August 10th, 2010
Freshman safety Travis Bell (26) and defensive back Nick Cadwell (39) are shown wearing light shoulder pads during Saturday's opening West Virginia University football practice at Mountaineer Field
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University’s football program opened practice Saturday and has admitted it was in violation of another NCAA rule at the workout.
Just 48 hours after WVU received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA in which the Mountaineers were accused of five major violations and one secondary violation, the Charleston Daily Mail has learned WVU will self-report a secondary violation after some players wore equipment prohibited by the NCAA during the first two days of practice.
The Daily Mail also learned Tuesday at least one school was looking into the possibility of reporting WVU. The Mountaineer program has decided to self-report itself.
NCAA rule 17.9.2.3 concerns the “five-day acclimatization period,” which begins with the first practice, and how it is to proceed.
Specifically, subsection (d) states:
“During the first two days of the acclimatization period, helmets shall be the only piece of protective equipment student-athletes may wear. During the third and fourth days of the acclimatization period, helmets and shoulder pads shall be the only pieces of protective equipment student-athletes may wear. During the final day of the five-day period and on any days thereafter, student-athletes may practice in full pads.”
Multiple photos and videos taken during practice Saturday and Sunday and published in print or on the Internet show various WVU players in lightweight shoulder pads known as “vests” or “spider pads.”
The Mountaineers were in helmets and full shoulder pads Monday and again on Tuesday.
Coach Bill Stewart was leading practice Tuesday afternoon and could not comment. He has a regularly scheduled press conference at 5:45 p.m.
WVU’s assistant athletic director for communications, Michael Fragale, told the Daily Mail the school is aware of the issue and has started an investigation.
via Charleston Daily Mail
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August 7th, 2010
MORGANTOWN – If West Virginia’s troubles with the NCAA are going to affect the way the Mountaineers prepare for the 2010 season, there was no indication of it Saturday when practice opened.
And why should it be any other way?
“I addressed it with the football team and the staff very briefly [Friday] night,” coach Bill Stewart said after the first of 29 preseason practices leading up to the season opener Sept. 4 against Coastal Carolina. “That is not on our mind.”
Stewart, who along with former coach Rich Rodriguez is accused by the NCAA of allowing non-coaching personnel to perform coaching duties, did not address specifics of the charges because he’s not permitted to by the NCAA.
But he stressed that beyond his comments to the team the night before the first practice the issue would be dropped as far as the football team is concerned.
“It’s not what we’re thinking right now,” Stewart said. “This football team … is going to concentrate on the 2010 season with full effort in that regard. We will not talk about it anymore because it’s been addressed by [athletic director Oliver] Luck and it’s over.”
And so it was. While the players are aware of the charges against the program, to a man they said it wasn’t a consideration.
“They talked to us about it and that was it,” said defensive lineman Scooter Berry. “There’s nothing we can do about it, so we won’t even think about it.”
Instead, Stewart and the Mountaineers concentrated on the first day of practice, held under bright sunshine and with nearly everyone expected to be there on hand.
That included a couple of freshmen whose status had been in doubt leading up to the weekend. Offensive lineman Marquis Wallace and running back Trey Johnson both practiced Saturday and appear fully eligible for the season.
Still, there are three members of the class who aren’t here because of academic issues. Offensive tackle Quinton Spain is still awaiting the results of a test score, and the eligibility of receiver Dante Chambers is still being investigated. Neither has been ruled out.
The only freshman who has been scratched is defensive back Avery Williams, who Stewart said will likely enroll in January.
As for the position with the highest profile during the preseason camp, freshmen Barry Brunetti and Jeremy Johnson split the second-team reps at quarterback almost down the middle. They are expected to battle for the backup job behind sophomore Geno Smith.
“We have to go slow with those two, spoon feed them,” said offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen. “And then we’ll see where they are in seven to 10 days.”
As expected, Coley White was working with the receivers and not the quarterbacks. Despite White’s encouraging performance in the spring, that was the plan all along because there aren’t enough reps to go around for Smith and the true freshmen, much less a fourth quarterback. Until one or both of the freshmen prove they can or cannot handle the job right away, White will take reps at receiver.
Stewart was encouraged by White’s play out there.
“I thought he did a great job,” Stewart said of White. “He made some nice catches.”
