Pete Golding is looking down the barrel of some serious, and potentially career-threatening, damage if the NCAA finds Ole Miss guilty of the tampering allegations Dabo Swinney and Fersno State have put on Ole Miss.
Based on the tell-all tale Swinney presented in front of the media, Golding allegedly asked Clemson's then-student-athlete Luke Ferrelli about his buyout, and even offered a blank $1 million check to his pitch.
Pete Golding looking down at Level II, Level I violation
"If the NCAA finds the Rebels guilty of contacting Ferrelli while he was enrolled at Clemson, that would likely result in a Level II recruiting violation for Ole Miss, per NCAA rules. If it's discovered that Ferrelli was offered money to leave the Tigers for the Rebels, as Swinney says he has proof, there's a chance Ole Miss could get hit with a more severe Level I violation," CBS Sports' Brad Crawford wrote.
The Clarion Ledger's Sam Hutches reports the punishments the NCAA levid on Southern Utah coach DeLane Fitzgerald in 2023 for contacting two players who were not in the transfer portal.
Fitzgerald was suspended one game the 2023 season. His penalties included:
- One year of probation.
- A $5,000 fine.
- A two-week prohibition on all recruiting activities for the football program during a permissible recruiting period in 2024. One week took place April 15-21 during the spring transfer window for football.
- A two-year show-cause order for Fitzgerald. During the show-cause order, any employing member school shall impose a two-week off-campus recruiting ban for Fitzgerald, including one week during the spring transfer window. Fitzgerald will also be suspended from all recruiting communications for one week during the 2025 transfer window.
The NCAA has decilend to comment on any updates on the ongoing investigation against Ole Miss. The severity of the evidence they find will decide if Golding would also have it this bad.