Again Kevin, maybe you could roll out a more appropriate tagline in your emails.
Exactly what "more" do you refer to? Just checking. Going now on 5 years with
nary a sanction and every accusation put to rest so far. Unless of course, you
are referring to the basketball program. Part of me finds it funny and part of
me finds it a bit disingenuous to label emails like this. But then again, with
all the actual problems at Penn State, I guess you've got to ride the better
programs somehow :)

John Martin

Only a few more weeks....

USC FOOTBALL
Pete Carroll denies violating NCAA rules
Trojans football coach says Pete Rodriguez and others have stayed within
accepted boundaries in performing as consultants, not assistant coaches.
By Gary Klein

12:25 PM PDT, July 30, 2009

USC football Coach Pete Carroll confirmed today that Pete Rodriguez, Alex Gibbs
and other coaches with NFL experience have served as consultants during his
tenure with the Trojans but denied NCAA rules were broken.

The Times reported today that USC might have violated NCAA rules because
Rodriguez, a special teams expert, acted as an extra coach by attending
practices, monitoring games and offering Carroll behind-the-scenes advice.

The NCAA allows major college football teams nine assistant coaches and two
graduate assistants, and Rodriguez was not listed by USC as a coach last season.

Carroll, speaking at Pacific 10 Conference football media day, said he had
cleared Rodriguez's hiring with USC's compliance department and had abided by
all NCAA regulations.

"This is something that we have gone through all the proper channels a long time
ago to make sure that we were doing the right thing and all that," Carroll said.
"We've documented it."

Carroll declined to specify Rodriguez's role, but said the former NFL coach was
within the parameters of NCAA rules.

"We stuck with how we understood it and interpreted it," Carroll said. "We tried
to do everything exactly the right way."

He added, "The fact that it comes up now is way after the fact. But we're going
to do everything we need to do to cooperate . . . by the guidance of the
university."
----- Original Message -----
From: Trader Kevin
To: BCS
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 10:31 AM
Subject: [collegebcs] More cheating at USC?


Story by Paul Pringle
Los Angeles Times
July 30, 2009

USC football Coach Pete Carroll employed a former NFL tactician last season to
help with the team's punting and kicking game, an arrangement that may have
violated NCAA rules that prohibit consultants from coaching, The Times has
learned.

Carroll's action could widen a continuing investigation by the NCAA, the
governing body of major college sports, which has been looking at USC football
for more than three years and the school's basketball program for the last year.
The probe has been examining specific allegations of improper payments to two
players as well as the broader question of whether USC has lost "institutional
control" of its athletics department.

The new issue involves the employment of Pete Rodriguez, who has coached for
several professional franchises. In an interview with The Times, he acknowledged
that he attended USC practices, monitored games and offered Carroll
behind-the-scenes advice on matters ranging from the needs of individual players
to avoiding penalties during punt returns.

"I would watch practice and tell Pete, 'Hey, this guy needs this and this,' "
Rodriguez said. He said he believed that his work complied with National
Collegiate Athletic Assn. regulations that cap the number of coaches a team can
have and that restrict consultants.

But experts contacted by The Times said the type of assistance that Rodriguez
described could constitute a serious violation.

"That's coaching," said J. Brent Clark, a onetime NCAA investigator who
practices law in Oklahoma, when told of Rodriguez's statements.

"The rules are designed to level the playing field for all institutions
regardless of the size of their budgets. It would make no sense for the rich and
powerful to be able to compensate coaches with NFL backgrounds outside the
coaching-limitation rules."

James Grant, USC's media relations director, issued a brief statement
Wednesday in response to questions from The Times.

"We are aware of this issue and are looking into the matter. We will have no
further comment at this time," the statement said.

A spokesman for Carroll and USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett said both were
on vacation and unavailable.

There has been no indication to date that the NCAA's investigation has touched
on the use of consultants. But Rodriguez's employment could change that, said
Clark and others familiar with NCAA procedures, several of whom spoke on
condition of anonymity for fear of damaging their relations with USC or Carroll.

