Can you spot the secondary NCAA violation within the-Ozone.com photo pictured to the right? No?
I couldn't either.
According to Doug Lesmerises of the Plain Dealer, The Ohio State University has self-reported forty-six secondary violations that have occurred since May 30th, 2011 - which includes an infraction on assistant coach Mike Vrabel for using a tobacco product while coaching. Yep, you heard right. According to the NCAA that's a no-no whether it during a game or a practice.
Gene Smith and Urban Meyer were also flagged for violations, Smith for filming a video communication to a football recruit (Ezekiel Elliott) and Meyer for telling Noah Spence "Good luck" before one of his games in 2011. By rule, coaches aren't allowed to speak with high school recruits on the day of a game. Meyer, who was at Spence's state championship game with other assistants back in mid-December, approached both coaches before the game. At one point before leaving the field, Spence apparently walked by - saw Urban - and said hello as he walked by. Meyer's two-word response wasn't allowed by NCAA rule. He passed it on to Ohio State two days later, reporting himself for the violation.
All told, none of this is a big deal beyond bringing a little more unwanted attention to Ohio State. It's been said that a school who self-reports secondary violations, which Ohio State has a history of doing, is a sign to the NCAA that the compliance department is working. It's when the NCAA doesn't see anything get reported that they begin to worry.
Punishment from the NCAA is very unlikely, with all of this being very standard (reporting) in college athletics. The Plain Dealer filed a record request with Ohio State back on April 18th, which were released to the Cleveland news outlet this afternoon.
The 46 violations were self-reported on 21 different sports at Ohio State, not just the football program. Those reported on the major sports of football and basketball are listed below, per Doug Lesmerises:
- Football coach Urban Meyer said "Good luck," to recruit Noah Spence before his state championship game in Pennsylvania in December. Contact like that with Spence, on his game day, is forbidden.
- Athletic director Gene Smith and alumni association CEO Archie Griffin recorded a personalized video for football recruit Ezekiel Elliott for his official campus visit on March 31. Recruiting videos are forbidden.
- Assistant football coach Mike Vrabel used chewing tobacco on the sidelines during games, which was reported to Ohio State anonymously by an area health teacher. NCAA rules forbid tobacco use during games or practices.
- Greg Paulus, the basketball team's video coordinator, was reported to be coaching players during the Buckeyes' Big Ten Tournament semifinal win over Michigan on March 10. Video coordinators, who aren't full assistants, may not coach players. The violation was discovered after a general conversation between an OSU player's parent and an assistant athletic director.
- Last August, quality control football staffer Kirk Barton, a former OSU offensive lineman, created and ordered 20 "JT" bracelets for $5 each online to honor former coach Jim Tressel. He intended them for friends and family, but several players asked Barton about the bracelets. He sold seven players the bracelets for $15, charging that amount in an attempt to make sure no violation was committed, knowing that giving them out for free would be an NCAA violation. But selling them still was deemed a violation because players had access to something not available to the general public. The players returned the bracelets.
- Assistant coach Stan Drayton last July accidentally sent a text message to a recruit when he meant to send an email. Emails were permissible. Text messages were not.
- On Aug. 20, assistant coach Dick Tressel responded to a text message from the parents of recruit Warren Ball asking which gate to use to enter Ohio Stadium for a scrimmage. Texting the parents of a recruit was a violation.
- In December of 2010, five current football players took five recruits on OSU visits to a movie. NCAA rules allow each recruit $60 in spending money for entertainment. A cab ride to the movie put each recruit between $1 and $5 over budget, which the football players paid out of pocket. That was not allowed because the $60 limit was exceeded.
- The school realized that during three days of the football team's Rose Bowl trip from Dec. 26, 2009, to Jan. 2, 2010, the players received both a $15 per diem and breakfast. That pushed them over the allowable three meals of $45 per diem. -- Doug Lesmerises
Doug was the first to report on the self-reporting by OSU. You can read his full column here.
