SEC passes "Fulmer Rule" for turning in cheaters

[Agent_Bond34 0]

Credit - ESPN.com

 

Associated Press

 

 

DESTIN, Fla. -- Dave Odom knew the Southeastern Conference had an image problem when he talked recently with a colleague from another major league about scheduling a game.

 

 

"He told me there were only four teams in the SEC he would play," said Odom, the men's basketball coach at South Carolina.

 

 

The message was clear: Two-thirds of the SEC's 12 schools should be avoided because they played loose with the rules.

 

 

Acknowledging its reputation as a renegade conference, the SEC approved a policy Wednesday that is designed to reduce the sort of cheating that has put a constant stream of schools at odds with the NCAA.

 

 

The policy is designed to streamline the process for reporting violations and make schools more accountable for keeping their people in line.

 

 

"Obviously, we needed do something," Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville said. "I think this is the right road to take. We'll see."

 

 

Four SEC schools -- Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky -- are currently on probation. Georgia and Mississippi State recently admitted to rules violations but have yet to be sanctioned by the NCAA.

 

 

Over the past decade, nearly every league school has been accused of malfeasance, some more than once. The SEC's reputation for athletic excellence has been tarnished by recruiting scandals and academic fraud.

 

 

"This is the first time in the history of the league that we've all come together in the process, looked each other in the eye and acknowledged the issues we've had," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said. "We don't want them to happen anymore."

 

 

At its annual spring meeting on Florida's gulf coast, the SEC unanimously approved the recommendations of the "Task Force on Compliance & Enforcement." Slive has set a goal of having all SEC schools off probation by the summer of 2007.

 

 

A centerpiece of the new policy: If one school suspects another of violating NCAA rules, they must follow a strict protocol for reporting the allegations.

 

 

For instance, if a coach at School A believes someone at School B has broken a rule, he must report those concerns to his own athletic director. The AD would determine if the information should be reported to the SEC office, which would make a similar decision before passing along the allegations to School B. That school must conduct its own investigation and report back to Slive within 30 days.

 

 

The new policy, which might become known as the "Phillip Fulmer Rule," is supposed to give coaches a clear-cut policy for dealing with suspicious behavior by a rival school.

 

 

Fulmer, the Tennessee football coach, told an NCAA investigator in 2000 that he suspected improper dealings between Alabama boosters and recruits. While assured of confidentiality, Fulmer's claims were revealed during a federal lawsuit that claims he was part of a conspiracy to bring down the Crimson Tide football program.

 

 

The NCAA wound up placing Alabama on probation for five years, including major scholarship reductions and a two-year ban on playing in a bowl.

 

 

"I think everybody has gotten the message that this is the way things need to be," Fulmer said. "We want to have the reputation around the country that the SEC is not only a great conference academically and athletically, but we do things the right way."

 

 

Asked if he felt the new policy grew out of his embarrassing allegations against Alabama, Fulmer replied, "I hope not."

 

 

Gene Marsh, an Alabama law professor and member of the task force, said it was important that anyone who suspected wrongdoing will know how their concerns are being addressed.

 

 

"People have complained that they would raise an issue, then never hear how it was resolved," he said. "Now, there are absolute lines of authority about who's reporting and who's got the responsibility for investigating."

 

 

Still, the new policy provides no penalties for a school that doesn't comply with the reporting guidelines. Slive is counting on "peer pressure" to keep members in line, which could be difficult given the SEC's track record.

 

 

When Odom was coaching in the Atlantic Coast Conference, he was amazed at all the rule-breaking that seemed to prevail in the SEC. Coaches talked openly about paying for players and bragged that they had their own system of checks, balances and avoiding the NCAA.

 

 

"I'd say, 'How in the heck do you get by with that stuff," Odom recalled. "They'd say, 'Hey, local rules prevail. We take care of our own. If something happens, we deal with it on our own.' "

 

 

The SEC is now urging schools to shy away from hiring coaches who have run afoul of NCAA rules at other institutions.

 

 

In addition, the SEC plans to spend more time educating everyone involved in its athletic programs -- from presidents to secretaries -- on the importance of complying with NCAA guidelines.