As for Smith, who sat out all contact drills in the spring because of a broken foot, Stewart said he was satisfied with what he saw from his starting quarterback on the first day.
via NCAA allegations not on WVU players’ minds – Sports – The Charleston Gazette – West Virginia News and Sports -.
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May 27th, 2010
by Mike Casazza
MORGANTOWN – Just because the University of Michigan admits its guilt – and for the first time ever of major NCAA violations – doesn’t mean West Virginia University is also guilty.
Or does it?
It’s hard to say. Really, it’s no easier now than it was when we learned last month the NCAA had paid the Mountaineers a visit.
The common thread is Rich Rodriguez. It’s a thread that seems to fray every time the Wolverines make news that is more often bad than good. Rodriguez coached the Mountaineers before leaving for Michigan. Apparently that was enough for the NCAA to knock on WVU’s door in February to ask a few questions.
You can trust that it wasn’t just curiosity. There was a clear purpose. If you didn’t believe it before, do so now.
Maybe there wasn’t any news in Michigan’s admission Tuesday.
Still, there is something significant to college football’s winningest program and its supposed pristine image coming forth to say that, yes, it has done a few things the wrong way.
What was black and white before has some color as the Wolverines, Rodriguez and a few others he dragged under the bus confessed guilt for four major violations.
Remarkably, they’re contesting the fifth accusation and, despite the admitted faults, would beg to differ with the NCAA’s insistence that Michigan “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance.” How you can be guilty of four matters related to compliance and claim you do, in fact, comply is something the NCAA will now interpret.
Whatever the outcome of that fifth allegation, it doesn’t matter to WVU. What’s of concern to the athletic department is there are four marks against Rodriguez and the way he runs his shop.
It’s not fair to say he did it the same way at WVU, although it’s fair to assume the NCAA is wondering. If it believes he and his cronies did wrong back in West Virginia, it will not only be used against him to prove he does eschew a compliant atmosphere, but also will be held against WVU for not keeping a tight grasp on things.
Again, this was suspected before.
But until now there was a chance Rodriguez and others could prove innocence or inaccuracies, and that would extend back to WVU. That’s not the case now. It’s possible WVU can emerge innocent, but that’s just not as likely as it was before.
Not when you see things like the defense crafted by Rodriguez’s lawyer, who, sadly, is not his erstwhile attorney Marv Robon.
“Rodriguez was not aware that NCAA legislation prohibits sport-specific noncoaching staff members from being involved with voluntary summer workouts,” Scott Tompsett wrote. “Rodriguez did not knowingly or deliberately ignore the bylaw, he simply overlooked it and believed it was permissible for the quality control staff to be involved in summer workouts because they were assigned to work with the strength staff.”
Now let’s be honest for a moment. Rodriguez was and probably still is an innovator.
He’s not so innovative that you can believe he started simply overlooking rules when he accepted the job at one of the game’s finest and purest institutions. Not with the baggage he was carrying there.
No, he probably developed that little habit somewhere else. You just wonder where. And so does the NCAA.
Then again, you’ll remember one of the most contentious issues at the end of Rodriguez’s time at WVU was his desire to add to his staff and create positions for these “quality control” coaches. WVU wouldn’t give into the demand. Rodriguez got them at Michigan, and their cloudy job descriptions seem to have gotten everyone up there in some trouble.
Of course, it’s not just WVU that should be worrying about implications. Every school should.
If you’re naive enough to think Rodriguez can’t get WVU in trouble retroactively, please don’t think what Rodriguez and Michigan are accused of doing and condoning doesn’t happen everywhere. And don’t think the NCAA isn’t looking to crush people on this.
It happens because, in a sense, the NCAA allows it to happen. New Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon said his school and his people “made the wrong call based on the interpretation of a rule that in some cases was somewhat ambiguous.” There are ways to bend the rules and still be within them much the same as there are ways to break the rules and not get caught.
And there’s also a way for the NCAA to discourage such behavior in the future. It involves coming down harder on Michigan than Michigan did on itself but also developing a consistency in policing and adjudicating these matters.
And so you ask yourself again, “Why was the NCAA at WVU?”
NCAA had reason to pay WVU a visit – WVU Sports – Charleston Daily Mail – West Virginia News and Sports -.
