For West Virginia Football, 2010 Is the Year of Reckoning

Since it was announced in February, Mountaineer fans have anticipated the findings of an NCAA probe into Rich Rodriguez’ time as head football coach.

Thursday, new Athletic Director Oliver Luck announced those NCAA allegations.

The NCAA has alleged that five major violations and one secondary violation occurred from the fall of the 2005-06 academic year through the fall semester of the 2009-10 academic year.

The allegations center on graduate assistants and support staff inappropriately coaching players.

During one week in the 2006 season, WVU allegedly went over the allowed practice time by 75 minutes.

For the record, here is a copy of the letter of allegations the NCAA sent to WVU.

Rodriguez was alleged by the NCAA to have failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance at Michigan. The NCAA has added part of his tenure at WVU to that allegation.

From the 2005 season through his departure in December 2007, graduate assistants were used for duties outside of their approved NCAA job description, according to the NCAA letter of allegations to WVU.

Compounding the issue is the apparent disregard Rodriguez applied to the warnings that were supposedly given him by WVU’s compliance department.

The NCAA may have found their smoking gun.

The NCAA has asked WVU to provide a statement if athletic administrators were aware of the involvement of non-coaching sport specific staff members.

Former Assistant Athletic Director in charge of compliance Brad Cox will be present when WVU meets the NCAA committee. Cox may provide the NCAA with testimony and written documentation that he outlined to Rodriguez the problems surrounding the improper use of graduate assistants and support staff.

If Cox provides the NCAA with the documentation that Rodriguez was aware of the violations regarding graduate assistants at WVU, Rodriguez' failure to react to the potential warnings could spell doom for the embattled coach.

As such, Rodriguez' stance—and Michigan's by association—regarding his intent to follow prescribed NCAA guidelines appears to be folly.

When WVU’s meeting takes place is still uncertain. It could be as early as December or as late as February, depending on the timeliness of the WVU written response to the NCAA allegations.

If WVU responds by Oct. 19, the meeting will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana on Dec. 11-12.

If WVU waits and responds by Nov. 5, the meeting will be in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Feb. 11-12.

The list of individuals that will attend the NCAA meeting for WVU are Jim Clements, Oliver Luck, Bill Stewart, Mike Kerin, John Fisher, and Brad Cox.

Clements is the current President of WVU. Luck is the current Athletic Director at WVU. Stewart is the current Head Football Coach. Fisher is the Faculty Athletic Representative. Kerin is the Assistant Athletic Director for football operations.

"Based on what I've read and what I understand from the letter from the NCAA, the bulk of the alleged NCAA violations are precisely the type of things Rodriguez was asking for in those final contract negotiations and precisely the type of things certain donors—and some of our more vocal donors—wanted me to give him," said former WVU President Mike Garrison (quote provided by Mike Casazza, Charleston Daily Mail).

A few weeks ago, I wrote a comprehensive overview of a letter that Rodriguez sent to Ed Pastilong outlining his reasons for departing WVU. You can find it here.

As outlined in my article, the further the NCAA investigation goes, the more it appears Rodriguez left WVU because he was not permitted to effect procedural changes that were in direct violation of NCAA guidelines.

What wasn’t anticipated was the implication of current head coach Bill Stewart.

Stewart was an assistant under Rodriguez. If Cox notified Rodriguez of the unacceptable use of the graduate assistants, it may be hard for Stewart to prove he wasn’t aware of the situation.

As with Rodriguez, Stewart is alleged by the NCAA to have failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance at WVU.

Oliver Luck had this to say about Stewart: “I have spoken at length to Coach Bill Stewart and his staff and I am convinced that they believe in operating a fully-compliant football program. Coach Stewart and his coaches have my full support, the full support of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the full support of the University.”

Was Bill Stewart aware that he was in violation of NCAA protocols on the use of graduate assistants, as the NCAA alleges?

On the other hand, was Stewart simply following a procedure implemented by his former head coach?

Until WVU attends its meeting with the NCAA, few, if any, answers will be available.

Since the departure of Rodriguez, there has been remarkable turnover at WVU.

There is a new university President in Jim Clements, hired in March of 2009.

There is a new Athletic Director, Oliver Luck, who was hired in June of this year, although Ed Pastilong is still on board in an emeritus role.

The Assistant Athletic Director for compliance is Patrick Hairston. Hairston was hired in August of 2009.

None of these individuals has any connection to Rodriguez or his time as head coach at WVU. In essence, they have nothing to hide regarding alleged improprieties that may have occurred prior to their arrival.

Luck stated, “Because of our strong commitment to compliance, we implemented significant changes intended to ensure that those mistakes did not continue, and that they will not happen again.

“This past spring, we developed new job descriptions and employment agreements which clearly detail permissible and non permissible activities for graduate assistants and other sport-specific personnel. In addition, we have expanded rules education and monitoring programs.”

While not a complete admission of guilt, an individual can contemplate that procedural changes were made to correct existing oversights.

How far, and to what extent, those oversights existed will be made public at the NCAA meeting.

Until then, WVU fans must wait and hope for the best.

Perhaps Luck stated it best: “Finally, let me say this: As Mountaineers it is in our DNA—in our very nature—to stand strong, to stand together, and to stand firm when we face challenges—whether on the field or off. As we approach the coming season, let us do so with pride in our University, passion in our football team and persistence in our mission. And, most importantly, let us stand together with our Mountaineers.”