 

 

"The commissioner is very committed to helping clean things up," Georgia football coach Mark Richt said. "No conference is perfect. But certainly we want to do a better job."

 

Hadn't seen this posted anywhere..

 

What do you guys think of all of this?

[Guest MikeSC]

The SEC needs help in that area --- but Fulmer is quite the hypocritical little dick.

-=Mike

...Heck, he turned in 'Bama to save his OWN program from investigations

[TheBigSwigg 0]

The SEC needs help in that area --- but Fulmer is quite the hypocritical little dick.

-=Mike

...Heck, he turned in 'Bama to save his OWN program from investigations

Watch it, Mike. I'll start singing Rocky Top if you're not careful.

 

Anyhow, It's gonna do jack squat, really. One team will point fingers at another, or all the teams are gonna point at one. There will still be cheating until the NCAA crashes the SEC. It's a southern thing to have "local rules." I hate to admit it, but it's true.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Whatever, the SEC still 0wnz the rest of the NCAA.

 

We just have a nice little courtesy set up now so it looks like we're doing things properly, and it's named after the Tennessee coach. Ah, how I miss football.

 

Tennessee - Standing up for truth, justice, and the American way in a conference of tremendous yet shady colleges.

[TheBigSwigg 0]

Whatever, the SEC still 0wnz the rest of the NCAA.

 

We just have a nice little courtesy set up now so it looks like we're doing things properly, and it's named after the Tennessee coach. Ah, how I miss football.

 

Tennessee - Standing up for truth, justice, and the American way in a conference of tremendous yet shady colleges.

I would be happy that you were backing Tennessee, but you have dancing dogs as your avatar. I am now ashamed.

[teke184 0]

I'm just wishing that the unnamed coach would have said which four SEC schools he was willing to play.

 

 

Vanderbilt's a given, not because of the school's academic standards but the fact that they're not competitive in football and are an on-again / off-again mid-level power in basketball.

 

 

SEC programs violations or accusations in the last 20 years:

 

1.Kentucky (basketball in late 80s / early 90s, football under Hal Mumme in late 90s)

 

2. Alabama (at least 2 major football violations in 90s and 2000s, including charges of paying coaches to steer players towards the program)

 

3. Auburn (Pretty much the same thing as Alabama, in addition to major violations in their basketball program in recent years)

 

4. Florida (Major football violation in 1984 that made them vacate the SEC title, major basketball violation around 1988)

 

5. Arkansas (about 1/2 of football team has been in legal trouble in recent years)

 

6. LSU (1 major basketball violation circa 1997, 1 minor football violation circa 1999)

 

7. Tennessee (Nothing proven, but football violations were reported in late 90s)

 

8. Georgia (Major violations in basketball under Jim Harrick)

 

9. Mississippi State (Recent violations in football program)

 

10. Vanderbilt (LB Jamie Winborne and DB Jimmy Williams, both now with the SF 49ers, were each suspended for two games each circa 2000 for receiving "improper benefits", which was a credit management seminar.)

 

 

I know of no violations for South Carolina or Ole Miss offhand, although I half-remember some Ole Miss football violations about 10 years ago.

 

 

My team, LSU, has exactly one major violation that I know of in 20 years. That case involved local basketball player Lester Earl, who extorted the school for various benefits including scholarships for his bes friend and older brother. When he quit the team and transferred to Kansas arounc 1997, he sold out LSU assistant coach Johnny Jones in order to regain a lost year of eligibility.

[Guest MikeSC]

Well, my beloved Gamecocks, I believe, are under investigation over the recruitment of Derek Watson. AD Mike McGee has gotten pissed off at the NCAA for not actually doing anything --- not listing out the charges or anything. He's gone, I believe, with the President of the SEC to get the NCAA to finally get off their butts and actually advance the case.

-=Mike

[Art Sandusky 0]

The Gamecocks are under investigation for breaking and entering to be in the SEC in the first place.

[Guest MikeSC]

The Gamecocks are under investigation for breaking and entering to be in the SEC in the first place.

Too bad we tend to own the league in baseball. And are competitive in basketball now.

-=Mike