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May 25th, 2010
Rodriguez, Michigan Repsond To NCAA
Detroit Free Press
Ann Arbor, Michigan
The University of Michigan has acknowledged that it committed major violations in its football program and self-imposed the following sanctions:
The school has docked itself approximately 130 hours of practice and training time over the next two years – two hours for every one hour of violation, which is common in these cases. The school said it already had reduced its quality-control staff from five members to three and prohibited them from attending practices and games for the remainder of 2010. It also will keep those staffers out of coaches’ meetings, despite a new NCAA bylaw that allows them to attend.
Michigan also said it had taken disciplinary action against the “seven individuals who shared in responsibility.”
U-M did not dispute the allegations of five major violations outlined in the NCAA’s notice of allegations in February.
Among other violations, Michigan acknowledged that quality control staffers conducted voluntary summer workouts and were present “on occasion” for voluntary seven-on-seven scrimmages during the summer.
U-M said the violations “occurred for an extended period due to inattention by the football staff, the (compliance services office’s) failure to contact (Rich) Rodriguez directly about these issues, ineffective communication between the CSO and the strength and conditioning staff, and the failure of athletic administrators to perform tasks the CSO requested. The violations, however, did not result from a lack of rules education. The CSO educated the football staff, including both the coaching staff and the quality control staff, on virtually every issue now before this committee.”
U-M said the quality-control staffers were hired “to perform non-coaching duties such as run errands for the coaches, check on student-athlete class attendance and academic issues, and chart plays for the assistant coaches at practices and games. … The quality control staff members were not hired to serve as extra coaches in order to gain competitive advantage.”
Michigan’s response goes to the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions. The committee must decide whether to accept U-M’s self-imposed penalties or whether to level additional penalties.
If the committee finds U-M guilty of even one major violation, it would receive two years probation.
U-M must attend a hearing before the committee during its meeting Aug. 13-14 in Seattle. Numerous U-M officials – including the president, athletic director and football coach – have been summoned to the hearing.
U-M posted its response online at 7 a.m. It included this statement from president Mary Sue Coleman: “As we have said all along, we take full responsibility for knowing and following NCAA rules, and we will address concerns, quickly and head on. We believe the sanctions we have imposed fit the nature of the violations.”
The committee must decide whether to accept U-M’s self-imposed penalties or whether to level additional penalties
U-M must attend a hearing before the committee during its meeting Aug. 13-14 in Seattle. Numerous U-M officials — including the president, athletic director and football coach — have been summoned to the hearing.
During the long investigation, experts have told the Free Press that the most likely penalties from the NCAA are probation, a loss of scholarships and a reduction of future practice time. A temporary reduction in the number of coaches also is possible.
Probation is both an admonishment from the NCAA and a warning that further violations during the probationary period could result in more severe penalties.
U-M’s punishment from the infractions committee could be stepped up because the NCAA considers the school a repeat violator. U-M has that status because of the Ed Martin basketball scandal. The NCAA alleged that football violations started within a five-year window of the basketball case. Rodriguez was hired in December 2007. February’s notice of allegations from the NCAA charged that U-M’s violations started in January 2008. Read the rest of this entry “
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May 14th, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS — West Virginia and Butler couldn’t beat Duke at the Final Four.
They both finished ahead of the Blue Devils in the classroom.
Three of the men’s Final Four teams – the Bulldogs, Mountaineers and Michigan State – made the NCAA’s list of academic overachievers Wednesday while the national champs were left out.
The biggest surprise on the list: West Virginia, whose coach, Bob Huggins, has repeatedly been criticized for not taking academics seriously. Huggins’ Cincinnati teams had a 0.0 graduation rate for several seasons.
“It’s a commitment by the athletic department and the university to supply the resources to help the players succeed academically,” Huggins said in a statement released by the school. “I commend our guys not only for their performance on the floor but in their academic work in the classroom as well.”
NCAA officials annually honor the top 10 percent of teams in each sport and all teams with perfect Academic Progress Rate scores. This year, 841 teams made the list of so-called overachievers, including Oklahoma – the only women’s Final Four team to make the list. Last year, 767 teams were recognized.
The actual scores, which will be released later this spring, cover the fall semester of 2005 through the spring semester of 2009. That means only two of those academic years came during Huggins’ tenure. The other two were under John Beilein, who left for Michigan after 2006-07.
Each athlete earns one point per semester for remaining academically eligible and another point each semester for remaining at that school or graduating. A mathematical formula is then used to correlate a team’s score, with 1,000 points being perfect.
