whiteplainstiger 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 I found these stories about Saban being investigated by the NCAA while he was at LSU. The first story is about the NCAA investigating LSU for academic fraud while Saban was the coach. http://tsn.sportingnews.com/cfootball/arti...725/484738.html LSU's Saban questioned by attorney July 25, 2003 Print it BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU coach Nick Saban answered questions under oath as part of a pair of law suits that accused the school and athletic department of academic improprieties. Baton Rouge civil rights attorney Jill Craft interviewed Saban in a formal deposition oath for almost two hours. Craft represents former kinesiology instructors Caroline Owen and Tiffany Mayne, who filed lawsuits in March and May 2002 charging misdeeds regarding football players in the kinesiology department and academic center for student-athletes. Owen and Mayne filed the suits shortly after LSU opened an internal investigation in January 2002 of academic fraud involving the football program. LSU completed its investigation in August 2002 and turned it over to the NCAA. LSU admitted to five secondary NCAA violations as it completed its investigation and awaits NCAA rulings on its case. Those violations involved academic mentors and tutors writing and typing papers for football players and an academic employee arranging for a football prospect to receive five hours of free tutoring and a place to study. In the meantime, Craft and co-counsel Aidan Reynolds have been gathering information for the two lawsuits since August 2002 as they work toward a possible trial. "We wanted to talk to him based on what Karla Lemoine told us," Craft said. "Coach Saban met with Karla Lemoine once a week (in 2000 and 2001)." Lemoine, the former director of the academic center who was demoted last summer and transferred to another department at LSU, gave her deposition to Craft recently. "I can say generally that the deposition with coach Saban went well," said Craft, who wouldn't give details on the deposition. "We asked questions and obtained information we were looking for in the litigation. Everyone was cordial and professional toward the questions that were asked." Saban said he was advised not to comment by lawyers. Besides Lemoine, Craft previously took depositions from kinesiology department head Amelia Lee, who was mentioned prominently in both lawsuits. Kinesiology was a popular major among LSU football players in 2000 and 2001, which is the time covered in the lawsuits. In the meantime, LSU attorneys have taken a deposition from Mayne and plan to depose Owen, Craft said. According to documents obtained by The Advocate, Craft and Reynolds have plans to depose many more, including LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman. "There is a universe of people we want to talk to," Craft said. "We also have some outstanding requests for documents and records, and the number of our interviews will depend on what those records say." Craft and Reynolds have requested more than 520 student records. Craft said she was undecided if she would depose Saban again. "I'd hate to do that (depose Saban again)," Craft said. "He's a busy guy." LSU football practice starts on Aug. 6. Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. print this article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiteplainstiger 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Author Share Posted January 8, 2007 The second story involves Saban being investigated by the NCAA for making improper contact with recruits while he was at LSU. Here is the link. http://www.uwire.com/content/topsports041602002.html LSU responds to coach Saban's violations By Jessica Waldon The Reveille (Louisiana State U.) 04/16/2002 (U-WIRE) BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU reprimanded coach Nick Saban for supposed recruiting violations he and his staff made in April and May 2001. An investigation revealed Saban and his assistant coaches made improper contact with prospects. Athletics Director Skip Bertman confirmed the violations occurred last spring and summer. According to The Advocate, LSU reported the three secondary recruiting violations to the NCAA and SEC in October 2001. First, Saban was speaking to a high school coach while a prospective athlete was present. Second, Saban and an assistant had "improper contact" with a prospective athlete at a different school. Third, a former LSU assistant coach either called a prospective athlete during a no-call week or called a prospective athlete more times than is allowed by NCAA regulations. According to the Times-Picayune, the coach involved in the third violation had five instances of "impermissible" phone calls found by LSU. It also was reported that one incident breaking the no-contact rule involved Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport. LSU reprimanded Saban for these actions by limiting the number of days he can recruit this spring. The SEC and NCAA accepted this self-imposed judgment recommended by LSU's attorney Mike Pharis to SEC commissioner Roy Kramer. Nick Saban was not available for comment Monday. However, before a press conference on Saturday, Saban said in front of reporters he was "pissed off" about the situation's hype. "I got every kid that we are recruiting calling me, asking me about probation and all this stuff," Saban said. In an Advocate article, Saban denied violating regulations while recruiting. "If it was a minor violation, it was a minor violation, and we'll make sure it's not done again in the future," Saban said. "But I still don't think I did anything wrong." The article said other SEC schools accused Saban of making improper contacts with prospects in May 2001. This prompted the SEC to ask William Sievers to investigate the accusations. Bertman did not want to comment on the violations. "Those happened before I was the Athletics Director, and I'm not familiar with them," Bertman said. On Friday, more information surfaced about athletic investigations at LSU. Chancellor Mark Emmert released a statement to faculty and staff at LSU about the ongoing investigation of academic improprieties. Emmert wrote about the investigation he set in