ACC commish: ‘We need to be addressing the felons’

By John TaylorAug 23, 2011, 9:47 AM EDT

As he’s watched three schools from his conference — North Carolina, Georgia Tech and now Miami — come under NCAA scrutiny over the past year or so, ACC commissioner John Swofford is well aware of the issues facing college football. Swofford’s also aware, as he stated last month, that something needs to be done to address the major issues facing the game rather than littering the rulebook with penny-ante minutia that merely serves to bog down an enforcement staff up to its neck in real problems.

Monday, Swofford reiterated that he’s in full agreement with what could be one the end results of an NCAA summit earlier this month: a streamlining of The Association’s bylaws. In effect, Swofford and many, many others would like to see the NCAA’s enforcement focus shifted from the petty larceny of sending impermissible messages to recruits to, well, felons handing out millions and millions of dollars in impermissible benefits (allegedly) down in Coral Gables.

“Over the years what’s happened is, you try to put in a rule that keeps those that would cheat from cheating, and you end up trying to close every little loophole,”Swofford said Monday. “I think we need to be addressing the felons, if you will, as opposed to the jaywalkers, and get ourselves out of this maze of rules that are unenforceable.

“Although well-intended, I’m not sure whether somebody got a text on a day they weren’t supposed to get a text is a huge problem in reality.”

Swofford also stated that the NCAA needs to gain a greater understanding of how the “third-party involvement” of individuals such as agents, their runners and boosters “assist” in the commitment of major violations. The problems at UNC were due in large part to agents/runners, while a rogue booster landed Miami in the mess they’re in now.

As for his own conference’s issues, Swofford labeled it disappointing that a quarter of his league has been under the NCAA’s enforcement microscope for the past 13 months.

“The last thing I want to see in our league are NCAA problems,” Swofford said. “So yes, whether it’s one or two or three, anytime they’re there, it’s disappointing. …

“When we have any particular school that has a significant NCAA issue, it’s disturbing, and we take it very seriously and expect the institutions to — which they do. Certainly, it’s something that’s not who we are, nor do we want it to become who we are.”

Vick, Fitzgerald and Suggs among stars on College Football Hall of Fame ballot for 1st time

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 9:04 PM EDT

RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Vick, Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Suggs are among the college football stars who will be considered for induction to the Hall of Fame for the first time this year.

The National Football Foundation released Monday a list of 78 players and nine coaches from major college football who are on the Hall of Fame ballot. There also are 101 players and 32 coaches from lower divisions of college football up for consideration.

Vick, who led Virginia Tech to the BCS championship game against Florida State as a redshirt freshman in 1999, is among the most notable players appearing on the ballot in his first year of eligibility.

Vick finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1999. He played one season of college football before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2001. Vick’s professional career was interrupted when he served 21 months in prison for his involvement in dog fighting.

Fitzgerald was the Heisman runner-up in 2003 to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White. He scored 34 touchdowns in just two seasons at Pitt.

Suggs led the nation in sacks with 24 in 2002 for Arizona State.

The 2024 Hall of Fame class will be chosen by the National Football Foundation’s Honors Court and announced in January. Induction into the Atlanta-based hall is the following December.

Alabama freshman DB Mitchell says he wasn’t sure he’d get to play again after arrest

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 8:59 PM EDT

Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama defensive back Tony Mitchell said he feared his football career was over after his arrest on a drug charge.

The Crimson Tide freshman said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he knew “something much bigger could have happened.”

A judge in Holmes County, Florida, sentenced Mitchell to three years of probation with a fine and community service on May 24 after Mitchell pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis.

“I didn’t know if I’d be able to play football again, but I continued to work out and stay close with the Lord and those who love me unconditionally,” Mitchell said. “During those times, it helped me to keep my mind off it. But when I was by myself looking at social media, what everybody had to say about it, it just felt like it happened again.

“I didn’t sleep at night.”

He was suspended from the Alabama team following the arrest, but Mitchell’s father, Tony Sr., posted on Facebook last week that the defensive back had been reinstated. An Alabama spokesman declined to comment on Mitchell’s status.

Tony Mitchell Sr. shared his son’s video on Facebook, saying it was filmed during a talk to youth.

“I was doing things I knew I shouldn’t to try to fit in,” the younger Mitchell said, “but not everybody’s your friend.”

Mitchell, who is from Alabaster, Alabama, was a four-star prospect and the 15th-rated safety in the 247Composite rankings.

He had been charged in March with possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell after a traffic stop when authorities said he drove over 141 mph (227 kph) while trying to evade deputies in the Florida Panhandle. A deputy had spotted Mitchell’s black Dodge Challenger traveling 78 mph (125 kph) in a 55 mph (88 kph) zone on a rural highway north of Bonifay.

He also received 100 hours of community service and paid a fine of $1,560.

Mitchell and a passenger were both charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to sell or deliver, according to a Holmes County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. The other man also was charged with carrying a concealed gun without a permit.