Michigan State’s NCAA Case Looks More Like A Setup To Get Mel Tucker Than An Investigation. Ask Tennessee

Well, I have to hand it to Michigan State. The school really pulled it off with the NCAA's investigation over the past few years, which was finalized on Wednesday with penalties handed down that keep the Spartans looking great with the ‘for cause’ firing of Mel Tucker. 

What if I told you that the school did not put up much of a fight when the NCAA magically discovered through an audit that football staffers had spent under $11,000 on impermissible benefits for six players?

How about this? Michigan State football's general manager was ‘caught’ paying for travel expenses related to six prospects, which fell under the ‘unofficial visits’ category of their recruitment. 

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The airfare and lodging were taken care of, under the table, of course. Oh, and the folks who traveled with these players had their expenses taken care of as well. Oh my goodness, death by stone for the three individuals involved in the heinous acts of cheating! 

"In January 2022, Khalif knowingly arranged for and/or provided approximately $3,075 in impermissible recruiting benefits in the form of one-way air transportation to three football prospects to enroll at Michigan State and round-trip air transportation to their family members," the NCAA said in its final report. "As a result of these impermissible recruiting benefits, the three prospects competed in 26 contests while ineligible after they enrolled at Michigan State."

Mel Tucker wasn’t implicated in actually paying any other of these recruits, unlike some coaches during previous NCAA investigations. He was given a three-year show-cause penalty because it was his job to monitor the football program as the head coach, which is a reasonable punishment under the circumstances. 

And let me be clear: The NCAA was only doing their job in this case, which means following up on leads pertaining to alleged violations that were handed over to them. 

Tucker was fired during the 2023 season for off-field allegations pertaining to harassment of Brenda Tracy. 

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But, do you know how many times this takes place in college recruiting? I would bet my monthly salary that this exact recruiting violation took place numerous times this past weekend in college football. 

You know what, strike that. I'd bet you my entire year's salary, which isn't much, that this took place in some form or fashion last weekend. But, let's see how many auditors check the books. 

If Tennessee's Case Was A DUI, Michigan State's Was A Parking Ticket

So, when the NCAA decided to punish former head coach Mel Tucker, along with staffers Saeed Khalif and Brandon Jordan, with show-cause penalties for these infractions, it reminded me of Tennessee's case with the NCAA. 

Look, I'm not saying the Vols were innocent under Jeremy Pruitt. The Vols were forced to vacate eleven wins from the 2019 and 2020 seasons. 

Included in its violations, Tennessee had what can only be described as a (alleged) hotel scheme setup, which was paid for with cash dropoffs every Thursday before home football games, according to multiple sources at the time. 

Jeremy Pruitt had an assistant coach (allegedly) passing out folders full of cash to players who were lined up outside the door on a weekly basis. One assistant, Brian Niedermeyer, was so abrasive with his tactics that it was too easy to find during my investigation. 

Note, it's not hard to track what was going on when hotel surveillance footage showed interns and recruiting staffers dropping off envelopes at the front desk before the recruiting weekend began, which had cash to take care of ‘unofficial visitors’ who were obviously not paying their own way for a visit. 

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Oh, and how about (allegedly) sending an intern out of state, so the NCAA could not interview the person for their role in the violations, which included the staffer being a cash runner for the program. They were literally hiding a witness, in a different state, allegedly. 

I know, it was a pretty wild investigation, and there were plenty of things the NCAA did not find out over the course of their inquiry.

So, it makes me wonder what the true motive behind Michigan State's working relationship with the NCAA to ‘uncover the truth’ as some would say. Maybe it has to do with the fact former Spartans coach Mel Tucker sued the school for what he described as an unlawful firing, which was also tied to sexual harassment claims made by Brenda Tracy. 

I don't know, but having some bullets in the chamber probably helps the Spartans case when it comes to litigation started by the former head coach for his firing with ‘cause’. 

Vacating Wins, One In Which Connor Stalions Was Involved

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Michigan State had to vacate wins during this time period, one against Central Michigan, where former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions was proven to be on the sideline helping the Spartans opponent. 

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Oh, but let's act as if the games weren't played, since the Spartans were forced to vacate fourteen wins over the course of these ineligible players participating from 2022-24. Tack on some recruiting restrictions over three years, along with a $30,000 fine, plus 1.5% of the football program’s budget, and the NCAA really sent a message. 

Stop, the NCAA got itself a win in the court of public opinion, and Michigan State received more of that ‘for cause’ ammunition needed to fight Mel Tucker's lawsuit. 

And once again, this is not the NCAA's fault. If a school brings you evidence of misdoings, it's the job of the organization to track down every lead, no matter how they were uncovered. 

But, is it really an investigation when the school opens the back door and hands over all the evidence needed to put together a case? The NCAA just had to make sure they didn’t screw it up. 

Let's be clear, I'm not advocating for Mel Tucker. But this was set up on a tee for the NCAA.