I am going to put my tinfoil hat on for a moment...
One of the things that hurt USC when dealing with the NCAA is that there has never been an effort to build a relationship with the NCAA. I can't remember ever hearing of any big time USC administrator leave the school to take a job in Indianapolis. I can't say I would blame anyone in not taking a job at headquarters...why would you leave sunny southern California for plain vanilla Indiana?
But as we all know its who you know....
So, as Ohio State prepares to meet with the COI it should come as no surprise that there could be some back channel dealing going on.
We all know that OSU AD Gene Smith worked at the NCAA in the past and was this past seasons chair of the NCAA Basketball tournament selection committee. Even though Smith will more than likely fall on his sword at the end of this, you see his fingerprints all over the spin with regards to the infractions committed by former head coach Jim Tressell and QB Terrelle Pryor.
That the NOA didn't have an LOIC charge listed should surprise no one.
But the incestuous relationship goes deeper...
But it wasn't long before Emmert caught the eye of the academic leaders at Colorado. His public affairs dean offered him an assistant dean's post and Emmert couldn't turn him down. Here was the nexus between politics, management and public policy he had so often talked about.
Gee was already an academic legend, having been appointed a university president while still in his 30s. After Colorado he would go on to head Ohio State, Brown and Vanderbilt. "We all but lived together, and living with Gordon is an education," Emmert recalls. "He is the most energetic person I've known. In one year, I got five years of experience."
Emmert's star rose under the tutelage Gordon Gee.
Sure, you could make the argument that Emmert probably would have rose to prominence no matter what, but that he has a long deep connection to Gee should not go unnoticed.
Like I said, I would not be surprised if there were some back channel communication going on.
The NCAA is corrupt...that isn't new to any of us, so don't be surprised if the COI downplays the whole mess as a rogue coach protecting a rogue player. Said player and coach are gone so it will be easy to close the chapter.
There are no checks and balances within the NCAA. That the NCAA is judge, jury and executioner without any impartiality shows just how corrupt they are.
Again, not really a surprise to any of us,
Emmert owes Gee a lot for helping him get his start.
Don't be surprised if a lot of that debt is paid back when the final ruling on tOSU comes in...