2017 College Football Offseason...Stoops Retires

[digamma]

Don't think we have an offseason thread yet. If we do, my bad and I'll combine it later, but Bob Stoops has reportedly retired.

[miami_fan]

Bob Stoops has retired.

Bob Stoops steps down as coach of Oklahoma Sooners

[tarcone]

Wow. Thats a surprise.

I was hoping he would end up at Iowa one day.

[cartman]

Like the Matta announcement, strange timing.

[HomerSimpson98]

wut?

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by HomerSimpson98

wut?

+1

When I saw it I assumed he was stepping down after this season. Must be health or family related.

[tarcone]

Iowa picks up graduate transfer James Butler from Nevada. He rushed for 1300+ yards last season.

Big pick up

[CrescentMoonie]

And now Freeze quits. Escorted right out the door.

Hugh Freeze of Ole Miss Rebels resigns; escort-service calls cited

[bhlloy]

Don't use your work phone to call prostitutes, folks

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Don't use your work phone to call prostitutes, folks

[CrescentMoonie]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Don't use your work phone to call prostitutes, folks

EXACTLY. You always use a burner for some quick hookie nookie.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Now if the cash & recruiting thing would just come on out and deal with all the damage at once instead of it dragging out :/

[tarcone]

Shoot, the escorts are a diversion. This hides all the other cheating. They "fired" him. Problem soved.
Go pick on Mississippi Valley St., NCAA.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nah, this was Freeze handing a wanna-be crusader chancellor a wagon load of rope with which to hang him.

Rope delivered, apparently, by Houston Nutt of all people.

[Buccaneer]

My son just said it best: Ole Miss sold their soul to the devil for two wins over Alabama and a Sugar Bowl victory.

[cuervo72]

Eh, for them it's probably worth it.

[tarcone]

I think it was very worth it.

[MrBug708]

Wads of cash in recruiting, nothing. Call up a hooker line, fired.

I don't understand the NCAA

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Don't use your work phone to call prostitutes, folks

Best of all, Ole Miss' chancellor is Jeffrey Vitter, brother of former Louisiana Senator David Vitter who was busted in 2007 when a FOIA request revealed he used his government phone to hire hookers.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Wads of cash in recruiting, nothing. Call up a hooker line, fired.

I don't understand the NCAA

Well, the NCAA has nothing to do with the firing.
That's all Ole Miss, taking advantage of an opportunity.

(Plus, if it goes back to day one of his hiring as suggested, that kinda looks bad)

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

And now Freeze quits. Escorted right out the door.

Hugh Freeze of Ole Miss Rebels resigns; escort-service calls cited

So, he did it all for the nookie. Come on!

[CU Tiger]

Sounding like Hugh's alibi may actually hold water here.
He was in Tampa and the call was to a 313 area cod (detroit) it was immediately followed by a call to same number in an 813 area code (tampa) and that number apparently belongs to a high school coach or trainer or other such legitimate recruiting activity.

[This is according to a rivals member who has a 10 year track record of being pretty plugged in at both Miss St and Ole Miss]

What is interesting is that Ole Miss wont disclose what else they found.
Orient that against the Tunsil allegations of texting coaches for money and it doesn't take long to deduce they are going to self report some violations and lay it all at the feet of Freeze.

Which is probably appropriate. For a period he was by far the dirtiest player in the game and only backed off that when it got so obvious he couldnt avoid it.

[CU Tiger]

Dola: Or maybe he just had a couple mistresses.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

What is interesting is that Ole Miss wont disclose what else they found.

Umm ...

Bjork separately told ESPN that once university officials dove deeper into Freeze's phone records on a university-provided cellphone, going back as far as shortly after he was hired in 2012, they started finding more of a pattern with phone calls of the nature USA Today earlier reported after an open-records request.

"Once we looked at the rest of the phone records we found a pattern," Bjork told ESPN. "It was troubling." ...

Bjork wouldn't say how many phone calls were made to numbers similar to the one made to the female escort service or how far back the phone calls went. He also said that not all of them were connected to different escort services but that they were similar in nature.

