Ole Miss Football: NCAA Says Vive Le France, But No Couches Allowed!
By Jim Shute
Ole Miss football can’t seem to get away from the national sports news when it comes to Shea Patterson, Jim Harbaugh and Michigan.
Last week Shea Patterson received notification that the NCAA has ruled him eligible to play immediately at the University of Michigan. I’m sure the reporters in Ann Arbor, Michigan rushed to find Shea in town to get his comments. Oh, wait! He wasn’t in Ann Arbor. He was in Paris, France! Oh he must have taken a family vacation right? No, his family wasn’t with him but the entire Michigan Wolverine team was.
You might ask how could they afford a trip like this? Oh, they didn’t pay for it. The University of Michigan led by Mr. Oxford IHOP Head Coach Jim Harbaugh took the entire team to Paris, France. Now, wait a minute! How is that not an extra benefit and not an NCAA violation? Well the NCAA justifies it by calling it “educational” so it is legal according to the NCAA bylaws. You have got to be kidding me! How many schools can afford that? Not many in Division One and certainly not the schools in the smaller conferences. So, the NCAA doesn’t consider that a competitive advantage? Does the NCAA not think that Michigan will use this as a recruiting tool?
It Deserves Attention
Ole Miss Rebels Football
This is just another example of how incompetent and corrupt the NCAA really is. While the Michigan team was visiting the Eiffel Tower and having dinner cruises on the River Seine, the NCAA Committee on Infractions delivered their response to the Ole Miss appeal to the penalties that they have imposed.
Nobody expected the COI led by Xaiver Athletic Director Greg Christopher to give Ole Miss any relief. The NCAA’s response reads like it was written by an eighth grader while Ole Miss responded with a professional rebuttal and facts.
If you read the entire NCAA manual I don’t think you will find the word facts anywhere. One of the Ole Miss violations occurred when a player slept a few nights on a coach’s couch before he could get into his residence.
I’m sure that couch wasn’t as comfortable as the soft beds in whatever luxurious hotel the Michigan team stayed in Paris. Maybe the Ole Miss player should have told the NCAA that he was going to get into the furniture business so the couch surfing could be deemed legal by the NCAA as educational and Laremy Tunsil should have said he was going to get into the automobile business specifically in the loaner car department.
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No Laughing Matter
You may chuckle at this but the hypocrisy by the NCAA is no laughing matter. The entire cash value of the Ole Miss allegations is roughly $30,000.00 and it’s costing Ole Miss over $16,000,000.00 in lost revenue from the SEC combined with legal fees. What do you think it cost The University of Michigan to send its’ entire team to Paris? Well according to my good friend Google, it probably cost $2,500 or more per person for the trip including airfare.
Of course, assuming seventy players went and they bunked together you’re probably looking at a $100,000.00 trip at a minimum and I bet they never dined at the IHOP in Paris either. Do they even have an IHOP in Paris? You can tell I’m being cynical about this but this is a travesty. It’s time to hold the NCAA accountable for their actions or lack there of. If Ole Miss does not win the appeal this writer believes they should join the Rebel Rags lawsuit as a plaintiff and take whatever other legal actions necessary. Enough is enough! Bon Jour!