re: What can Auburn fans tell me about this guy?

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USA Today ok?

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ESPN - ABC

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Although Bowden admits to allowing Hall to honor payment agreements reached with existing players

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why do you suppose they continued to pay Hall hush money?

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State Rep. Mike Hubbard of Auburn - how do you say it?? Mike Hubbard didn't tell the truth — no, err, Mike Hubbard misspoke, or didn’t understand the question, or something got confused, or lost in translation.

It happened when he insinuated to Joe Mcadory, an editor for the Opelika-Auburn News, for a front-page story, that only a couple of Republican legislative candidates from around the state had purchased advertising services and printing from his companies.

He said having only two Republican candidates use his companies was nominal.

Well, I’m not buying it, not the number of candidates or the number of dollars.

Hubbard is a powerful man, a rising star in the party who has his eye on becoming speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives. He heads the State Republican Party and is the minority leader in the Alabama House.

Since he became Republican Party chairman in February 2007, he has paid from party funds $176,826 directly to his own companies.

Huge payments to Craftmaster Printers date back to the days when the company was nearly bankrupt. He is a major Craftmaster stockholder, along with former AU Coach Pat Dye.

Since 2002, his companies have received at least $1,494,566 from the coffers of the State Republican Party.

Additional Republican Party funds monies flowed to candidates, and then to Hubbard companies and are not a part of total cited. He has made millions by using his connections, some of which seem questionable, at best. He has cut his deals with Auburn University, as a legislator and as chairman of the Alabama Republican Party.

His most lucrative venture thus far has been the acquisition of the exclusive no-bid contract to handle all of Auburn University's broadcast and television rights. They include all printing for Auburn sports and Auburn merchandising for sports. The deal he negotiated is worth millions and it was all worked, for the most part, in secret; a deal surely not made in heaven, but made with the assistance of the University's most powerful trustee, banker Bobby Lowder, and the most willing help of another key member of the board.

The University had decided to put out a request for proposals on the broadcast rights. Several companies made proposals, with Hubbard's offering millions less to the University. Media companies guarantee a fixed amount of cash to universities for broadcast rights. The media companies make their money by selling TV and radio advertising, commercials signage, selling millions of dollars worth of Auburn merchandise and then add profits from printing all sports related materials.

Hubbard had all the necessary ingredients. He had his radio stations and massive state-of-the-art German-made Heidelberg presses. But he was still offering so much less than the highest bidder, Host Communications, that it looked like the lawmaker–entrepreneur might just lose everything if he didn’t get to retain his no-bid contract.

Despite his success in getting thousands upon thousands of dollars from the state for doing some of its printing, he was also raking in even more thousands printing Auburn’s football programs and other things related to Auburn sports — basketball, baseball —everything.

In 2003, he sold his multi-media sports division to International Sports Properties, but continues to serve as president of ISP’s Auburn project. Craftmaster is still doing all of AU’s sports related printing, although payments come from International Sports Properties. Hubbard represents ISP for the rights to corporate sponsorships, radio and television programs, publishing, printing, marketing, internet services, national advertising, signing and many other lifestyle and event marketing platforms.

His radio station is also used heavily for AU marketing outside the realm of sports.

As head of the AU Network for ISP he is given for each home game 547 football tickets, 100 reserved parking places, plus the use of two or three football stadium skyboxes. He also gets six seats on chartered aircraft for each away game. Although he campaigns against gambling, he and his associates worked out a plan this season to sell a large block of stadium advertising to the Creek Indians' Wind Creek Casino & Hotel in Atmore.

Today, he also may be on the short list of the names of Auburns multi–millionaires. He is in his third term as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives. And he appears close to his goal of having his Republican friends take over the Alabama Legislature where Republicans have played second fiddle for more than 130 years. He's been a vital part of a masterful plan by the Republicans to take back the statehouse.

He's had a lot of help along the way. It was but a few years ago that he gave me a call and pleaded with me to write a column exposing how the rich and powerful on the Auburn University Board of Trustees and some bankers (Lowder) were out to ruin him.

He told the same story to almost anybody who would listen. He told me he was about to lose his media business, his home and almost everything else he cherished due to attacks from others seeking to bring him down.

I agreed to do the column because the same people who were attacking him were also making my life rather miserable, as I had described in the newspapers the dirty deals which had put Auburn University on probation and almost led it to loss of its accreditation. He wanted the inside scoop published.

Gov. Riley had to step in to save the University loss of accreditation.

I think it was just one day after his first call to me, that Hubbard called me back and said he did not want me to write the column. I told him it was rather difficult to put toothpaste back in the tube. He insinuated that he would deny quotes which I was going to attribute to him. I backed down because it would have been one of those "he said, she said" confrontations. I chose not to follow through.

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I don't intend to make that mistake again.

I now have firm pledges from people in high places and with close ties to the University who confirm that Hubbard, at one point, was in trouble with those in power, namely trustee Bobby Lowder, who was then owner of one of the largest banks in the South.

