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5 things to know from the NCAA's ruling on Ole Miss
5 things to know from the NCAA's ruling on Ole Miss
The NCAA's Committee on Infractions has added a year to Ole Miss' postseason ban as well as handing out more penalties to the program Dustin Barnes/Clarion Ledger
The NCAA announced Friday that Ole Miss football is under probation for three years and will be banned from bowl games, reduce scholarships, pay fines and several former coaches are under show-cause penalties.
Here is everything you need to know.
Postseason ban
After Ole Miss already self-imposed bowl bans through 2017, the NCAA has added an extra year for the Rebels without postseason play. Ole Miss would have been eligible for a bowl game this season thanks to a 6-6 record under coach Matt Luke. Any players with just one year of eligibility remaining will be able to transfer without sitting out a season because the bowl ban covers their final season of eligibility.
Loss of scholarships
After initially self-imposing a loss of 10 scholarships from 2016-17 to 2018-19, the NCAA decided Ole Miss will forfeit 13 scholarships. The scholarship losses now are spread out from the 2015-16 year to 2019. In terms of other recruiting restrictions, the NCAA ruled Ole Miss can only have recruits in town for off-campus visits once a year for the three years of probation. This is all on top of self-imposed visit restrictions and evaluation restrictions, and two assistant coaches having already served bans from off-campus recruiting.
Hugh Freeze penalties
Former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze was not given a show-cause penalty, but if any school hires him as a head coach by Nov. 30, 2018, Freeze will be suspended for the first two conference games. The penalties do not restrict him from working as an assistant coach in that span. The NCAA report said Freeze "fell short of his monitoring responsibilities when members of his staff committed intentional violations and deliberately involved boosters in the recruitment of prized prospects."The overall message of the report regarding Freeze was that he did not have control of his staff as it committed violations, as bylaws state he is responsible for his staff's conduct. The NCAA did, however, find Freeze promoted an atmosphere of compliance after initially alleging he didn't.
Assistant coach penalties
Former Ole Miss defensive line coach Chris Kiffin was given a two-year show-cause penalty, which prohibits Kiffin from off-campus recruiting, hosting meals or having recruits or enrolled athletes in his home. Kiffin is now at Florida Atlantic.
Former assistant athletic director Barney Farrar received a five-year show-cause penalty for referring recruits to retail stores for free merchandise and arranging impermissible lodging, meals and transportation.
Former operations coordinator David Saunders received an eight-year show-cause penalty. His show-cause will be added to his current eight-year show cause for actions while on staff at Louisiana-Lafayette. His show-cause now runs until 2032.
Former assistant coach Chris Vaughn received a five-year show-cause penalty.
Farrar, Saunders and Vaughn are not currently working in college football.
Leo Lewis found credible
One of the most controversial aspects of the case was Mississippi State linebacker Leo Lewis alleging he received $13,000-$15,000 from Ole Miss boosters before deciding to attend Mississippi State instead.
Much of the case has revolved around Lewis' credibility, as boosters denied ever knowing or being in contact with Lewis.
The NCAA found Lewis credible because he was able to identify two of the boosters' cars and showed phone records of calls and texts between Lewis and boosters.
Lewis said a booster met him and provided $10,000 the day before National Signing Day. When Lewis decided to go to Mississippi State, the booster texted Lewis that he needed to call him immediately.
"You swore to me on your daughter," the text read. "You owe me that. Thanks."
The NCAA ruling said the booster offered no reasonable explanation as to the meaning of the text.
SOURCE: Brody Miller. The Clarion-Ledger. 1 Dec 2017 at 3:52 pm CT.
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