The NCAA has become very familiar with the SEC in recent decades
The NCAA allegations against Ole Miss released Wednesday are some of the most explosive regarding an SEC school in many years.
The Rebels have already taken a one-year postseason ban, making them the first SEC football team to do so since Mississippi State in 2004. By the time the NCAA Committee on Infractions is done with Ole Miss, its program could be crippled in a similar way to how Alabama’s was in the early 2000s.
However, there was a time that the NCAA was uncovering major violations by SEC programs on a regular basis. The NCAA enforcement staff was formed in 1952, just in time to give Kentucky basketball the death penalty the following year.
There have been a number of major NCAA cases involving other sports, including Kentucky basketball again in the late 1980s. However, as you would expect, most of the more noteworthy infractions by SEC schools have involved football.
Here’s a look back at some of the more noteworthy cases over the years:
AL.com file photo
Auburn, 1956
The violations: Through Auburn assistant coach Hal Herring, a booster was found to have given $500 each to Harry and Robert Beaube, twin brothers from Emma Sansom High School in Gadsden, in order to induce them to play for the Tigers.
The sanctions: Auburn was hit with three years of probation, a two-year postseason ban and a two-year television ban through the 1957 season. The probation was the longest ever handed out by the NCAA at that time.
The aftermath: Auburn went 10-0 and claimed the Associated Press national championship in 1957, but was ineligible to play in a bowl game after the season for the second straight year. The Beaube brothers, both running backs, ended up playing college football at Tulsa.
Photo of Don Fuell courtesy of Southern Miss athletics
Auburn, 1958
The violations: An Auburn booster was found to have offered Guntersville High School quarterback Don Fuell a number of luxury items, including a motorboat and an air-conditioned apartment (Fuell was then married with a young son), in order to induce him to sign with the Tigers.
The sanctions: Auburn was hit with three years of probation, a three-year postseason ban and a three-year television ban, extending through the 1960 season.
The aftermath: The Tigers continued to win, posting a 24-5-1 record from 1958-60. Fuell transferred from Auburn after his freshman year to Southern Miss, where he was a small-college All-American in 1961 and was eventually inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame. He later played several years in the Canadian Football League. Head coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan denied the charges regarding Fuell for the remainder of his life.
Photo by Mississippi State athletics
Mississippi State, 1975
The violations: Defensive tackle Larry Gillard received discounts at a clothing store owned by a Mississippi State alumnus. Gillard and defensive back Richard Blackmore were found to have taken small cash payments of less than $50 from coaches, in order to use for travel expenses during recruiting. Boosters were found to have provided improper transportation and meals to recruits.
The sanctions: The Bulldogs were hit with two years probation, 2-year postseason ban, 2-year television ban, dissociation of boosters and loss of five scholarships for 1976. Gillard was declared permanently ineligible.
The aftermath: Mississippi State chose to appeal Gillard's eligibility, and played him while appealing to the NCAA. After the NCAA denied the appeal, the Bulldogs were forced to forfeit 19 victories in which Gillard played from 1975-77, including nine in 1976.
Photo of Charley Pell by AP
Florida, 1985
The violations: The Gators were charged with 107 major violations, including 59 committed by head coach Charley Pell himself. Included among them were paying players for no-show jobs, athletes selling tickets to boosters at a heavy mark-up, non-scholarship players receiving free housing and meals, out-of-season practice and spying on opposing teams.
The sanctions: The Gators got two years of probation, the loss of 20 scholarships over a two-year period, a two-year postseason ban and a two-year television ban.
The aftermath: Pell had already been fired in September 1984, a year before the NCAA hammer fell. The Gators were ruled ineligible for the SEC championship in both 1984 and 1985, seasons in which they compiled consecutive 9-1-1 records and finished in the Top 5 nationally under Galen Hall. Florida would not win more than seven games in a season again until Steve Spurrier arrived in 1990.
Photo of J.R. Ambrose by AP
Ole Miss, 1986
The violations: Assistant coaches George Smith and Mickey Merritt were charged with giving money — in one case $800 — and transportation through boosters to several players, including wide receiver J.R. Ambrose, offensive tackle Jay Schimmel and fullback Johnny Boatman during their recruitment. A booster also provided one of the players with complimentary airfare to return home from prep school. Dozens of recruits were allowed to attend Ole Miss' summer camp at no cost.