motion in Human Resource Management and Academic Affairs and how everyone involved in the investigation had a "responsibility to conduct a comprehensive, thorough, fair and impartial review of the allegations." Emmert said he wanted to make sure all allegations had been thoroughly investigated. After speaking to Neil Kestner, Faculty Senate president, about individuals who would be willing to help, he appointed mass communication professor Laura Lindsay to assist with the investigation. "Folks have great respect for her and her integrity," Emmert said. "She is a great person to have help." Emmert said faculty and staff members may find it more comfortable to talk to another staff member about their information. Lindsay said she is available to talk to any faculty or staff member that feels he or she has something to say. She said she is there to listen and, if relevant, refer them to the right people to talk to about their information or concerns. She said by opening up meeting times to talk about any information dealing with the investigation will help everyone to see if they have done a thorough investigation. "It is important for the institution to get to the bottom of this, and I am willing to give the time to listen to folks to do that," Lindsay said. Emmert wrote he wanted the investigation to be complete by May 1. "I would like to conclude the study as quickly as possible and at the same time be thorough and thoughtful," he said. "We are confident when we conclude we will have a good understanding of what transpired and everyone in the involved was treated properly and fairly." Emmert said he wanted to pursue the issues vigorously and wanted to protect the academic integrity of the University. University Relations Executive Director Gene Sands did not return phone calls before press time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,441 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Saban had improper contact while at LSU and he also had repeated run-ins with academic folks as well. Rumor was just before he signed Lamarcus Russell that JR Dad was shopping him just like Albert Means was shopped. CTT immediately quit recruiting the guy altogether about a week before he committed to LSU. BTW, Saban was involved with the Albert Means recruiting as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthLink02 8 Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Rumor was just before he signed Lamarcus Russell that JR Dad was shopping him just like Albert Means was shopped. CTT immediately quit recruiting the guy altogether about a week before he committed to LSU. If you want a good rumor, think about why RP left UT for LSU during signing day... Nice little history behind it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU alum 2 Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 I found these stories about Saban being investigated by the NCAA while he was at LSU. The first story is about the NCAA investigating LSU for academic fraud while Saban was the coach. http://tsn.sportingnews.com/cfootball/arti...725/484738.html LSU's Saban questioned by attorney July 25, 2003 Print it BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU coach Nick Saban answered questions under oath as part of a pair of law suits that accused the school and athletic department of academic improprieties. Baton Rouge civil rights attorney Jill Craft interviewed Saban in a formal deposition oath for almost two hours. Craft represents former kinesiology instructors Caroline Owen and Tiffany Mayne, who filed lawsuits in March and May 2002 charging misdeeds regarding football players in the kinesiology department and academic center for student-athletes. Owen and Mayne filed the suits shortly after LSU opened an internal investigation in January 2002 of academic fraud involving the football program. LSU completed its investigation in August 2002 and turned it over to the NCAA. LSU admitted to five secondary NCAA violations as it completed its investigation and awaits NCAA rulings on its case. Those violations involved academic mentors and tutors writing and typing papers for football players and an academic employee arranging for a football prospect to receive five hours of free tutoring and a place to study. In the meantime, Craft and co-counsel Aidan Reynolds have been gathering information for the two lawsuits since August 2002 as they work toward a possible trial. "We wanted to talk to him based on what Karla Lemoine told us," Craft said. "Coach Saban met with Karla Lemoine once a week (in 2000 and 2001)." Lemoine, the former director of the academic center who was demoted last summer and transferred to another department at LSU, gave her deposition to Craft recently. "I can say generally that the deposition with coach Saban went well," said Craft, who wouldn't give details on the deposition. "We asked questions and obtained information we were looking for in the litigation. Everyone was cordial and professional toward the questions that were asked." Saban said he was advised not to comment by lawyers. Besides Lemoine, Craft previously took depositions from kinesiology department head Amelia Lee, who was mentioned prominently in both lawsuits. Kinesiology was a popular major among LSU football players in 2000 and 2001, which is the time covered in the lawsuits. In the meantime, LSU attorneys have taken a deposition from Mayne and plan to depose Owen, Craft said. According to documents obtained by The Advocate, Craft and Reynolds have plans to depose many more, including LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman. "There is a universe of people we want to talk to," Craft said. "We also have some outstanding requests for documents and records, and the number of our interviews will depend on what those records say." Craft and Reynolds have requested more than 520 student records. Craft said she was undecided if she would depose Saban again. "I'd hate to do that (depose Saban again)," Craft said. "He's a busy guy." LSU football practice starts on Aug. 6. Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. print this article Yeah, like "under oath" to him means anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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