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Ole Miss faces tampering investigation after Dabo Swinney claims: 'There has to be repercussions'
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- Ole Miss faces tampering investigation after Dabo Swinney claims: 'There has to be repercussions'
Ole Miss football coach Pete Golding and several other football staffers are being investigated by the NCAA amid tampering allegations, according to a report from ESPN on May 22.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney accused Ole Miss of tampering with linebacker Luke Ferrelli on Jan. 23. The ACC defensive rookie of the year at Cal transferred to Clemson on Jan. 7, then reentered the portal on Jan. 16 to transfer to Ole Miss on Jan. 22.
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Swinney said Golding was contacting Ferrelli despite him transferring to Clemson, being enrolled in classes and participating in team workouts. Swinney said Golding texted Ferrelli while he was in class saying, "I know you're signed. What's the buyout?" with a photo of a $1 million contract.
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ESPN reported Ole Miss senior associate athletic director of compliance Taylor Hall received an email from the NCAA on Jan. 23 hours before Swinney's news conference.
According to the report, the email requested Golding's university-issued cellphone and personal phones be forensically imaged. The same was requested for phones belonging to Ole Miss general manager Austin Thomas, inside linebackers coach Jay Shoop, outside linebackers coach Matt Kitchens, director of player personnel Jai Choudhary and senior associate athletic director for strategy/cap management Matt McLaughlin.
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"There has to be repercussions for improper behavior," ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said May 13 at the ACC spring meetings in Amelia Island, Florida. "Until that occurs, I think the tampering piece, maybe, stays at the level where that it's at now."
The NCAA also requested for Ferrelli's phone to be forensically imaged. The report said the NCAA's investigation is still "in the early stages."
Golding was asked about Swinney's accusations on March 31, in his first spring football news conference .
"There's two sides to every story," Golding said. "I'm not going to sit up here and use the podium as a grandstand and all of that. That's why there is enforcement. That's why we have our compliance office. They do all that."
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Golding added: "(Ferrelli) is a kid that wanted to be here. We wanted him to be here. At the end of it, he came over and he's here right now."
Ole Miss also being investigated by College Sports Commission, per report
In a separate development, The Athletic reported on May 22 Ole Miss is the subject of an investigation by the College Sports Commission.
The CSC is an organization that was informed after the House settlement. Its purpose is to, in part, ensure that players are being compensated through NIL for specific work and not getting pay-to-play payments.
The Athletic reported the CSC received a report that Ole Miss and an incoming transfer sent. The player's name and former school were redacted, but the CSC followed up with a formal request to interview the player.
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NCAA tampering rules
Tampering in college athletics is when teams contact players who are on other teams. That is against the rules.
In many cases, teams will do that to try to get players into the transfer portal. However, accusations are rarely publicized.
Teams are not allowed to tamper with athletes, according to NCAA bylaw 13.1.1.4. Here's what the full rule says:
"An athletics staff member or other representative of the institution's athletics interests shall not communicate or make contact with the student-athlete of another NCAA Division I institution, or any individual associated with the student-athlete (e.g., family member, scholastic or nonscholastic coach, advisor), directly or indirectly, without first obtaining authorization through the notification of transfer process.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dabo Swinney said Ole Miss tampered with star LB. Now NCAA is investigating