The sanctions: Coming off its best season in 15 years, the Rebels incurred two years of probation, a one-year postseason ban, a one-year television ban, a one-year reduction in camps and recruiting and the loss of 10 scholarships for 1987. Ambrose and Boatman were declared ineligible. Smith and Merritt were given two-year show cause penalties and were subsequently fired.
The aftermath: Ole Miss head coach Billy Brewer not only managed to keep his job, he got a contract extension after the season. The Rebels fell to 3-8 in 1987 (rendering the bowl ban irrelevant) and had another losing record in 1988 before rebounding to 8-4 in 1989. Brewer would run afoul of the NCAA again in 1994, and wouldn't keep his job that time. Ambrose ended up being reinstated and had a solid senior season, then was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Photo of Galen Hall via Florida athletics
Florida, 1990
The violations: The Gators football program got ensnared in a wide-ranging investigation also involving the basketball team, and which began with the Drug Enforcement Agency looking into illegal activity on the Florida campus. Former Florida basketball star Vernon Maxwell told a federal grand jury that Gators coaches had been making illegal payment to him dating back to high school, and that he used the money to buy drugs. An agent linked to Maxwell was also tied to a number of Florida football players. Head football coach Galen Hall was found to have given star defensive back Jarvis Williams money to pay his child support. Hall was also found to have paid several thousand dollars in illegal salary supplements to two assistant coaches, the source of which was never discovered.
The sanctions: Hall, who had resigned midway through the 1989 season, was given a five-year show cause penalty. Florida was also hit with two years of probation and a one-year postseason ban. The basketball program had its scholarships reduced and was forced to vacate postseason records from Maxwell's time with the team.
The aftermath: The Gators went 9-2 in 1990 under first-year head coach Steve Spurrier, but were ineligible for the SEC title due to the NCAA sanctions. Florida won the SEC in four of the next five seasons under Spurrier, including a national title in 1996. Hall was never a college head coach again, but worked for many years in pro football and served for a time as an assistant at Penn State, his alma mater.
Photo of Eric Ramsey from AL.com file
Auburn, 1993
The violations: Auburn booster Corky Frost was found to have given more than $4,000 in cash and merchandise — including steaks and tires for a car — to Tigers defensive back Eric Ramsey. Ramsey made several secret recordings of conversations with Frost and Auburn assistant coach Larry Blakeney, who also provided cash to Ramsey from another booster. Head football coach Pat Dye, then also the school's athletic director, was never directly implicated, but charged with lack of institutional control.
The sanctions: Dye resigned after the 1992 season, months before the sanctions were announced. Auburn got two years of probation, lost 33 scholarships over a three-year period, was hit with a two-year postseason ban and a one-year television ban. Frost and Blakeney were permanently disassociated from the program.
The aftermath: Ramsey and wife Twilitta were booed heavily at their graduation from Auburn in December 1992. Auburn went 11-0 under first-year head coach Terry Bowden in 1993, but was ineligible for the SEC championship due to the NCAA sanctions. The Tigers — who won or shared in four SEC titles under Dye in the 1980s — wouldn't win the conference again until 2004. Dye never coached again, but remains an active presence around the Auburn athletic department. Blakeney left in 1991 to become head coach at Troy, where he stayed more than 25 years and won 178 games.
Photo of Billy Brewer via Ole Miss athletics
Ole Miss, 1994
The violations: For the second time in eight years, the NCAA hammer fell on the Rebels. This time, an Ole Miss booster was accused of offering a Ford Mustang sports car to a recruit. Several recruits, including future LSU wide receiver Chris Hill, were photographed at a Memphis strip club during their official visits to Ole Miss (NCAA rules prohibit official visit entertainment that occurs outside a 30-mile radius from campus). Other players were given clothing and impermissible transportation, including car rides and airline tickets.
