Self-imposed penalties complete, what's next in Michigan's NCAA case?
The University of Michigan's response to the NCAA investigation of its football program is in and a handful of penalties have been self-imposed, but the Wolverines won’t completely wash their hands of the matter until later this fall.
Both the university and football coach Rich Rodriguez have a busy next two months as they get ready for a hearing before the Committee on Infractions Aug. 13-14 in Seattle.
Michigan, Rodriguez and their attorneys will have separate pre-hearing conferences with the NCAA enforcement staff, likely sometime in June, to try and resolve any factual disputes between the parties and answer further questions about the allegations.
Already, Michigan and Rodriguez forwarded the same responses they made public Tuesday to the enforcement staff. Former graduate assistant Alex Herron, who was accused of lying to NCAA investigators in the allegations, is believed to have received an extension on his response.
By late July, the enforcement staff will present its case summary to Michigan, Rodriguez and the Committee on Infractions. According to the NCAA website, the case summary “documents the allegations, the position of the involved parties for each allegation, the remaining issues, if any, … and any other pertinent information.”
Michigan, Rodriguez and NCAA investigators are in substantial agreement about four of the five charges spelled out in February’s Notice of Allegations, and there’s some hope they can come to an accord on the fifth.
The university admitted to violating rules on coaching limits and countable athletic hours, to failing to monitor its football program, and to Rodriguez failing to monitor his quality-control staff. The parties disagree on whether Rodriguez failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance.
Even if there’s resolution on that charge before the August hearing - in the footnotes of its response, Michigan writes that, according to Rodriguez’s personal attorney, the enforcement staff will consider “whether to continue to charge Rodriguez … with failure to monitor each and every allegation” - Michigan won’t know the extent of its punishment until six to 10 weeks after it goes before the infractions committee.
The committee can accept or add to Michigan’s self-imposed penalties, including two years of probation and a loss of 130 hours of practice time, and might penalize Rodriguez for his role in the violations.
In a 2008 case involving Eastern Washington, coach Paul Wulff, now at Washington State, was forced to attend an NCAA rules seminar and barred from three days of practice at his new school after he was found guilty of the same charges against Rodriguez.
The NCAA also is investigating Rodriguez’s tenure at West Virginia, with no timetable to determine whether violations occurred. Even if allegations do surface, that case won’t be adjudicated until after Michigan goes before the committee and won't affect Michigan's punishment.
Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
Comments
Macabre Sunset
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 4:03 a.m.
Given the penalty USC just received, I'm far less confident this ends with the self-imposed practice-time limitation. The NCAA has finally awakened.
2sweetblue
Wed, Jun 2, 2010 : 1:34 p.m.
Bluinsc.... HAHAHAHA your "voice cracking" man up dude you are just like your leader. Is this what Michigan fans have become. Rich Rod crying on National TV now we are writing poetry and crying like the "leader".
BlueInBama
Tue, Jun 1, 2010 : 11:50 p.m.
I'm tired of this conspiracy against Our King as well. Time to bury this and move on! The spread is so beautiful, to me. The spread is so beautiful, to me. It's everything we ever hoped for It's everything we will ever need. Our King is so beautiful...... to me (voice cracking)
GoblueinNE_PA
Tue, Jun 1, 2010 : 8:54 a.m.
I don't know why there are folks getting PO'd about this story. While I've tried to follow this ordeal closely, I didn't realize (or maybe I didn't remember) that there would be meetings in June. I also didn't know that Herron was going to have his own response, though I understand why there'd be one. Folks, this is ugly for us because we haven't seen it happen to our football program before. If we were an SEC school, this probably would barely make the headlines, but we are Michigan, so this is going to get a lot of play. For those of you that don't like this, be prepared for months of disecting the corpse even after this is over.
marineblue
Tue, Jun 1, 2010 : 5:06 a.m.
@2sweet.. i don't know what you don't get but, most coaches don't know every rule that is in the ncaa hand book. i guess that is why all schools have a compliance dept. the coaches asked the question, because they didn't know, and were given the wrong information. the columbus dispatch just ran a similar story about osu doing the same thing. why didn't tressel know????? is he a coward and a joke too??? stay uninformed or keep getting your info from the fr33p....come october you will be in the silent minority....
2sweetblue
Mon, May 31, 2010 : 8:32 p.m.
Marine They had no idea wink wink........ That shows RR is not bright if he does not know the rules! The man is a coward and he is a joke.
Salinegoblue
Mon, May 31, 2010 : 7:33 p.m.
I'm concerned about the NCAA's visit to WVU and what they found. If the NCAA can find a paper trail and evidence that RR knew of the NCAA's reporting and tracking requirements, (RR says he didn't know) then we're in deep trouble because then the NCAA can prove RR lied.