His bank, Colonial, has since been seized by the federal government.

Here's the scenario to which insiders are willing to swear to and have signed their names to:

On several occasions and in private, secret meetings with Hubbard in his office and other places during late 2001 and the early part of 2002 the proposals submitted to the Auburn Athletics Department for the broadcasting rights were being questioned.

Hubbard pleaded his case and his need for help from high places and stated that his business would be in shambles and he would be facing financial ruin if he was unable to keep his contract with Auburn. Details of those meetings are mentioned in e-mails. I have copies. And the sworn oaths. I have tapes.

Hubbard complained that the athletics department had never asked for proposals prior to this time and he believed the athletics director (then David Housel) was attempting to sever Auburn’s relationship with his company, The Auburn Network.

Soon after those discussions and others, an emissary delivered Hubbard's competitors’ proposals early in the review process and prior to any decision being made by the athletics director. The emissary says he believes the athletic director and a campus review committee were unaware that Hubbard had an advantage over the other companies because he had closely and secretly reviewed their proposals.

“Hubbard told me that having his competitors’ proposals allowed him to clarify/amend his proposal and he also sought to raise doubts within Auburn Athletics Department about the other companies, specifically, Host Communications. He indicated Host was in financial trouble. Hubbard told me that he had discussions with an Auburn trustee and that later he got a call from the trustee (Lowder) telling him that he would get the contract. The proposal process soon came to an abrupt stop and the Auburn Network was given the contract," one source for this column said.

Lowder at one time owned a radio station in Montgomery, WLWI, which had the exclusive broadcast rights to all AU sports. Lowder received considerable criticism for alleged conflict of interest in that he owned the station and sat on the Board of Trustees, a post he has held for more than a quarter of a century. He also chaired the University’s Athletics Committee, a position which added even more pressure by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Auburn’s accrediting agency. He controlled AU sports and much of the University. He hired and fired coaches. Check with Terry Bowden and Tommy Tuberville.

Hubbard eventually purchased a cheap and weak little radio station, earlier known as WJH0 and located in Opelika. Its signal was so weak you couldn’t pick up a clear signal in some parts of Auburn. And he got the broadcast rights from Lowder.

Hubbard quickly jazzed up the station in its new Auburn headquarters and led it into a period of phenomenal growth as The Auburn Network, Inc.

Huge money, I mean millions of dollars, began to flow after he acquired Lowder’s exclusive broadcast and TV rights. Renewed criticism did, too.

Trustees came under even more pressure, deciding that they might make a few million additional dollars for the athletics department by seeking proposals from other companies for the broadcast and telecast rights.

Those proposals rolled in and the fight for the contract rolled on, even more heated than ever.

An advisory panel was set up on campus to look into the situation. Hubbard’s proposal did not even closely provide the extra dollars that the University expected. Those other proposals were from Host Communications, International Sports Properties (ISP) and Hubbard’s Auburn Network.

When the proposals came in and the numbers were on the table before the committee, Hubbard went berserk. Host Communications, offered a whopping $12.5 million, millions more than Hubbard.

At that point, Hubbard started seeking out friends in high places and anyone else he thought might be able to help him keep his sports contract. That’s also the time he called me.

He was almost tearful when we talked, saying over and over again that he was going to lose his home and his business.

He found a few allies, including one or more sympathetic ears among the trustees. Hubbard badly needed to make a thorough analysis of the other proposals. He, at the time, was on the outs with Lowder and he knew it. He even sought help from those at or near the top in the Athletics Department to find out what he had done to offend Lowder. And he wanted a sneak peak at the proposals offered by his competitors.

A University trustee offered to help. The trustee bundled up in a large manila envelope all the proposals from the companies involved, put them in the hands of an emissary, who personally delivered them to Hubbard for his review and to aid him in preparing a modified proposal.

The delivery was made to Hubbard in mid-morning. A secretary/receptionist showed the document-laden courier to Hubbard’s office. Hubbard was delighted about getting the proposals made by his competitors, agreeing that the delivery would be kept confidential. Hubbard, in suit and tie, had a pile of paperwork on his desk. His workload was increasing. He expressed his thanks for the assistance. With all the other proposals in hand, Hubbard reworked his offer in a last-ditch effort to keep the contract, his growing business and his home.

The new agreement was negotiated with Hubbard. The amended proposal went before a campus committee and, odd as it may seem, Hubbard's proposal was accepted, even though it still was not the most favorable to the University. It was most favorable to Hubbard.

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Bowden said he learned of the major NCAA infractions within days of being named Auburn ’s head coach, but kept quiet while trying to clean up the program from within.” I broke the rules,” Bowden said. “I told Wayne Hall to pay it off to the players we already had and it will never happen again.

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implements a "coup" of the Athletic Administration. He has Muse replaced with David Housel, someone to act more as a puppet controlled by Lowder

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