The sanctions: Because the second round of violations came so closely after the first, the Rebels were hit hard by the NCAA. Ole Miss was given four years of probation, docked 24 scholarships and a number of recruiting visits over a two-year period, given a two-year postseason ban and a one-year television ban. Brewer was given a four-year show-cause penalty. The Rebels remain the last major-college football program hit with a TV ban.
The aftermath: Brewer — who never coached again — was fired on July 12, one day after athletic director Warner Alford resigned. After Joe Lee Dunn coached the 1994 season on an interim basis, Tommy Tuberville took over in 1995 and led the Rebels to 26 victories in four seasons before leaving for Auburn. During the 1996 Ole Miss-Mississippi State game in Oxford, Ole Miss booster Brad Lott got into a racially charged shouting match with Mississippi State defensive tackle Eric Dotson, who had accused Lott of NCAA violations during the investigation. Lott was soon after disassociated by Ole Miss.
Photo of Antonio Langham by Bob Farley/AL.com file
Alabama, 1995
The violations: Alabama cornerback Antonio Langham took a small amount of money from and signed papers with an agent in the hours after the Crimson Tide won the 1993 Sugar Bowl, which should have rendered him immediately ineligible. When head coach Gene Stallings and athletic director Hootie Ingram learned of Langham's transgression, they chose to conduct their own investigation instead of reporting the matter to the SEC office as required. Running back Gene Jelks, who had played for the Crimson Tide in 1980s, told NCAA investigators he took out $24,000 in impermissible bank loans from boosters during his playing career.
The sanctions: The Crimson Tide was hit with two years of probation and the loss of 13 scholarships for the 1995 class, as well as a postseason ban for 1995. Alabama was forced to forfeit eight victories in which Langham played during the 1993 season. Boosters were disassociated.
The aftermath: Ingram resigned shortly before the 1995 season, and never worked in athletics again. Stallings remained on as coach, directing the Crimson Tide to an 8-3 record that season and a 10-3 mark in 1996 before retiring. Langham, who had won the Jim Thorpe Award, was a first-round draft pick of the NFL's Cleveland Browns and played seven seasons in the league.
AP photo of Hal Mumme by David Stephenson
Kentucky, 2002
The violations: Football operations director/recruiting coordinator Claude Bassett was found to have sent more than $7,000 to high school coaches, including Memphis Melrose coach Tim Thompson. Other coaches and numerous athletic department officials and boosters were also implicated in a web of recruiting inducements, academic fraud and falsification of records.
The sanctions: The Wildcats received three years of probation and a one-year postseason ban for 2002. They were also docked 19 scholarships over a three-year period. Bassett was given an eight-year show cause order. Head coach Hal Mumme was charged with failure to monitor.
The aftermath: Mumme resigned prior to the 2001 season, and has bounced around the lower levels of coaching in the last 15 years (he's currently head coach at Division III Belhaven in Mississippi). The Wildcats went 2-9 that year, but rebounded to 7-5 in 2002 but could not play in a bowl. They then suffered through four straight losing seasons before going 8-5 under Rich Brooks in 2006. Bassett, who unsuccessfully sued the NCAA, the SEC and Kentucky, went back to being a high school coach in his native Texas.
Photo of Mike DuBose and Albert Means by Blake Sims/AL.com file
Alabama, 2002
The violations: In the words of Committee on Infractions chairman Thomas Yeager, Alabama was "staring down the barrel of a gun" of the NCAA's death penalty in the most infamous violations case since SMU's program was disbanded in 1987. At the center of the case were Memphis high school star Albert Means and Crimson Tide booster Logan Young, who agreed in 2000 to pay more than $100,000 to Means' high school coaches in order to steer Means to Alabama. Also, Crimson Tide boosters Wendell Smith and Ray Keller were charged with paying $20,000 in 1995 to North Jackson High School standout Kenny Smith, who never enrolled at Alabama and later played at Tennessee. Crimson Tide linebacker Travis Carroll was given complimentary use of a car, which a booster repossessed when Carroll transferred to Florida in 1999.
The sanctions: Alabama was placed on probation for five years, docked 21 scholarships over a three-year period and given a two-year postseason ban. Young, Smith, Keller and the fourth booster were all disassociated from Alabama. Former assistant coaches Ronnie Cottrell and Ivy Williams were charged with unethical conduct, Cottrell for failing to disclose loans he had received from Young.
