NCAA creating college sports snitch line more farce than force
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NCAA creating college sports snitch line more farce than force
Matt Hayes, USA TODAY·USA TODAY Sports
·
4 min read
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Seriously, look at these geniuses. You're not getting anything by these trendsetters.
The College Sports Commission has rolled out a new tool forrules enforcement, and nothing says weren't youonce the NCAAquite like a snitch line.
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I promise you, I'm not making this up.
Not only did the CSC come up with this incredibly flawed idea, they've openedthe snitch lineto everyone. Everyone, you say?
Everyone.
Coaches and players, athletic directors and boosters, and, wait for it … the rest of God's green earth.
What could go wrong?
In USA TODAY Sports' review of compensation for Division I football head coaches, we found 32 are earning $7,000,000 or more this season. Georgia’s' Kirby Smart is No. 1 at $13,282,580 million.
(Alan Poizner, Imagn Images)
Ryan Day, Ohio State, $12,575,000
(Adam Cairns, Columbus Dispatchvia USA TODAY NETWORK)
Lincoln Riley, Southern California, $11,537,560
(Ron Johnson, Imagn Images)
Dabo Swinney, Clemson, $11,382,775
(Ken Ruinard, GREENVILLE NEWS via USA TODAY Network)
Steve Sarkisian,Texas, $10,800,000
(Scott Wachter, Imagn Images)
Dan Lanning, Oregon, $10,400,00
(Ben Lonergan, The Register-Guard via USA TODAY NETWORK)
Kalen DeBoer, Alabama, $10,250,000
(Melina Myers, Imagn Images)
Brian Kelly, LSU, $10,175,000
(Petre Thomas, Imagn Images)
Bill Belichick, North Carolina, $10,100,000
(Bob Donnan, Imagn Images)
T10. Josh Heupel, Tennessee, $9,000,000
(Brianna Paciorka, News Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK)
T10. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri, $9,000,000
(Denny Medley, Imagn Images)
T10. Mark Stoops, Kentucky, $9,000,000
(Matt Stone, Courier Journal via USA TODAY NETWORK)
T10. Lane Kiffin, Mississippi, $9,000,000
(Petre Thomas, Imagn Images)
Deion Sanders, Colorado, $8,975,000
(Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images)
T15. James Franklin, Penn State, $8,500,000
(James Lang, Imagn Images)
T15. Matt Rhule, Nebraska, $8,500,00
(Dylan Widger, Imagn Images)
Mario Cristobal, Miami, $8,302,883
(Sam Navarro, Imagn Images)
Curt Cignetti, Indiana, $8,300,000
(Rich Janzaruk, Herald-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK)
Bret Bielema, Illinois, $8,200,000
(Ron Johnson, Imagn Images)
Shane Beamer, South Carolina, $8,150,000
(Jeff Blake, Imagn Images)
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin, $7,825,000
(Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK)
Jedd Fisch, Washington, $7,575,024
(Joe Nicholson, Imagn Images)
Brent Venables, Oklahoma, $7,552,000
(BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN via USA TODAY NETWORK)
Billy Napier, Florida, $7,470,000
(Sam Navarro, Imagn Images)
Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State, $7,442,000
(Patrick Breen, The Republicvia USA TODAY NETWORK)
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame, $7,421,201
(Michael Caterina, Imagn Images)
Jonathan Smith, Michigan State, $7,350,000
(Nick King, Lansing State Journal via USA TODAY NETWORK)
Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh, $7,259,909
(Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images)
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, $7,175,000
(Jeffrey Becker, Imagn Images)
Sonny Dykes, TCU, $7,036,013
(Patrick Breen, The Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK)
T31. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota, $7,000,000
(Matt Krohn, Imagn Images)
T31. Mike Elko, Texas A&M, $7,000,000
(Maria Lysaker, Imagn Images)
1/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
In USA TODAY Sports' review of compensation for Division I football head coaches, we found 32 are earning $7,000,000 or more this season. Georgia’s' Kirby Smart is No. 1 at $13,282,580 million.
(Alan Poizner, Imagn Images)
1/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
In USA TODAY Sports' review of compensation for Division I football head coaches, we found 32 are earning $7,000,000 or more this season. Georgia’s' Kirby Smart is No. 1 at $13,282,580 million.