It is the first time West Virginia made the list in men’s basketball, and under Huggins, West Virginia’s number improved. Last year, the Mountaineers’ had a 960. This year, the NCAA said, none of the honorees scored lower than 978.
Just as surprising was not seeing Duke on the list. The Blue Devils had made it each of the past two years.
Teams lose one point if players transfer or leave early for the NBA and a second point if they are not in good academic standing when they leave.
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May 6th, 2010
WVU's Sophomore forward Kevin Jones
by Mike Casazza
WVU’s Jones decided against entering NBA Draft
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Kevin Jones knew the limelight would belong to Devin Ebanks Tuesday and never intended to join his teammate in making a definitive statement about playing in the NBA.
For a time, though, it was a possibility.
On the night Ebanks revealed he’d signed with an agent and would skip his final two seasons to stay in the draft, Jones admitted he, too, considered entering the process himself.
“I did think about it, but I thought about it again and figured my chances weren’t as good as they could be in the future,” the 6-foot-8, 250-pound sophomore forward said.
“I never actually did it. It was just a thought, but I did think about it.”
Jones said his decision-making process began in discussions with his older brother, Gerard. Underclassmen are allowed to enter the draft and withdraw their name once in their college careers and it made sense to Jones to at least consider the option, he said.
He started all 38 games this year after coming off the bench in all 35 games last season and went from 19.3 minutes per game to 33. His production jumped similarly. He bumped his scoring average from 6.3 to 13.5 points per game, and his rebounding average from 4.9 to 7.2.
Most noticeable was his improved shooting. Jones was 3-for-14 from 3-point range as a freshman, but made 42 of 104 (40.4 percent) attempts as a sophomore in helping WVU go 31-7.
“With the season we had and all the success we had and my success personally, I had to think about the things I could do, but I didn’t think I was at that level yet,” he said.
The decision came after some research. Jones went to the WVU coaching staff and it was agreed WVU would solicit opinions from NBA people.
Jones said he was told he’d be a second-round pick.
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April 27th, 2010
by Mike Casazza
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia’s lone remaining basketball scholarship was signed Monday to Darrious Curry, a 6-foot-7 wing player from Houston’s Stratford High.
Curry averaged 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists per game as a senior for the Spartans and was a finalist for the McDonald’s All-America team.
Curry was released from a signed national letter-of-intent with the University of Texas-El Paso on April 13.
“Then,” WVU assistant coach Erik Martin said, “things started to happen at a pretty rapid pace.”
Martin and Coach Bob Huggins visited Curry last Tuesday and watched him work out at the high school.
“We liked what we saw,” Martin said. “He’s a long kid with long arms and the kind of body that’s put together like John Flowers’. He can run and really shoot the heck out of the ball. He’s a lefty with good bounce and we needed a wing who if nothing else could score for us.”
Out of that meeting, Huggins and Martin convinced Curry to make a visit to campus over the weekend.
“Things happen kind of fast, especially if both parties have a mutual interest,” Martin said. “Once he got out of the letter he found out we were interested. Most people already know us. West Virginia’s the flavor of the month. Everybody likes us in recruiting.”
Curry played some pickup games with the Mountaineers and went around most of the two campuses to get a feel for the town, including a meal Friday night at Keglers with Martin, assistant Billy Hahn and future teammates Joe Mazzulla and Kevin Jones, who were Curry’s host for the weekend.
“He spent a lot of time with the players,” Martin said. “When you come into town for a visit, the last thing you want to do is yip-yap with the coaches. He spent his time with the players to find out what they were like. Players like to go different places. I’m not sure where they go, but wherever they go, Morgantown is not a hard sell. How can I say this? It’s student-friendly.”
Curry played only his senior year at Stratford after spending the previous three years at Houston’s Elsik High. After considering Bradley, Arkansas and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, he signed with UTEP in November. Curry was ranked No. 35 in the state by TexasHoops.com. Read the rest of this entry “
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April 21st, 2010
Brandon Hogan is in hot water again.
West Virginia’s senior starting cornerback was cited over the weekend for disorderly conduct and public urination in Morgantown. He was not arrested after the incident early Sunday morning.
“I am looking into the situation, gathering facts and will take appropriate action once all the facts are in,” said WVU coach Bill Stewart.
