re: Other CFB Teams & Games

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Nemo’s notes -- More than 40 years in athletic administration gives me a perspective of college athletics that is rarely written on a team fan web site.  I hope to bring interesting and relevant thoughts from that world to 247Sports.

BAGHDAD BOB RETURNS, IMPERSONATES SCOTT WOODWARD



Those old enough remember Baghdad Bob, right?  The Iraqi Information Minister who comically told television viewers everything was safe in his country and things were under control, even as American tanks rolled through the backdrop of his taped video reports.  It seems LSU AD Scott Woodward has been taking media pointers from Bob. At least it sure sounds like it, based upon his Fox 8 New Orleans interview on the current state of athletic affairs in Baton Rouge.

On the potential impact the ongoing federal investigation into numerous sexual assault charges within the athletic department might have on head football coach Ed Orgeron:  “Most everything I know about has to do with the past, so, no, Coach O is in very good standing, he and I are aligned and in good shape. I feel very good about where we are.” The fact that most of the attention on the matter was initially drawn from assault charges filed separately against former Tigers Derrius Guice and Drake Davis must be considered little more than B-roll.  Guice played running back at LSU from 2015-17;  Davis was a wide receiver for the Tigers through 2018.  Orgeron was on the LSU staff in 2015 and was named head coach in 2016.  The USA Today has reported that at least nine Tiger football players have been reported to police for sexual misconduct “since Ed Orgeron was promoted to interim head coach in 2016.” The Orgeron/Woodward timelines do not seem to fit the narrative.

TRANSPARENT? HARDLY.
 


Local Louisiana media have been covering the story, to their credit, but even the national media has now made Baton Rouge a regular dateline.  Campus Safety magazine reported as recently as early this week that the U.S. Department of Education was still investigating LSU for possible Clery Act violations.  The Clery Act is a federal law that requires institutions that receive government funding to be transparent in reporting crimes on their premises.  Complaints to the department alleged “a pattern of conduct that resulted in serious violations…”  according to USA Today. 

With respect to executive deputy AD Verge Ausberry, who has been mentioned in this column previously:  “Verge is a very, very good employee in very good standing.  Everything should be fine,”  Woodward said.  You might remember Ausberry was in the middle of the Drake Davis investigation.  Ausberry was forwarded a text message revealing Davis’ sexual harassment of another LSU athlete, one he failed to bring to the attention of the school’s Title IX official, a university and federal offense.

Just two months ago, the USA Today uncovered a 2018 report by that Title IX investigator that showed top athletic department administrators had skirted LSU’s sexual misconduct policies by keeping charges against athletes in house.  The school did nothing to correct the issues at the time, according to the national news agency.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE



Of course, you have also read here the men’s basketball program at LSU, under the direction of head coach Will Wade, is under investigation from multiple corners.  In fact, Wade has been under the microscope for the last two years, according to the Lafayette Daily Advertiser.  Wade allegedly offered multiple recruits money on an FBI wire tap into excesses in college basketball.  I suppose it could have been anyone on those taps.  Nonetheless, it was hard to watch Wade at the Hump last night.  He looked like a coach with no care in the world.  It is unclear whether the NCAA has sent the school a Notice of Allegations, which would be separate from any football irregularities.  According to some that are close to the school and the investigations, the basketball accusations are presumed to be more numerous and serious than their football counterparts.

All of the football and basketball charges mentioned here are more serious than what the school has admitted, the simple illegal recruiting infractions that don’t reach the Level I status. But according to the leader, there is nothing to see here.

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