(Alan Poizner, Imagn Images)
2/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Ryan Day, Ohio State, $12,575,000
(Adam Cairns, Columbus Dispatchvia USA TODAY NETWORK)
3/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Lincoln Riley, Southern California, $11,537,560
(Ron Johnson, Imagn Images)
4/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Dabo Swinney, Clemson, $11,382,775
(Ken Ruinard, GREENVILLE NEWS via USA TODAY Network)
5/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Steve Sarkisian,Texas, $10,800,000
(Scott Wachter, Imagn Images)
6/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Dan Lanning, Oregon, $10,400,00
(Ben Lonergan, The Register-Guard via USA TODAY NETWORK)
7/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Kalen DeBoer, Alabama, $10,250,000
(Melina Myers, Imagn Images)
8/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Brian Kelly, LSU, $10,175,000
(Petre Thomas, Imagn Images)
9/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Bill Belichick, North Carolina, $10,100,000
(Bob Donnan, Imagn Images)
10/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
T10. Josh Heupel, Tennessee, $9,000,000
(Brianna Paciorka, News Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK)
11/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
T10. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri, $9,000,000
(Denny Medley, Imagn Images)
12/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
T10. Mark Stoops, Kentucky, $9,000,000
(Matt Stone, Courier Journal via USA TODAY NETWORK)
13/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
T10. Lane Kiffin, Mississippi, $9,000,000
(Petre Thomas, Imagn Images)
14/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Deion Sanders, Colorado, $8,975,000
(Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images)
15/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
T15. James Franklin, Penn State, $8,500,000
(James Lang, Imagn Images)
16/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
T15. Matt Rhule, Nebraska, $8,500,00
(Dylan Widger, Imagn Images)
17/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Mario Cristobal, Miami, $8,302,883
(Sam Navarro, Imagn Images)
18/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Curt Cignetti, Indiana, $8,300,000
(Rich Janzaruk, Herald-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK)
19/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Bret Bielema, Illinois, $8,200,000
(Ron Johnson, Imagn Images)
20/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Shane Beamer, South Carolina, $8,150,000
(Jeff Blake, Imagn Images)
21/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Luke Fickell, Wisconsin, $7,825,000
(Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK)
22/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Jedd Fisch, Washington, $7,575,024
(Joe Nicholson, Imagn Images)
23/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Brent Venables, Oklahoma, $7,552,000
(BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN via USA TODAY NETWORK)
24/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Billy Napier, Florida, $7,470,000
(Sam Navarro, Imagn Images)
25/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State, $7,442,000
(Patrick Breen, The Republicvia USA TODAY NETWORK)
26/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame, $7,421,201
(Michael Caterina, Imagn Images)
27/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Jonathan Smith, Michigan State, $7,350,000
(Nick King, Lansing State Journal via USA TODAY NETWORK)
28/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh, $7,259,909
(Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images)
29/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, $7,175,000
(Jeffrey Becker, Imagn Images)
30/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
Sonny Dykes, TCU, $7,036,013
(Patrick Breen, The Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK)
31/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
T31. P.J. Fleck, Minnesota, $7,000,000
(Matt Krohn, Imagn Images)
32/32
Who are the highest paid college football coaches? Check out the top 32.
T31. Mike Elko, Texas A&M, $7,000,000
(Maria Lysaker, Imagn Images)
Clearly, the good folks at the CSC don't understand their constituency. So before we go further, let me throw out some examples.
Trust me when I say, it takes all kinds.
Like Harvey Updyke, bless his tortured soul, whokilled the treesat Toomer's Corner.
Or former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt, whose wife, Casey, carried cashin a Chick-Fil-A bagand dolled it out to recruits. Before the House case, of course.
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Or the yet to be named "source" — and by source, I mean someone with a string of Bucknuts tied to their rearview mirror — who exposed Michigan'sadvanced scouting scheme.
Or theAlabama(notice the trend?) attorney, representing two former Tide assistant coaches, who sued former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer (notice the trend?) for conspiring with the NCAA to damage the Alabama program — and tried to have himserved at SEC media days.
Or many of the millions of the beautifully unhinged that make this sport breathe on a daily, fanatical basis.
They'll flood the snitch line with every hint of every possible instance of their bitter rival cheating to get a leg up on their school. Because, after all, it was on BigRedHuskersFans.com, so it must be true.
My god.MY GOD.
I gotta tell you, maybeBrian Seeley— the new CSC/college football czar hired after the House case settlement completely changed the sport forever — should've stayed with Major League Baseball. He has no idea what he's getting into.
Maybe someone, anyone, at the CSC can introduce Seeley to the entire 16-team SEC. For starters, anyway.
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If he thought theHouston Astros' fun little scheme of stealing signs was a heavy lift from his perch as MLB executive vice president of legal and operations, he better strap in.
It's about to get real.
No one cheats like college football. Those coaching and those playing, those born and forced to choose between USC and UCLA, or Alabama and Auburn, or Indiana and Purdue, or Kansas and Kansas State, or any other sick, twisted and wonderfully wild rivalry that brings out the uniquely unknown from all involved.
Everybody cheats, including – and I know this is going to shock Seeley, so hang onto your 162-game schedule, Bri – the universities themselves.
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For the love of pigskin, North Carolina used fake classes for a decade to keep athletes academically eligible (that was once a thing, kids). And when caught, the most amazing thing in the history of legal defense unfolded.
North Carolina, the bastion of academia and the Harvard of the south, declared the classes weren't fake because – wait'll you get a load of this – every student had access to the fake classes.
And the NCAA bought it.
So yeah, roll out that snitch line. Good times are on the horizon, baby.
The CSC says they'll protect your identity. And they promise to get back to you with "continued engagement."
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You can snitch or send your conspiracy via text, email or submit on the web, and you don't have to identify yourself. Again, I'm not making that up.
"The CSC encourages anyone with knowledge of or concerns about potential violations of third-party NIL or revenue sharing rules to use the new system to report them immediately," some public relations wonk penned in the release.
These guys have no idea what they're getting into.
Matt Hayesis the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at@MattHayesCFB.
