SMU BASKETBALL 2 YEAR PROBATION

[HB Pony Dad]

[Hoop Fan]

I'm just glad Doh and the compliance office must now know that NCAA commandment, thou shalt not give laundry detergent to college kids. Common sense and everything else tells you that texting parents impermissably to influence recruiting is alot more signficant/relevant than giving an EXISTING player or two a cup of Tide. SMU is going to look like a huge hypocrit on this.

[buckwheat]

Wish I could say im surprised. Coaches didnt have a clue and this all falls on Doh.
Thanks Doh, dont let the door hit you in the [deleted], youll do a great job as a fundraising director somewhere.

[2ndandlong]

You're right. Please PM me, and I will send you additional Morgan campaign pledge cards, so we can afford to buy his contract out and hire a new coach.

[West Coast Johnny]

[No Quarter]

After all the problems SMU has had with rule violations, what is surprising is that the University, while presumably buying into the Orsini initative that became the "Circle Of Champions" program did not mandate that the Athletic Department, or perhaps an independent office within the structure of the school keep all current with the NCAA rules and continuously inform all the coaches, everyone, of what is permitted. This would include annual classes, comprehensive training for new hires, updates by e-mail as necessary and so on. If there is ever a Sports Management major at SMU the same classes would be one of the requiremnts.

[Wuba]

After all the problems SMU has had with rule violations, what is surprising is that the University, while presumably buying into the Orsini initative that became the "Circle Of Champions" program did not mandate that the Athletic Department, or perhaps an independent office within the structure of the school keep all current with the NCAA rules and continuously inform all the coaches, everyone, of what is permitted.

Surely you realize that they did and do have someone in charge of this, just like every school does: the Compliance Officer.

[peruna81]

but, but, but...
If we didn't know it was illegal, that makes it ok, right NCAA?

sorta worked for Auburn...just sayin'...

[CalallenStang]

We were texting the parents of recruits without the recruits' knowledge, which is against the rules. If we had just straight up paid them, we would have been fine.

[redpony]

You're right. Please PM me, and I will send you additional Morgan campaign pledge cards, so we can afford to buy his contract out and hire a new coach.

OK- we get your schtick on the Morgan campaign. Even though doh managed to totally screw us on his contract I can not begin to imagine that we did not have a clause where he could not be dismissed for any violations/sanctions caused by him or his staff. Therefore, no buyout. He can be dismissed with cause. Now is time for Orsini to act! This clown has taken 5 years to get substandard results at best.
BTW- this year was next year last year when all the rainbowers were saying just wait til next year. After 5 years and a joke of a schedule we see what the results have been.
Those who claim to have Doh's back have no basis to stand up for him. He is responsible for his staff and they committed the violations ergo he must go.

GO PONIES!!!

[SMU89]

I'm not a basketball guy.....but this article is interesting......

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball ... spie030811

[2ndandlong]

You're right. Please PM me, and I will send you additional Morgan campaign pledge cards, so we can afford to buy his contract out and hire a new coach.

OK- we get your schtick on the Morgan campaign. Even though doh managed to totally screw us on his contract I can not begin to imagine that we did not have a clause where he could not be dismissed for any violations/sanctions caused by him or his staff. Therefore, no buyout. He can be dismissed with cause. Now is time for Orsini to act! This clown has taken 5 years to get substandard results at best.
BTW- this year was next year last year when all the rainbowers were saying just wait til next year. After 5 years and a joke of a schedule we see what the results have been.
Those who claim to have Doh's back have no basis to stand up for him. He is responsible for his staff and they committed the violations ergo he must go.

GO PONIES!!!

No. they dismissed the compliance officer. The school has basically said in so many words that it wasn't his fault. From the press release sent out from SMU today,
"Fewer than 100 text messages were sent after our mens head basketball coach received erroneous advice from a former SMU compliance officer."
"As soon as the head mens basketball coach realized, he immediately reported the violations."

I'm not defending him. We will have to buy out his contract - he did not "cause" anything. We will also need more money to attract anyone. Dismissing a coach on an "improved" year (we did better this year than last), in the middle of a contract, at a school with a history of mediocrity (we're not Duke), isn't exactly appealing to real talent.

[2ndandlong]

Here is the whole email:
To the members of the Athletics Council, Mustang Club, Lettermen’s Association and Compliance Committee:


Earlier today, we announced that the NCAA has accepted our self-imposed sanctions for “inadvertent violations” involving text messaging committed by the men’s basketball program.


The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions said, “The violations in this case were limited in scope, involving impermissible text messages” to parents of at least seven prospective student-athletes, all of whom ultimately signed with other institutions. Fewer than 100 text messages were sent after our men’s head basketball coach received erroneous advice from a former SMU compliance officer, indicating that texts to parents were allowable under NCAA rules.



Our basketball staff self-reported the violations after learning that the text messages were impermissible based on an NCAA rules clarification adding parents to the list of impermissible text recipients.



“As soon as the head men’s basketball coach realized” he had received erroneous advice, “he immediately reported the violations and corrected his staff’s actions,” the NCAA said.



“In distinguishing this case from other previous text messaging cases, the [infractions] committee noted the men’s basketball staff sought guidance on rules rather than knowingly circumventing them,” the NCAA said. “Further, the committee noted that there is no evidence that more than a minimal recruiting advantage was gained by these inadvertent violations.”



After reporting the violations to the NCAA, SMU hired an outside firm to conduct an investigation. It found that 16 impermissible messages had been sent to parents of recruits over a three-month period, based on available phone records. Because the text messaging occurred over two years (2007-2009), the NCAA and SMU estimated the total number of impermissible text messages to be not more than 100. All were limited to the men’s basketball program; no other SMU programs were involved. Although each text message would constitute only a secondary violation, the total number and duration of the texting elevated the violations to major.



The NCAA accepted our recommended two-year probation (March 10, 2011, through March 9, 2013), as well as our proposal to reduce the number of recruiting-person days available to the men’s basketball staff by 15 (to 115) and the number of official paid visits available to the men’s basketball program by two (to 10), for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 academic years. We had already implemented a two-week ban on initiating communication with men’s basketball prospective student-athletes, beginning April 28, 2010, and ending May 11, 2010. In addition, all SMU coaches attended the NCAA Regional Rules Seminar in June 2010.



We are committed to full compliance with NCAA regulations and have taken corrective action, increasing our compliance staff, expanding educational programs and instituting a state-of-the-art system for monitoring text messaging. The fact that this problem was self-reported and proactively addressed reflects our commitment to maintaining a culture of compliance and accountability with regard to NCAA regulations.


We thank you for your continued support of SMU Athletics.


Sincerely,
Steve Orsini

Director Of Athletics

[Corp]

Does the NCAA single out small private universities for swift punishment while

turning a blind eye to the major indiscretions committed by larger universities?

Another example of the NCAA's unabated bias.

[mrydel]

I'm not a basketball guy.....but this article is interesting......

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball ... spie030811

I imagine BCG has hand delivered his resume to Jeff Long at Arkansas where coincidentally John Pelphrey has been accused of secondary violations today. Word is he has to win the SEC tourney or he is gone.