Hogan has missed of much of spring practice because he was out of shape and falling behind in some of his class work. He recently was on the field for Friday and Saturday practices for the first time this spring, but when the team
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April 13th, 2010
West Virginia University officials confirmed on Tuesday that NCAA investigators have recently interviewed university officials about potential rules violations involving the Mountaineers‘ football program.
West Virginia officials wouldn’t comment on the specifics of the allegations, but a source close to the situation said the allegations center on former Mountaineers coach and current Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez.
Michigan is currently under investigation for alleged NCAA rules violations concerning the amount of time players spend on football-related activities.
“The NCAA has met with individuals involved with the West Virginia football program to identify any potential rules violations,” school officials said in a statement, released on Tuesday. “The university has fully cooperated with the NCAA during this process. West Virginia University and its department of intercollegiate athletics is committed to operating its athletics department in conformance with the legislation and policies of the NCAA and the Big East Conference.”
Michael Fragale, West Virginia’s assistant athletic director for communications, said neither athletic director Ed Pastilong nor football coach Bill Stewart would comment on the NCAA inquiry. He would not specify when NCAA investigators visited the university.
On Feb. 23, Michigan officials announced the NCAA had accused its football program of five potentially major rules violations. In its notice of allegations, the NCAA alleged Rodriguez “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program.”
The report said Rodriguez tracked neither what his staff was doing nor whether his players were following NCAA rules, particularly those limiting the time spent on practice and football-related activities.
A reporter attempted to ask Rodriguez for comment on the report Tuesday at his weekly news conference and was cut off by Dave Ablauf, the director of media relations, before the question was finished.
“We’re going to pass on that,” Ablauf said.
Rodriguez did not respond.
During a news conference in which the NCAA allegations were announced, incoming Michigan athletic director David Brandon expressed full support for Rodriguez, who has an 8-16 record in two seasons at Michigan.
“Rich Rodriguez is our football coach, and he will be our football coach next year,” Brandon said at the time.
A message seeking comment was left with Rodriguez’s agent, Mike Brown.
Michigan officials have steadfastly stuck by the school’s policy to not answer NCAA-related questions until its ongoing investigation is completed.
“There is no new NCAA investigation involving the University of Michigan,” Brandon said in a statement released by the school Tuesday night. “Any question regarding an NCAA query should be directed to the NCAA. There is nothing new that would cause me to change my position. Rich will coach our team this fall.”
The NCAA also alleged that Michigan’s athletics department failed to monitor whether its football program was complying with NCAA rules. Brandon acknowledged that Michigan’s athletics department “clearly made mistakes” but said “there was no charge of loss of institutional control,” an allegation that in previous cases has led to more severe NCAA-imposed sanctions for other schools.
Before leaving West Virginia, his alma mater, to replace Lloyd Carr as Michigan’s coach before the 2008 season, Rodriguez was one of the most popular coaches in West Virginia history. He had a 60-26 record in seven seasons from 2001 to 2007 and guided the Mountaineers to two BCS bowl games.
But Rodriguez’s abrupt departure before the 2008 Fiesta Bowl was contentious, and the school sued him for a $4 million buyout.
Rodriguez and West Virginia settled the case in July 2008, as Michigan agreed to pay $2.5 million of the buyout and Rodriguez agreed to pay the remaining $1.5 million in three installments.
NCAA visited West Virginia Mountaineers to inquire about Rich Rodriguez, university says – ESPN.
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April 13th, 2010
By Colin Dunlap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
West Virginia University officials confirmed today that NCAA investigators recently interviewed some university officials about potential rules violations involving the school’s football program. West Virginia’s assistant athletics director for communications, Michael Fragale, would not comment on the specifics of the investigation, but issued the following statement to the Post-Gazette:
“The NCAA has met with individuals involved with the West Virginia University football program to identify any potential rules violations,” the statement said. “The university has fully cooperated with the NCAA during this process. West Virginia University and its Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is committed to operating its athletic program in conformance with the legislation and policy of the NCAA and the Big East Conference.”
Sources close to the situation confirmed the investigation centers around former coach Rich Rodriguez’s time in Morgantown, when he coached the Mountaineers from 2001-2007 before leaving for Michigan.
On Feb. 23, Michigan officials announced the NCAA had accused its football program of five potentially major rules violations.
West Virginia media relations director for football Mike Montoro said current head coach Bill Stewart will not comment on the matter, nor will athletic director Ed Pastilong.
Via West Virginia football program investigated by NCAA.
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