To me, that seemed like poorly disguised code for "he was calling massage parlors and other fronts for hookers". I thought they outed what they found pretty well honestly.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

My son just said it best: Ole Miss sold their soul to the devil for two wins over Alabama and a Sugar Bowl victory.

Weren't they like #1 for a week or two also? Ah, what a time.

Houston Nutt strikes again.

Surprised Freeze didn't just blame the phone calls on Houston Nutt borrowing his phone too.

He's a shockingly obvious slimeball in an industry full of them, so no tears shed here.

[panerd]

So from what I've read the Detroit number was a front for a Tampa based escort service so that misdial excuse seems a little far fetched. I assume these are for him and not for recruits or am I reading it wrong? I would think the players would be a lot worse though I would not be shocked if I found out how common it really is I mean didn't OK State have some scandal that didn't even make anyone blink an eye. As for him usually the most outspoken have the most issues he always seemed slimy.

[Edward64]

I'm glad he's gone because I think OM program was dirty. However, if it was just for escort service I don't think he should have been fired, even if there was a pattern. IMO, his personal life is his.

There had to be more that they found.

[digamma]

Umm, he's using his school issued phone to participate in an illegal activity. Repeatedly. (Allegedly, of course.)

[Edward64]

Okay, then a reprimand. The call does not rise to firing.

There had to be something else - using school CC for his flings maybe, escort calls for his athletes etc. sure

[MrBug708]

"Public funds" for illicit activities

[tarcone]

They blamed Nutt. But it all happened under Freeze. He got the "lack of institutional control" label.

The escorts were the straw.

[JonInMiddleGA]

So the names/identities of 12 of the 14 boosters accused in the NCAA complaint against Ole Miss were revealed today.

Among them? The owner and the establishment itself of one of the more entrenched downtown bars (Funky's) and the owner of about half the larger-sized hotels in Oxford, including the one where my wife stayed on her last visit. And, of course, the ever-popular local car dealer father/son handing out cars to players/recruits.

The one previously mentioned, a local merch store, continues to maintain their innocence & is pursuing legal relief for slander against them. Interestingly in that case, it's the one charge in the NCAA notice that the university has denied entirely (while admitting most of the others). That bodes well, I hope, for the store in question. Those guys might actually be innocent.

[CrescentMoonie]

http://www.espn.com/college-football...irement-raised

He's not necessarily wrong, but it would be nice if someone a lot better than Rosen was saying it.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

Josh Rosen of UCLA Bruins says 'football and school don't go together,' ponders Alabama success if SAT requirement raised

He's not necessarily wrong, but it would be nice if someone a lot better than Rosen was saying it.

Love that Rosen just speaks his mind. Unfortunately his OL might not help him out that much this year

[tarcone]

Rosen brings a fresh idea to the table. Use the money to help the kids in school. Brilliant.

Great take by a current player. Love it.

[JPhillips]

It will never happen, but the answer to this is splitting off the revenue sports into a professional minor league. Colleges shouldn't be in the business of athletics.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Love that Rosen just speaks his mind. Unfortunately his OL might not help him out that much this year

I'm done blaming the OL and WR for Rosen's issues. He hasn't put the time in he needs to get better, as far as I can tell. Smart kid, but he still makes freshman mistakes.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

It will never happen, but the answer to this is splitting off the revenue sports into a professional minor league. Colleges shouldn't be in the business of athletics.

Or just remove the restrictions on players earning whatever someone would be willing to pay them.

"BUT IT WILL BE CHAOS!1!!"

No, it won't be.

"Get ready for Bama boosters to pay $200K for a backup safety!"

No, they won't.

[Easy Mac]

I'm ready for the season to start so I can determine if a new coach can keep Furman from sinking further into the abyss.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Logan

Or just remove the restrictions on players earning whatever someone would be willing to pay them.

"BUT IT WILL BE CHAOS!1!!"

No, it won't be.

"Get ready for Bama boosters to pay $200K for a backup safety!"

No, they won't.

I don't think public schools should get into that business, but even if you do, unlimited payments opens up a ton of avenues for illegalities, especially point shaving.

