Summary
MORGANTOWN - West Virginia University officials have been interviewed by NCAA investigators who are looking into whether Coach Rich Rodriguez complied with certain regulations during his tenure in Morgantown, officials said Tuesday. Its the latest development in a bitter saga that started in December 2007 when the coach abruptly quit and went to Michigan. He then went to court in an unsuccessful bid to get out of paying a $4 million contract buyout to his alma mater. The NCAA has met with individuals involved with the WVU football program to identify any potential rules violations, said a statement issued by the school. The university has fully cooperated with the NCAA during this process. WVU and its Department of Intercollegiate Athletics are committed to operating its athletic program in conformance with the legislation and policy of the NCAA and the Big East conference. WVU officials said they would have no further comment on the probe. On Tuesday at a routine weekly news conference in Ann Arbor, a reporter attempted to ask Rodriguez for comment. The reporter was cut off by Director of Media Relations Dave Ablauf before the question was finished. Were going to pass on that, Ablauf said. Rodriguez did not respond. The Michigan program is under NCAA investigation. A Detroit Free Press story last August citing information provided from players on the 2008 and 2009 Wolverine teams alleged Michigan has violated NCAA rules governing off-season workouts, in-season demands on players and mandatory summer activities. The newspaper report said, for example, that players regularly surpassed four-hour daily and 20-hour weekly limits during the season and eight-hour weekly limits in the offseason. Players told the Free Press the work was defined as voluntary, but conveyed to them in a manner that made them believe it was mandatory. Rodriguez denied the allegations. In November, an internal audit conducted by the University of Michigan showed Rodriguez didnt file the mandatory paperwork that kept track of time players devoted to football during the 2008 season and the subsequent off-season. When the Free Press stories emerged, WVU responded with an immediate review of records concerning what are classified as countable athletically related activities. Coaches prepare and players sign a weekly log that is submitted to the schools compliance office. Nothing has been identified as a problem from the time he was here, said Patrick Hairston, WVU assistant athletic director in charge of NCAA compliance matters, on Aug. 31. Its closely monitored. Any student-athlete who has issues with it is encouraged to come to us and from what Im hearing about what was done in the past, there were no complaints from any student-athlete or any coach and nothing was brought to their attention about something that might have been a problem. WVU officials said they made all documents available to NCAA investigators during their visit to Morgantown. They said the NCAA was able to inspect the logs and the signatures as well as other information. It ranged from who attended and/or supervised workouts and when those activities occurred to the number of hours players were made available for football activities beyond practice and training, such as media opportunities. The NCAA accused Michigan in February of five rules violations that could be deemed as major and said the program failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program. The NCAA said Rodriguez didnt monitor the activities of his staff and players. Rodriguez eventually admitted fault and said, Were looking at it to see why we misinterpreted (rules) and why we made mistakes. Why the NCAA has new interest in WVU is not clear. It is possible that the organization is checking into the situation in Morgantown to see if a pattern of misbehavior could be established. A pattern has been deemed significant in previous NCAA enforcement cases. Big East Conference officials said Tuesday that the conference it isnt involved in the matter. If the NCAA were to find Rodriguez responsible for any rule-breaking at WVU, it would not only bolster the case at Michigan, but also reflect on WVU and bring into question its sufficiency of institutional control. Rodriguez, a former Mountaineers safety who grew up in Grant Town, was 60-26 in seven seasons at WVU. In his final season, WVU was ranked No. 1 and needed only to beat 28-point underdog Pitt to advance to national championship game. The Mountaineers lost, 13-9, and Rodriguez left the next week for Michigan the winningest program in college history and one that has never had a major NCAA infraction. WVU sued Rodriguez in January 2008 for breach of contract after he failed to pay the first installment of the buyout in his contract on time. The case dragged for seven months. Along the way a series of depositions revealed a nasty rift that pitted the coach against the athletic department and administration. The lawsuit was settled with West Virginia receiving the entire $4 million buyout. UM agreed to pay WVU $2.5 million and Rodriguez agreed to make three annual payments of $500,000. Michigan also covered Rodriguezs legal fees in the matter. Rodriguez is 8-16 in two seasons at Michigan. The 3-9 2008 season was the worst in school history and the Wolverines missed a bowl game for the first time in 33 years. Michigan started 4-0 last season, but finished 5-7 and was again unable to play in a bowl.
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