More NCAA penalties imposed on Ole Miss, will Alabama football benefit?

The NCAA closed its five-year investigation into Ole Miss by adding additional penalties to those previously self-imposed by Ole Miss. What does Alabama football stand to gain?

On Friday, the NCAA levied additional punishment on Ole Miss football. In its final action following five years of scrutiny into the University of Mississippi, The NCAA added another bowl ban, further reduced scholarships and penalized former Ole Miss coaches and athletic staff. Alabama football could benefit from the Ole Miss penalties.

The University of Mississippi has indicated it will appeal the additional year of banned bowl participation. Otherwise, it appears Ole Miss is reconciled to its NCAA-imposed fate. The penalties are significant but they could have been worse.

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Ole Miss defense of Hugh Freeze paid off – for Freeze

The school’s defense of Hugh Freeze before and after his dismissal paid off for Freeze if for no one else. Freeze will receive a  two-game suspension if he is employed as a head coach before November 2018. He did not receive a show-cause and can immediately be employed as an assistant coach.

From ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, here is the NCAA statement on Freeze.

"“Off the field, [Freeze] promoted an atmosphere of compliance and expected his staff to abide by the rules. However, throughout his tenure, the head coach also violated NCAA head coach responsibility legislation because he failed to monitor his program’s activities surrounding the recruitment of prospects. Members of his staff knowingly committed recruiting violations, submitted false information on recruiting paperwork and failed to report known violations.”"

The NCAA meted out far more severe punishments to others. Schlabach reported,

"Nearly every coach named in the NCAA’s notice of allegations received a show-cause penalty. Former Rebels assistant coaches David Saunders (8-year show-cause), Chris Vaughn (5 years), Chris Kiffin (2 years) and staff member Barney Farrar (5 years) . Kiffin can remain in his role as an assistant at FAU, but he will not be allowed to recruit off campus during the two-year penalty."

No penalties for Matt Luke

Newly promoted Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke received no penalties. Luke will now try to stabilize the Ole Miss football program that in total will lose 24 scholarships and be on NCAA probation until November 2020. In addition, due to the 2018 bowl ban, rising seniors automatically qualify for transfer to another school without having to sit out a season.

Ole Miss may also suffer additional attrition as players (not rising seniors) may petition the NCAA for the same transfer opportunity. The NCAA can approve a transfer petition if a player can prove he was lied to by Ole Miss during his recruitment.

It is not known if Alabama football will be interested in a transfer from any Ole Miss rising senior. There have been rumors the father of sophomore receiver A. J. Brown having said he would like to see his son at Alabama. Brown, the son, tweeted shortly after the new sanctions were released that he intends to remain at Ole Miss.

The reduced scholarships available to Ole Miss gives Alabama football and other schools an advantage in future recruitment. Separate from direct scholarship limitation, some top players will stay away from a damaged Ole Miss program that may take four or five seasons to rebuild.

A Cautionary Tale

Beyond what other programs may gain in recruiting efforts, is another, ultimately more important issue. Ole Miss was deemed by the NCAA to be deficient in institutional control of its football program. Again, from the ESPN story, the violations resulted

"“from a culture of rules violations being acceptable in the Mississippi football program. Members of the football staff were often in regular contact with the boosters who provided impermissible inducements and benefits. Further, the football staff at times did not report known violations and falsified recruiting paperwork.”"

Not only is this a damning statement, it should also be a cautionary tale for every other school and college football program in the nation. Ole Miss knowingly and willingly broke NCAA rules to win football games. Some of those wins, including a couple against Alabama football, might be vacated.

Since the recent North Carolina ruling, the NCAA has been frequently chastised for being ineffective in enforcement. No one in Oxford, MS is making that claim. The Ole Miss case shows the NCAA still has some bite in terms of non-compliance.

In summary, the NCAA described the Ole Miss football program as a serial violator, almost equivalent to a ‘rogue state.’

"“Mississippi lacked control over its boosters and oversight of football recruiting activities. Although the institution is now attempting to manage its boosters, this case is symptomatic of an out-of-control culture that has existed for decades.”"

How many decades back?

Decades … which means before Hugh Freeze or Houston Nutt, Ed Orgeron, David Cutcliffe, maybe even before Tommy Tuberville, who took over at Ole Miss in 1995. Other schools, including Alabama, have suffered from the actions of rogue boosters. The Ole Miss violations are probably not as unique as every other SEC fanbase wants to believe.

When will the lesson be collectively learned? What lesson you ask? The one so consistently espoused by Nick Saban – ‘There are no shortcuts’ to success. Ole Miss will not be the last Power Five football program to be punished by the NCAA. The opportunity to learn a valuable lesson will almost inevitably go unheeded.

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Alabama basketball has another big game ahead against probable NCAA tourney team, UCF. Check with us throughout the weekend as we update all the latest Tide news.