Rich Rodriguez, As allegations of NCAA violations by the Michigan football program continue to make headlines, you’re going to hear a lot about the word “voluntary.”
Rich Rodriguez, Michigan football, michigan football news, mgoblue, espn college football, detroit free press sports In the end, that word may determine how the university and the NCAA react to this story. Were practices and off-field workouts that exceeded NCAA limits truly voluntary? Or did head coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff levy punishments for those who did not participate?
The word “voluntary” could prove problematic for investigators. Here is the NCAA bylaw (17.02.13) on what constitutes a voluntary activity.
In order for any athletically related activity to be considered “voluntary,” all of the following conditions must be met: (Adopted: 4/18/01)
(a) The student-athlete must not be required to report back to a coach or other athletics department staff member (e.g., strength coach, trainer, manager) any information related to the activity. In addition, no athletics department staff member who observes the activity (e.g., strength coach, trainer, manager) may report back to the student-athlete’s coach any information related to the activity;
(b) The activity must be initiated and requested solely by the student-athlete. Neither the institution nor any athletics department staff member may require the student-athlete to participate in the activity at any time. However, it is permissible for an athletics department staff member to provide information to student-athletes related to available opportunities for participating in voluntary activities (e.g., times when the strength and conditioning coach will be on duty in the weight room or on the track). In addition, for students who have initiated a request to engage in voluntary activities, the institution or an athletics department staff member may assign specific times for student-athletes to use institutional facilities for such purposes and inform the student-athletes of the time in advance;
(c) The student-athlete’s attendance and participation in the activity (or lack thereof) may not be recorded for the purposes of reporting such information to coaching staff members or other student-athletes; and
(d) The student-athlete may not be subjected to penalty if he or she elects not to participate in the activity. In addition, neither the institution nor any athletics department staff member may provide recognition or incentives (e.g., awards) to a student-athlete based on his or her attendance or performance in the activity.
There are some who say Rodriguez crossed a line with what he requires his players to do. One of those is wide receiver Toney Clemons, now with Colorado.
Clemons went through two winters of workouts and a full season under Rodriguez before transferring to Colorado this spring. Clemons said his experience under former U-M coach Lloyd Carr and Colorado coach Dan Hawkins was very different than under Rodriguez. He said the implication everybody violated off-season and in-season hour limits, as well as rules governing voluntary activities, was “definitely false.”
“I’ve played for three coaches, I’ve seen three different systems, three different personalities of programs,” said Clemons, from New Kensington, Pa. “Not every coach does that. With Coach Carr coming in as freshmen, we understood the rules early in the summertime. We never had anybody come out and monitor anything that they weren’t allowed to be there for. And compliance at the University of Colorado is real in tune. They make sure that we know the rules.”
The rebuttal, of course, is that Clemons has an axe to grind against Rodriguez, a coach he transferred away from. Clemons decided to leave in March of this year, saying he didn’t want to play in the spread offense Rodriguez brought with him from West Virginia.
Not only that, but even if Colorado coach Dan Hawkins employed the same practices that Rodriguez allegedly does, Clemons wouldn’t say a word about it.
But is it really that simple? Could Rich Rodriguez really be stupid enough, after all these years of college coaching, to willingly and knowingly break NCAA rules when all it would take is one disgruntled current or former player to tear it all down?
It’s hard to imagine. With that in mind, this probably comes down to what the players say happened and what the coaches say happened. There isn’t likely to be any hard evidence of wrongdoing by Michigan. If enough current players are willing to speak to things that clearly violate the rules, the school could be in a mess.
When you have the reputation Michigan has, even a small mess could end up being pretty big.