An NCAA spokeswoman declined to answer questions about USC.

If USC is found to have lost institutional control of athletics, the NCAA
could levy severe penalties on the school, including a ban on post-season play
and television appearances that generate millions of dollars in revenue.

Any probe involving Carroll takes on particular importance because his
sustained success has made him enormously popular and influential at USC and one
of the most recognizable figures in sports. The Trojans won national
championships in 2003 and 2004.

Now in his ninth year as coach, Carroll has sought to remain above the NCAA
probe, which is centered on allegations of illicit payments involving former
football star Reggie Bush as well as ex-basketball standout O.J. Mayo and his
former coach, Tim Floyd.

Carroll had tapped at least one NFL-pedigree coach before Rodriguez. Early in
his tenure, Carroll brought in NFL journeyman coach Alex Gibbs to help the
Trojan staff.

During the off-season, Gibbs met with coaches and analyzed game videos,
according to a source familiar with Trojan football operations, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because he was concerned about alienating USC.

Gibbs, now an assistant head coach for the Houston Texans, did not respond to
interview requests.

NCAA bylaws bar consultants from participating "in any on- or off-field or on-
or off-court coaching activities," unless they are counted against a team's
coaching limits. The rules specifically forbid consultants from "attending
practices and meetings involving coaching activities, formulating game plans
[and] analyzing video involving the institution's or opponent's team."

The bylaws say teams may retain temporary consultants "to provide in-service
training for the coaching staff, but no interaction with student-athletes is
permitted."

The rules limit teams in USC's division to nine assistant coaches and two
graduate assistants. Last season, Carroll decided not to assign an assistant
coach full time to special-teams duty, overseeing the punting and kicking
squads.

Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College professor who specializes in sports
economics, said he was "not surprised" that Carroll turned to Rodriguez, given
the pressure on big-time football programs to get a leg up on the competition.

"Whenever you impose a rule that says you can't do what you want to do, that
the marketplace can't do its magic, somebody finds a way to twist it or get
around it," he said. "I'm sure that the infractions committee at the NCAA will
look at it."

In the telephone interview, Rodriguez said, "I didn't coach the players at
all...The players knew who I was because I'd show up for practice now and then.
They'd say, 'Hi.' "

Rodriguez said he did not analyze videotapes of contests, but "basically
watched all the games."

He said Carroll "knew what I could do and what I couldn't do. He said, 'We
have to be very careful.' I was allowed to be able to talk to Pete. I gave him
my thoughts.

"I gave them some thoughts on how to avoid penalties. Just simple, basic
football."

Clark said Rodriguez's mere presence at practices could have given USC another
potentially unfair advantage--boosting the school's reputation as a gateway to
the NFL, a key selling point in recruiting and retaining top talent.

"It said, 'Hey, look what you get when you come to USC--you get access to the
NFL,'" he said.

Rodriguez recently signed on as special teams coach for the New York franchise
of the start-up United Football League. His NFL employers have included the
Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, and Washington Redskins.

The biography posted on the UFL's website does not mention Rodriguez's USC
stint. Rodriguez described his work for Carroll as something that did not
require many hours.

But another source familiar with the situation said that Rodriguez, who lives
in San Diego County, turned down a job with the University of San Diego because
of his arrangement with USC.

In the interview, Rodriguez initially denied that he had any contact with the
University of San Diego, but later said he remembered an overture but had never
formally been offered a job.

University of San Diego Coach Ron Caragher declined to comment about
Rodriguez's statement, saying it was his policy not to discuss interviews with
coaching candidates.

For the upcoming season, USC has hired a full-time special teams coach, Brian
Schneider, who held that position with the Oakland Raiders.

"We've worked for years to create the opportunity to have a special teams
coordinator," Carroll said in a January statement on Schneider's arrival.

Rodriguez said he had not been interested in joining USC full time and had
offered no input in Schneider's selection.

http://tinyurl.com/mm2ltl





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