The NCAA has delivered the Notice of Allegations to the University of Miami almost two years after their case against UM got underway, and weeks after it was discovered the investigation was corrupt and tainted.
The news broke while the second-ranked Miami Hurricanes were taking on the Virginia Cavaliers at The BUC in Coral Gables – a game UM won in the final minutes, 54-50, and president Donna Shalala issued a release ESPN read live during the basketball telecast:
“Let me be clear again: for any rule violation – substantiated and proven with facts – that the University, its employees, or student-athletes committed, we have and should be held accountable. We have worked hard to improve our compliance oversight, and we have already self-imposed harsh sanctions.”
Another concise, cutting, to-the-point from the president, which makes it clear — any SUBSTANTIATED and PROVEN WITH FACTS rules violation, Miami should be punished for, but lest not forget that the University has already self-imposed HARSH SANCTIONS and worked to improve its compliance oversight, which is fact, not just big talk.
The NCAA claims that it had to throw out upwards of 20% of the case it had against Miami as the evidence was tainted, which in the real would would cause a mistrial.
In NCAAville, it means “lack of institutional control” handed down, which will now be fought tooth and nail as Miami has ninety days to respond, before going in front of the infractions committee, who will hand down the punishment, and Shalala is already positioning.
“We trust that the committee on infractions will provide the fairness and integrity missing during the investigative process,” stated Shalala.
One can only imagine what Miami’s legal counsel will do with ninety days to shred this shoddy investigation. Hell, look what one super fan put together in a matter of hours on Monday evening.
The University of Miami is far from out of the woods, as there’s a lot of work to do, but in the end, the NCAA has painted themselves into a corner, putting the institution in its worst position in its history.
The tactics used against Miami were akin to a dirty cop, with a vendetta, planting evidence at the scene, while the star witness is a world class liar and thief.
“Many of the charges brought forth are based on the word of a man who made a fortune by lying,” Shalala said.
“The NCAA enforcement staff acknowledged to the university that if Nevin Shapiro, a convicted con man, said something more than once, it considered the allegation ‘corroborated’ — an argument which is both ludicrous and counter to legal practice.”
Hell hath no fury like a university president – with strong political ties – scorned.
Forget going down swinging. Miami is going to bring this fight to the NCAA’s doorstep and in the end may deliver a true knockout blow that changes the face of college football forever.
Sit back and watch. Things are about to get very interesting.
UPDATE : President Shalala’s full response has been released, as opposed to just the blurb that ran on ESPN last night:
“The University of Miami deeply regrets and takes full responsibility for those NCAA violations that are based on fact and are corroborated by multiple individuals and/or documentation. We have already self-imposed a bowl ban for an unprecedented two-year period, forfeited the opportunity to participate in an ACC championship game, and withheld student-athletes from competition.
Over the two and a half years since the University of Miami first contacted the NCAA enforcement staff about allegations of rules violations, the NCAA interviewed dozens of witnesses, including current and former Miami employees and student-athletes, and received thousands of requested documents and emails from the University. Yet despite our efforts to aid the investigation, the NCAA acknowledged on February 18, 2013 that it violated its own policies and procedures in an attempt to validate the allegations made by a convicted felon. Many of the allegations included in the Notice of Allegations remain unsubstantiated.
Now that the Notice of Allegations has been issued, let me provide some context to the investigation itself:
* Many of the charges brought forth are based on the word of a man who made a fortune by lying. The NCAA enforcement staff acknowledged to the University that if Nevin Shapiro, a convicted con man, said something more than once, it considered the allegation “corroborated”-an argument which is both ludicrous and counter to legal practice.
* Most of the sensationalized media accounts of Shapiro’s claims are found nowhere in the Notice of Allegations. Despite their efforts over two and a half years, the NCAA enforcement staff could not find evidence of prostitution, expensive cars for players, expensive dinners paid for by boosters, player bounty payments, rampant alcohol and drug use, or the alleged hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts given to student-athletes, as reported in the media. The fabricated story played well-the facts did not.
* The NCAA enforcement staff failed, even after repeated requests, to interview many essential witnesses of great integrity who could have provided first-hand testimony, including, unbelievably, Paul Dee, who has since passed away, but who served as Miami Athletic Director during many of the years that violations were alleged to have occurred. How could a supposedly thorough and fair investigation not even include the Director of Athletics?
* Finally, we believe the NCAA was responsible for damaging leaks of unsubstantiated allegations over the course of the investigation.
Let me be clear again: for any rule violation-substantiated and proven with facts-that the University, its employees, or student-athletes committed, we have been and should be held accountable. We have worked hard to improve our compliance oversight, and we have already self-imposed harsh sanctions.
We deeply regret any violations, but we have suffered enough.
The University and counsel will work diligently to prepare our official response to the Notice of Allegations and submit it to the Committee on Infractions within the required 90-day time period.
We trust that the Committee on Infractions will provide the fairness and integrity missing during the investigative process.”
Christian Bello has been covering Miami Hurricanes athletics since the mid-1990s. After spending almost a decade as a columnist for CanesTime, he launched allCanesBlog.com. – the official blog for allCanes.com : The #1 Canes Shop Since 1959. Bello has joined up with XOFan.com and will be a guest columnist at CaneInsider.com this fall. Follow him on Twitter @ChristianRBello.