Can UF Trust the NCAA?

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:

Rashada Aftermath

Jim Harbaugh, who has interviewed for NFL jobs with the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers and may interview with another team or two in the next few days, is also negotiating a six-year deal to stay at Michigan that will have a base salary of $11.5 million. If Harbaugh elects to stay at Michigan, it isn’t going to be about money, however. If he stays it’s because athletic director Warde Manuel and the Michigan administration have elected to stick with Harbaugh even if the NCAA tries to offer a tradeoff that goes something like this: “Fire your coach and we’ll go lighter on the sanctions.”

Most schools live in pee in your pants fear at the thought of NCAA sanctions. The NCAA, whose current and past presidents shouldn’t have been allowed to be a fry cook at a drive-thru despite their lofty educations (PhD = pile higher and deeper), intimidates schools into firing their coach in exchange for fewer sanctions or less time on probation. It worked in 1984 when the NCAA threatened the death penalty and a quivering Florida administration fired Charley Pell. The NCAA still hit the Gators with 109 violations, severe scholarship cutbacks and two years of no television. Among Florida’s dastardly deeds were quarterback recruit Dale Dorminey keeping the gym shorts and T-shirt he slept in when Eastern Airlines lost his luggage and assistant coach Dwight “Hoss” Adams buying Dorminey a Sprite and a pack of Juicy Fruit while waiting for the plane that would take him back to Pensacola.

What Florida should have learned from that incident is the NCAA cannot be trusted. The NCAA promised lenience and didn’t deliver. The 1983-85 Gators were essentially an NFL feeder program. Charley Pell had the Gators recruiting at such a high level that it was only a matter of time before he delivered SEC and national championships.

At or about the same time the Gators went on probation, Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida State, Southern Cal, Miami, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Clemson and Wisconsin also were lit up by the NCAA. Georgia bought and paid for Herschel Walker but the NCAA conveniently overlooked that minor little detail and docked Georgia two scholarships for two years and dished out a year of probation with no television penalties. Quite a few assistant coaches who were employed in the SEC at the time swear that all the violations at Florida during the Pell years didn’t add up to what Georgia paid for Herschel.

That Michigan is doing its best Tammy Wynette “Stand by Your Man” impersonation with Harbaugh is relevant to the University of Florida because the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, could elect to jack up the Gators over the Jaden Rashada divorce. Although there is no evidence that money changed hands between the Gator Collective and Rashada, there seems to be evidence that people in Florida’s football administration were privy to everything that was going on.

Was Billy Napier directly involved in the negotiations that would have kept Rashada a Gator? If he wasn’t directly involved, did he know what was happening and didn’t report it? Historically, the NCAA appreciates a rat and goes after the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil types.

It has been reported by multiple sources that the Gator Collective led by former UF pitcher Eddie Rojas and booster Hugh Hathcock put together a $13.8 million NIL offer to flip Rashada from Miami to Florida. When they couldn’t deliver the down payment money, Rashada balked and walked out of his signed LOI. He signed with Arizona State, allegedly for no NIL money.

The NCAA issued a notice of investigation to Florida last summer. What a notice of investigation typically means is the NCAA has the goods and is merely crossing every T and dotting every I before kangaroo court proceedings to decide just how harsh or how lenient they will be. In a court of law in this country, there is a presumption of innocence. With the NCAA there is a presumption of guilt from the time a school gets its notice of investigation.    

Unless the NCAA has changed its tactics – highly unlikely – it is assumed that Florida is (a) guilty and (b) using the time before its NCAA court date to negotiate a light sentence. A week ago, Florida State got hit with probation over a $15,000 NIL deal. FSU was fined, given two years probation, offensive coordinator Alex Atkins was suspended the first three games of 2024 plus given two years show cause, and a collective that doesn’t exist anymore and a booster were disassociated by the university.

This was over $15,000. Florida’s problem is $13.8 million. Can the Gators get hit with serious sanctions over a deal gone bad? Do unkept promises rise to the level of getting lit up by the NCAA?

And this has to be taken into consideration. Is there evidence that Billy Napier was personally involved in the negotiation and if so, does this rise to the level of the NCAA trying to leverage his job against sanctions? If Napier was not personally involved and UF staffers were, will the NCAA level the dreaded lack of institutional control charges against the Florida athletic department. When a lack of institutional control is leveled against a school, it puts the entire athletic department on notice that even the equivalent of a parking ticket in any sport can be viewed by the NCAA as a major violation.

So this is serious stuff. Florida has a history of keeping its nose clean. Florida went nearly 25 years without any NCAA violations during Jeremy Foley’s watch before football assistant Joker Phillips got hit with impermissible recruiting contact. Phillips was fired and Florida got off with self-imposed penalties. In 2020, Dan Mullen was hit with a show cause over improper recruiting violations that were deemed Level II by the NCAA.

Florida’s cooperation with the NCAA certainly worked to its advantage when the sanctions were slaps on the wrist in both the Phillips and Mullen violations. In a statement issued on Friday, UF said it is cooperating fully with the NCAA on the Rashada situation.

If there is no evidence that Billy Napier was directly involved in a deal gone bad and Florida cooperates fully, will that be enough for the NCAA to sanction lightly? Or, will the NCAA try to use the University of Florida as its whipping boy, an example to others of what could happen if you run afoul of the bureaucrats and other geeks from NCAA HQ in Indianapolis?

With good reason, these are very tense times over at The Heav.