[Butter]

I think the solution is actually for the pro sports leagues to stop having an age / college requirement for draft entry. If you think you are draft ready, then go for it. Let everyone else go the college route. Enough with these arbitrary market restrictions.

Pro sports leagues would hate it, but it would have minimal impact on the college game.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I don't think public schools should get into that business, but even if you do, unlimited payments opens up a ton of avenues for illegalities, especially point shaving.

Not sure I follow. If a kid can legitimately earn $20K above board, taxed and the whole deal, why would he be more prone to shave points than the kid accepting money under the table because that his only method of getting any cash beyond the stipend and cost of attendance? He is literally already committing an illegal act.

Also not following the public/private distinction. Athletes wouldn't be paid by the publicly-funded schools.

[Neuqua]

Texas is having one heckuva recruiting season. If they can have a decent season next year, they can easily lock in a top 5 class ranking, I think they're at #2 right now.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

It will never happen, but the answer to this is splitting off the revenue sports into a professional minor league. Colleges shouldn't be in the business of athletics.

It would make a fraction of what colleges are making right now. Players would make some money, but there's zero chance revenue would shift to the minor league dollar for dollar. Not even close to it.

If you took the top players and fed them into a professional minor league system and had the guys mostly in school for an education play college football then college football would still pull more interest, fans, and money.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Logan

Not sure I follow. If a kid can legitimately earn $20K above board, taxed and the whole deal, why would he be more prone to shave points than the kid accepting money under the table because that his only method of getting any cash beyond the stipend and cost of attendance? He is literally already committing an illegal act.

Also not following the public/private distinction. Athletes wouldn't be paid by the publicly-funded schools.

I largely don't care what private schools do, where I think public institutions should be much more careful in terms of who and what they associate with.

If students are paid, that gives the boss enormous influence over the student. These contracts would almost certainly be voidable at will for both parties, so the boss would have the ability to make demands that would be difficult for a student dependent upon that money. Most people would be above board, but corruption is inevitable.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Atocep

It would make a fraction of what colleges are making right now. Players would make some money, but there's zero chance revenue would shift to the minor league dollar for dollar. Not even close to it.

If you took the top players and fed them into a professional minor league system and had the guys mostly in school for an education play college football then college football would still pull more interest, fans, and money.

I don't care about the money, but, yes, that's why this will never happen. Public institutions shouldn't be in the business of professional athletics.

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Atocep

It would make a fraction of what colleges are making right now. Players would make some money, but there's zero chance revenue would shift to the minor league dollar for dollar. Not even close to it.

If you took the top players and fed them into a professional minor league system and had the guys mostly in school for an education play college football then college football would still pull more interest, fans, and money.

I don't see why it wouldn't continue to make the same amount of money as it already does.

Make the minor league (or more accurately, junior league), but you can keep the same names. Call the team in Tuscaloosa the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, for example. The players wouldn't actually be students of the university, but the team would represent the university in the same way the New York Red Bulls represent the Red Bull energy drink company, or how you have things like the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, etc. They could even play in the same stadium on campus. The university still gets the benefits of having its name attached to one of the premier teams in the nation: increased enrollment, endowments and donations, etc., but it also gets back its integrity as an educational institution first and foremost. People still flock to the games because they have a connection to the university that is on the team's uniforms and logo. I don't think people would care if the Crimson Tide contained real "student-athletes" or junior league 20-something-year-olds that aren't college students but happen to represent the university that sponsors the team. The product on the field would basically be the same. In fact, it would be better because players could train longer.

Then, when you do that, you can pay the kids whatever the market deems them worth and give them cars or whatever. They don't waste time in a classroom, and then you can do things like have a bigger playoff system. It's a win-win situation.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Public institutions shouldn't be in the business of professional athletics.

They're in the business of making money. And part of that is marketing.
Which is basically what college sports is.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

I don't see why it wouldn't continue to make the same amount of money as it already does.

Then you don't understand college football fans.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I don't care about the money, but, yes, that's why this will never happen. Public institutions shouldn't be in the business of professional athletics.

For Power 5 Teams the athletic department budget is totally separate from public funds.

I cant speak 100% to all smaller schools, but Im not aware of any that public funds subsidize athletic departments.