 50 years in the past, they are still just as racist, just as educated, the state constitution forbids any kind of public transportation, and all they can talk about is Bear Bryant
exactly right
turns out, Brandon Willis – one of the kids who they grilled – is now saying he rushed into his commitment, and he’s going to take some more visits. This is major BS! I wish Tennessee could sue them and tell em to put up or shut up
Well if we loss our Hostesses : (
http://www.blueyze.com/bluechristmas.html
Dan Willmams and Hardesty are the real deal ! Go Vols !
Having finally read through Clay's article, it seems like a lot of lawyer spin.
Much of his points are obfuscation. For one, it doesn’t matter if she traveled 178 miles or 1,780 miles for the game. If she had an unauthorized contact, it was unauthorized. It could have been an Alcoa High School game; the result is the same.
For another, the distinction between being hired by the AD vs. the admissions office is irrelevant. She’s hired by the university and paid for her work with the football recruits – work which places her in a position of privileged contact. She’s a representative.
Also, it’s pretty safe to assume that this contact occurred before the commitment. Why else would you need a sign to read, “Come to Tennessee!”?
And none of the information allows us to conclude whether this was a violation (of any level) or not. It’s possible, but it’s also possible that this was a total nonissue. Give it a bit, and we’ll find out. If she screwed up, UT will undergo whatever action the NCAA takes. If not, then nothing will happen. And you can bet that if this comes to nothing, that Lane will pull no punches in spinning this in his favor.
I like Clay, but I think that trying to lawyer out of this is the wrong answer.
Clay Travis was right about one thing, though.
The source of the leak is a very interesting question, and probably tells more of this story than the event itself.
don't be surprised if LK leaked the story himself,
he does believe that any pub is good pub…..
by pLANEolG8RB8 on Dec 10, 2009 12:36 AM EST up reply actions
maybe it's the same tipster
that ratted out these guys.
Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.
According to the dad, who was at the game
there was no sign that read “come to tennessee”. as for being a representative of the university, where is the line drawn? if they became friends and she is only part time, why can’t she be allowed to talk to him outside of being a hostess? i’m sure that there is nothing against that in the rulebook.
as for clay travis, i think ultimately his point is that this is just a witch hunt. the circumstances are very weak and the timing is suspect.
by golfballs03 on Dec 10, 2009 12:35 AM EST up reply actions
Ah.
Probably good to table the question on the sign, then. If no such sign existed, then the NYT article is open to more scrutiny.
As for what should be allowed – it’s a tough one, and I don’t begrudge the NCAA that question. On the one hand, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with the contact. At some point in time, people have to be treated like people, and that includes their social lives. On the other hand, you don’t want things to escalate to the point that happened at Colorado a few years back with the ‘escorts’. (Obviously that wasn’t the case here; they’re just two separate points on a continuum of social interaction.) Trying to find a good line for that is tough.
But yes, Clay is right that there’s a lot to question here. And the initial furor appears seriously overblown. But we’ll see.
now if Kiffin's got these girls down at the Mouse's Ear
it might be a little different
by golfballs03 on Dec 10, 2009 12:46 AM EST up reply actions
A la Colorado.
And their program is still suffering from that. They don’t even have the finances to eject a train wreck of a coaching situation.
But regarding that sign, a new GVX article clears it up a bit.
According to the report, some hostesses drove about three hours to a game involving three potential Vols in Duncan, S.C., and brought signs with them – including one that said, “Come to Tennessee.”
That apparently wasn’t enough to sway highly touted running back Marcus Lattimore. Two of his teammates at Byrnes High School, Brandon Willis and Corey Miller, had previously given verbal commitments to play for the Vols.
And again, whether that sign existed is in question.
But at least it doesn’t pin down the timing of events like I thought earlier.
well, think about it this way...
if these individuals were at the game and there is a question about the existence of the sign and the propriety of the contact they had with the recruit – what is the ncaa’s necessary course of action? investigate and see if the allegations are true. which is where we are at right now.
but that’s a hell of a lot different than asking if there is any substance to the allegations we believe the ncaa (and sec) are now inquiring about (and it’s not clear we know precisely what they are investigating given the way the stories on the incident are worded).
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