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NCAA probe spurs questions at Idaho State

bengalcub

bengalcub

Active member
By Chase Glorfield

When the Journal first got word of the NCAA investigation that is currently taking place at Idaho State University, no one really knew what to make of it, including me.
If it turned out that nothing more than a few words from a booster were spoken to a coach, the story ends there.
The day I first heard about the potential NCAA violations I called ISU Athletic Director Jeff Tingey and we had a nice chat. Jeff didn’t seem too worried about the situation. He did confirm to me that indeed an investigation was happening. He only gave me one quote, but it told me enough: “According to the policies and procedures of the NCAA, while there’s an ongoing investigation the university’s not allowed to comment until the investigation is completed.”
Good enough. Tingey was very cordial with me on that particular day as he had been in every one of our prior conversations.

Read More: http://isuvoice.com/?p=2067106507
 
I am really torn on this issue. I have only talked to Tingey on a couple of occasions, and I am definitely not In his camp -- or any other camp, for that matter. All I know is that he seems to have made good personnel decisions and, for the first time in many years, I actually feel justified in being optimistic about our future. On the other hand, it would be shocking if any AD permitted a good friend and major contributor to have the type of intimate involvement with the basketball program that has been suggested in this forum and elsewhere. I hope the facts, when they are fully developed, will show there is far less to this than has been reported.

But if it is determined that there was a meaningful violation of NCAA rules, then the University will have to make a tough decision -- axing an AD who seems to have us headed in the right direction or riding out the storm that will follow. My thought is that we need to be careful in how we proceed. In the past we have made too many decisions which seemed to be a step forward only to find out we had taken 2 steps backward.
 
I agree this is a mixed bag for a fair number of people. Tingey has been a key factor in some great things that have happened at Idaho State. In fact, an argument can be made that he has done more for Idaho State than anyone in the past 30 years.

Who wants to see ISU get penalized? I certainly do not. So, for the sake of argument, why don’t we pretend for a moment that the NCAA delivers no penalties and ISU is cleared.

Then why would ISU self-report to the NCAA that violations did indeed occur?

See the danger here is sweeping things under the carpet and pretending that this is no big deal at all. I am a hypocrite here because I was fine with Jolley being on the search committee and I didn’t have a problem with his level of involvement until I found out that potential problems existed. For a booster to have any involvement with the recruitment of student athletes, he must be aware of the potential athletes that Idaho State is recruiting. How does one get that information? This booster attended at least one HS event with Martin. Maybe nothing ever happened and that was not a recruiting visit, but how dangerous is it for a booster to attend a HS basketball game with a HC of a college program?

Don’t be fooled into believing that Joe O’Brien knew nothing about the potential dangers of having a booster so close to the program either. He did not like it, but his program needed the money. I believe with 100% certainty that the prior staff understood that risky behavior was occurring, but they were unsure or afraid of how to make it stop without repercussion.

Tingey leads the athletic department and the booster own business has had some questionable ethical issues. These are issues that Tingey was aware of and should have lead him to make different decisions with regard to the depth of involvement that the booster had within the ISU athletic department. That is just smart business.

Consider the response that Tingey gave to Martin when he came forward with the allegations. Tingey’s response told me all that I needed to know—he was too close to the booster and ignored all the red flags that accompanied the relationship.

These are some of the things that make me wonder. These are some of the things that make me angry.

So, no matter what happens—very poor decisions were made to say the very least.
 
Well, I'm not sure what is the best answer to this whole mess. If sanctions are filled against ISU, they won't be dismissed just because Tingey might be fired. I don't think ISU will have that option. So, if the NCAA comes down on ISU it looks like thay will have to suffer the penalty either way, with Tinget as AD or with a new AD. The real question is, is Tingey worth keeping on as AD, if it's true he is the best AD in the last 30 years, and has he learned a huge lesson in this whole thing and has the ability to continue to lead the Athletic Department at ISU. Sure, O'Brien had to know about this problem as I now think Martin as his assistant must have known. I don't know why any booster would be allowed on any search committee, for that matter. It looks like to me, that the only innocent person in this is the new coach Bill Evans, and he has to be scratching his head wondering how he walked into such a mess. You got to feel sorry for him because he might lose some scholarships over this for a couple years or so if sanctions come down. Thanks O'Brein, thanks Martin, thanks Jolley (8poky8?), and thanks to you Tingey.
 
I re-read Bandit's post tonight and can say one thing...in the history of hiring coaches at ISU and many other schools...TONS of boosters have been on search committees. Many have actually chaired the committees.
I don't have any kind of point to prove...just pointing out a fact.
 
Boosters are on search committees all over the country.

However, I would venture to say that most athletic directors do not let friendships from boosters compromise the integrity of the athletic department.

I had no problem with Idaho State having Jolley on the search committee, initially. However, Jolley's own personal business had just finished going through a real tough stretch of unethical accusations. Now, I am not saying that Jolley's company was unethical in any way shape or form. What I am saying, is that Tingey knew of the these challenges and allowing a booster this access and clout was dangerous to say the least. Tingey's response to Martin's accusations (as potentially slanderous) illustrate that Tingey had difficulty separating friendship from business. To me it illustrates a lack of professionalism, arrogance and total amateurism for an athletic director.

Hindsight for me is 20/20. So, it is easy for me to nitpick after the fact. However, I am not paid to lead the Idaho State University athletic department.

...Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching...

This is what I expect as a fan of Idaho State.
 
To vobt and bengalcub,

I might have been mistaken in my thinking of "search committee members". I wasn't speaking of those that are searching for a coach. I was thinking more on the lines of recruiting players. Tell me who are included in that group, because that is really what we are talking about here. My other question is how good of friends do you have to be with the AD or coaching staff to make it on the search committee? Or, better yet, how big of a booster, money wise, do you have to be in order to gain that power? I'll go over my bank account and investments and see if I can qualify. Those are the things that bother me when it comes to recruiting players. Searching for a coach really has nothing to do with a booster greasing the palm of a recruit. Well, I guess if a certain booster had enough money to sway the hiring of a coach, then it would.
I once had an employer that told me that he didn't really know how close he should get to his employies.
I told him that he didn't have to worry about that! But, bengalcub is right, it becomes a problem if one can't separate friendship from business.
I hope this explains a little bit more where I was coming from, because for the most part, I agree with both of you.
 
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