The aftermath: Means transferred to Memphis, where he was granted immediate eligibility, but never became an impact player. Carroll was a solid player at Florida, and later played briefly in the NFL. Young died at age 65 in 2006 under mysterious circumstances, having been found dead in his home after what was deemed by authorities to be an accidental fall. Cottrell later sued the NCAA due to use of a "secret witness" against him (later revealed to be recruiting analyst Tom Culpepper) and was awarded $30 million by a Tuscaloosa court, but that judgment was later overturned. He is currently head coach at Mobile Christian High School. Alabama had four head coaches and just three winning seasons from 2000-06 before Nick Saban was hired the following year.
Photo of Jackie Sherrill by AP
Mississippi State, 2004
The violations: Mississippi State was charged with 13 violations during the tenure of head coach Jackie Sherrill, with infractions spanning from 1998-2002. Assistant coaches Jerry Fremin and Glenn Davis were charged with improperly reimbursing recruits — including offensive lineman Chris Spencer and linebacker Joseph Scott — for official visits and providing money for travel. Davis was charged with paying for summer school for a recruit, tight end Kenneth Griffith. A booster set up two recruits with free hotel rooms during their recruiting visit.
The sanctions: Because of a 1996 infractions case that had occurred on Sherrill's watch and resulted in the loss of 13 scholarships, MSU was considered a repeat violator. The Bulldogs received four years probation, a one-year postseason ban for 2004 and a squad reduction by eight over a two-year period. Fremin and Davis were given two-year show cause penalties.
The aftermath: Sherrill had been fired after the 2003 season, which led to the hiring of Sylvester Croom as head coach. Croom's first three teams went 3-8, 3-8 and 3-9 before breaking through with an 8-5 record in 2007. However, Croom was fired a year later and the Bulldogs hired Dan Mullen as head coach. After a 5-7 record his first season, Mullen has led MSU to seven straight bowl games. Spencer went to Ole Miss, and later played 10 years in the NFL. Scott and Griffith both signed with Southern Miss, though Scott ended his career at Jackson State.
Photo of Antoine Caldwell by Mark Almond/AL.com file
Alabama, 2009
The violations: The NCAA found that Alabama athletes in several sports were using scholarship money to acquire textbooks for classes in which they were not enrolled and either giving them to friends and classmates or selling them back and pocketing the money, a practice that began several years earlier but extended into the first season under Nick Saban.
The sanctions: Five football players, including starting center Antoine Caldwell, were suspended for four games during the 2008 season. Alabama was placed on three years' probation and forced to vacate 21 victories from the 2005-07 seasons.
The aftermath: Though Alabama and Saban's overall victory total has been adjusted, the Crimson Tide program has shown no after-effects. Alabama won the national championship later that year and has claimed three others since.
AP photo of Hugh Freeze by Bruce Newman
Ole Miss, 2017
The accusations: Boosters and former football staffer Barney Farrar arranged for payments of cash, gifts, travel and lodging to a number of recruits, including offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, linebacker Leo Lewis and defensive end Kobe Jones. Former Ole Miss offensive lineman Austin Golson was allowed to hunt on a booster's land. Head coach Hugh Freeze violated head coach responsibility legislation by failing to monitor his staff. The school has been charged with a lack of institutional control. Former assistant coach Chris Kiffin arranged for free meals and lodging for the family of a recruit, presumably Tunsil. Other violations involved women's basketball, track and field and football during the tenure of former head coach Houston Nutt.
The sanctions: Ole Miss has already docked itself nine scholarships, self-imposed a bowl ban for 2017 and instituted other recruiting and staff restrictions. Tunsil was also suspended for seven games during the 2015 season before jumping to the NFL. The school is disputing the other charges, including those directed at Freeze.
The aftermath: Farrar was placed on administrative leave before being fired. Kiffin left Ole Miss to become defensive coordinator under brother Lane at Florida Atlantic. Lewis and Jones both signed with Mississippi State, while Golson transferred to Auburn. Ole Miss has 90 days from Feb. 22 to issue its official response to the allegations. The school will then appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions before learning its final fate.
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