DESPITE THE BAD NEWS ON RASHADA, BILLY NAPIER HAD A GOOD WEEK

Anytime there is a notice from the NCAA it’s bad news. In spite of the allegations that made the news on Friday, this was an exceptional week for Florida’s football program. Billy Napier got commitments from two stud 2025 recruits, D-lineman Jalen Wiggins (6-5, 235, Tallahassee, FL Rickards) and seriously fast wide receiver Josiah Abdullah (5-10, 180, Atlanta, GA Woodward Academy). Those two got things rolling.

Next came the announcement that nose tackle D’antre Robinson (6-4, 315, Orlando, FL Jones) had been granted his LOI release by Texas and would be signing with the Gators. A 4-star recruit that Rivals rates the No. 12 player in the country at his position, Robinson should contribute immediately/

Saturday, linebacker Mannie Nunnery announced he has withdrawn his name from the NCAA transfer portal and will be back with the Gators in the fall. Nunnery is one of the faster linebackers on the Florida roster and should be a serious contributor to the UF defense in the fall. Is it coincidental that Nunnery will be coming back and Ron Roberts is joining the staff as the co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach?

Sunday, former Alabama signee Jameer Grimsley (6-2, 185, Tampa, FL Catholic) committed to the Gators. A 4-star recruit, Grimsley is rated as high as the No. 6 corner in the country by Rivals.

THE WIN OVER MISSOURI WAS HUGE

Not only was Florida’s 79-67 win over Missouri Saturday night in Columbia impressive, it also moved the Gators up to No. 45 in the all-important NCAA Net Rankings. The Net Rankings are usually a good barometer for who will get into the NCA Tournament and who won’t. Top 50 teams are considered likely participants.

Neither Joe Lunardi of ESPN nor Jerry Palm of CBS had Florida in their bracketology on Friday. Both should come out with new brackets today, but whether or not the Gators (12-6, 2-3 SEC) are included it is a huge week in which they will have a chance to work their way back in. With home games against Mississippi State and Georgia, the Gators have a legitimate chance to emerge from the week with 14 wins overall and four in the Southeastern Conference. It is imperative for the Gators to go 2-0 this week since the next three will be at Kentucky, at Texas A&M and home against Auburn.

SEC Net Rankings: 4. Tennessee; 6. Auburn; 9. Alabama; 18. Kentucky; 39. Texas A&M; 40. Mississippi State; 45. FLORIDA; 61. South Carolina; 70. Ole Miss; 81. Georgia; 93. LSU; 118. Arkansas; 127. Missouri; 237. Vanderbilt

Tuesday’s games: No. 8 Kentucky (14-3, 4-1 SEC) at South Carolina (15-3, 3-2 SEC); Missouri (8-10, 0-5 SEC) at Texas A&M (11-7 2-3 SEC)

Wednesday’s games: Mississippi State (15-3, 2-3 SEC) at FLORIDA (12-6, 2-3 SEC); No. 13 Auburn (16-2, 5-0 SEC) at Alabama (12-6, 4-1); Arkansas (10-8, 1-4 SEC) at No. 22 Ole Miss (15-3, 2-3 SEC); LSU (11-7, 3-2 SEC) at Georgia (13-5, 3-2 SEC)

Saturday’s games: Georgia (13-5, 3-2 SEC) at FLORIDA (12-6, 2-3 SEC); No. 6 Tennessee (14-4, 4-1 SEC) at Vanderbilt (5-13, 0-5 SEC); No. 8 Kentucky (14-3, 4-1 SEC) at Arkansas (10-8 ,1-4 SEC); No. 13 Auburn (16-2, 5-0 SEC) at Mississippi State (13-5, 2-3 SEC); No. 22 Ole Miss (15-3, 2-3 SEC) at Texas A&M (11-7, 2-3 SEC); Missouri (8-10, 0-5 SEC) at South Carolina (15-3, 3-2 SEC); LSU (11-7, 3-2 SEC) at Alabama (12-6, 4-1 SEC)

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Whatever happened to Budweiser and Bud Light commercials? There were times when they were every bit as entertaining as the football or basketball games on which they advertised. I miss the Budweiser lizards, the “Yes I am” Bud Lite guy and the king shouting “dilly dilly!” when he approved of something. Now their commercials stink, even Bud Lite with Peyton Manning and Emmitt Smith throwing beer to bar patrons.

While watching sports on television over the weekend, I started a list of the most annoying commercials. I won’t include the fat lady on the Relaxium Sleep commercials because Relaxium doesn’t advertise on sports, but hearing her speak is like subjecting me to listening to Beth Mowins try to make football sound exciting. Here are my top five annoying commercials:

1. Progressive Insurance. Even if they were less expensive than Allstate I wouldn’t buy their insurance because of Flo and Jamey.

2. Any electric vehicle commercial. I have friends up north whose electric vehicles wouldn’t work in the record cold.

3. Frontdoor “We Fixed This Toilet. “We Built This City on Rock and Roll” was the low point for the band Starship, but now the tune is being used in song and dance for fixing a toilet.

4. The Gecko. Geico needs to retire him. He hasn’t been funny since perhaps the turn of the century.

5. Jardiance. If you grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, you remember the musicals when one person would sing and dance and an entire neighborhood joined in. They knew all the words to the song and all their dance steps were perfectly choreographed. Jardiance is a type II diabetes drug. A plump woman sings and dances. The entire neighborhood dances. When the dancing ends, they start listing all the side effects that could cause serious harm.