Terry Star21
Mon, May 31, 2010 : 7:01 p.m.
'What's next'?..... Michigan Football, the best in the nation of course. Looking forward to this season, I would be happy with 12 wins, but RichRod wants all 13 and the crystal football - so as always, I'll support our king. Real shame is, I'm going to miss so many of the commenters from this column in January...hate to see people go back into hiding but look at the bright side - you can go about 3 hours south or 1 hour north and continue commenting. See, there is life for everyone after 13 Michigan wins this season... yes sir!
marineblue
Mon, May 31, 2010 : 11:58 a.m.
@2sweet.... if you can't afford a rivals account try MGOBLOG it's free. yes, rules were broken but, by the AD. they didn't provide the CARA reports in a timely manner. they also gave RR the WRONG information on stretching. they had no idea that it went against the countable hours... don't believe me though...brian cook(mgoblog) does an excellent job as well as some others on that site, detailing the events and the perpetrators who caused this mess.
2sweetblue
Mon, May 31, 2010 : 9:47 a.m.
Marine (LOL) Michigan football has lost all integrity since Rich rod was hired. I was fine with the hire at first but there have been so many red flags since he came to AA. He always has an excuse and he won't ever own up to his mistakes. Brandons hands are tied right now he has to back RR for now. If it makes me a "casual fan" because of all the embarrassment the man brings then you must be right. Lets remember that our football program has had over 100 years of excellence. But I guess you don't care what we look like. Rules were broken and we just want to sweep it under the rug. The hypocrisy from some Michigan fans is almost humorous.
Jaxon5
Mon, May 31, 2010 : 7:31 a.m.
To Theo, Great post. But let me counter with the truth, in fact. Faction 1 - Long time fans witnessed Lloyd Carr lead M to victory over Florida in one of the most explosive offensive games ever. Faction 2 - Short time fans can only respond to what they've seen in the last two seasons - more losses than any M team in history. Faction 3 - Following the King's highway which has taken M through a swamp and a garbage dump.
marineblue
Mon, May 31, 2010 : 5:01 a.m.
2sweet (LOL) the fr33p report was also written by a Michigan grad. the author of the article from the fr33p also wrote an opinion piece where he stated that he didn't like RR and did not want him as the coach of the football team. question, how can a journalist write a negative opinion piece, then write a investigative article about the same person and subject. if you believe that is ethical journalism i have some prime land in alligator alley you might be interested in. if you take the time to read all the info that is available on the issue, you would not be voicing your uninformed comments. there is nothing worse than a casual fan. always spouting off w/ no facts... dave brandon has a message for you; either be ALL IN or go away.... RR was stabbed in the back by insiders. if you did minimal research you would know this...
2sweetblue
Sun, May 30, 2010 : 8:44 p.m.
Mitch lets not forget the article was written by a Michigan graduate. We need to stop making excuses and see what the NCAA says. If you all think Rich Rod did not know what was going on then maybe you should do your homework because we all know Rich Didn't do his.
newlander
Sun, May 30, 2010 : 4:22 p.m.
when they stop CHEATING tater, then and only then will the stories stop.
wvtroll
Sun, May 30, 2010 : 4:11 p.m.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention: azwolverine, you're absolutely correct in your position about Michigan's association with any charges. The fact that sports writers report news, good or bad, as long as it's researched and factual, makes for a better publication. We don't always get that back here in WV, especially in political essays. As far as the history of UM's NCAA allegations, the reporters have been pretty much spot-on, and that's backed up by UM's own confessional reports to those allegations. I can't believe, as some suggest, that a Michigan publication would knowingly try to tear down a local sports team.
wvtroll
Sun, May 30, 2010 : 4:01 p.m.
I'm wondering if the author could clarify something. If something from the WVU era is uncovered in which RR was found guilty of doing, can anything be charged against him affecting his current UM position? I appreciate, by the way, any and all articles about RR. The UM stuff will take care of it self once the season starts. Nice work guys.
azwolverine
Sun, May 30, 2010 : 1:47 p.m.
Michigan IS associated with penalties whether mlive writes about it or not. It's called consequences. When someone or some entity breaks rules, there should be consequences, and in this case there are. If the rules weren't broken, then there would be no need for stories like this. Yeah, as an M fan it irritates me that this has occurred, but saying there should not be stories about it is akin to shooting the messenger. Rules were broken and, unfortunately, stories will continue about it. That's part of the consequences. It's hard to write stories with a positive spin over the last 2 years since not much positive has happened to the program over the last two years. If that changes, so will the stories.
NoBowl4Blue
Sun, May 30, 2010 : 11:51 a.m.
No more ramifications from this situation however one has to wonder what the next thing will be that will surface with Rich Rod. As far as football is concerned onward to a less than hoped for season. The only question is will the excuse still be the cupboards are bare?