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Oregon Ducks

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Whitlock's take.

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefoo...cruiting-scandal-street-agent-is-a-rat-070611

Street agent is much too favorable a description of Willie Lyles.
Sellout, attention whore and snitch more accurately describe Lyles, the brand-new media darling of so-called college athletics ?investigative? journalists.
Speaking to Yahoo! Sports reporters last week, Lyles ratted out Oregon football coach Chip Kelly for allegedly personally authorizing a $25,000 payment for Lyles? bogus Complete Scouting Services. Lyles also detailed several other possible Oregon recruiting violations, and he insinuated that he helped one Oregon recruit circumvent Texas high school academic standards by advising the prospect to transfer to a high school in Arkansas for his final semester.
Lyles claims he flipped on Kelly because he now realizes that Oregon used him to influence Texas-area recruits such as Lache Seastrunk and LaMichael James. Lyles pretends he previously thought the Ducks were sincerely interested in his scouting service.
There is no truth to the rumor that Lyles, 31, also told the Yahoo! reporters that he recently realized Santa Claus and Tooth Fairy were fictional.
Regular readers of my column know where I stand on the NCAA rule book. I have no respect for the integrity of the rules and no interest in serving as the NCAA?s volunteer enforcement staff. College football and basketball are institutions rotting from institutionalized corruption built on the foundation of financially exploiting kids by upholding the myth of amateurism.
In the era of the $5-million-a-year coach, busting schools, coaches, athletes, administrators, parents, office agents and ?street agents? for violating NCAA rules is one of the easier tricks in sports journalism.
Willie Lyles is the lowest-hanging fruit, an imbecile who desires fame.
You might remember, I interviewed Lyles for my podcast in May. One of his then-handlers repeatedly contacted Roj Grobes, my producer, about appearing on my podcast. Perhaps out of impatience, Lyles eventually emailed me directly about appearing on my podcast.
Lyles, his then-lawyer, James Walker, and another man introduced to me only as Guy talked with me on a conference call for about an hour. They wanted me to do a podcast, a column and help them get a television network to shoot a documentary on Willie?s life. Guy wanted to narrate and/or produce the documentary.



I taped the podcast. The interview focused on Lyles? denial that he steered players to Oregon, that he told Texas A&M that it would take $80,000 to deliver Patrick Peterson and what a small fry he is/was in college corruption. I transcribed a few of Willie?s quotes for a news story to promote the podcast. I told Lyles and Walker that FOX Sports had no interest in a Lyles documentary or television interview at the time.
Three or four weeks after the podcast, when Willie was no longer in the news, Walker called me to complain that I hadn?t interviewed Willie on television or assisted them in their hunt for a documentary. Guy also sent me a follow-up text.
Do you see where I?m going?
This isn?t investigative journalism.
Willie Lyles is no different from every other American low-life who wants to be famous and doesn?t care how he courts it. The Yahoo! interview is a leaked sex tape. Both parties, Lyles and the reporters, want the attention.
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Stewie Mandel's take on what we know so far:

As much as I enjoyed last week's refreshing scandal-free Mailbag, I have to ask, how likely is it that Chip Kelly will actually survive long enough to coach a game in the 2011 season with Lyles' most recent accusations that Kelly paid him $25,000 for his influence over recruits and that Kelly asked Lyles to submit the scouting reports retroactively to cover up the purpose of the payment?
-- Paul Kemp, Birmingham, Ala.

There's no other way to put it. With Lyles providing the details -- corroborated by that handwritten thank you note, phone records and e-mails that match his described timeline of events --Yahoo! basically caught Kelly red-handed. But as I wrote at the time, there remains some significant ambiguity as to the legality of what Yahoo! caught Kelly doing.

This is not clear-cut like Jim Tressel's unethical conduct violation (Bylaw 10.1). Tressel withheld information from the NCAA and there was a smoking gun e-mail confirming it. He had to go, one way or the other. But what rules, if any, did Oregon break? Certainly, it employed a scouting service the NCAA would not condone, but that in itself is not a major violation. If it's true Lyles chauffeured Kelly around Houston on his recruiting visits, that constitutes a non-sanctioned individual aiding in recruiting. Again, not a major violation by itself. The most serious possibility, of course, is that the NCAA will deem Lyles a "representative of athletic interests" who impermissibly helped recruit players, but at what point did that occur? When he first started interacting with Oregon coaches (around 2007)? Or when he received the $25,000 three years later? Because that makes a huge difference as it pertains to his relationships with LaMichael James and Lache Seastrunk. And what of the alleged cover-up Lyles claims Oregon undertook with those retroactive scouting reports? That's Lyles' assertion, but what did Kelly tell the NCAA?

Ultimately, Kelly will survive for as long as Oregon's administration still feels comfortable with Kelly being the face of the program. There's been no indication to this point that Oregon is looking to cut ties, though the more details that come out, the worse Kelly looks. It may also be that some of his staff (like football ops guy Josh Gibson, one of Lyles' point men) and/or the compliance department become the fall guys. One thing to keep in mind: When you talk about decision-makers at Oregon, you have to include Nike mega-booster Phil Knight -- whose opinion may hold more weight than anyone actually employed by the school. Phil likes Kelly, he likes winning and I don't imagine he's a stickler for mundane NCAA rules. He may well keep supporting Kelly right up until the still-distant day when serious sanctions do or don't come down.
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LINK
 
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Uh oh...definitely not a dagger but as tOSU learned, that drip can sometimes turn into a stream.

SBB--Willie Lyles: ?I know Les Miles And He Knows Me?
Posted by Brooks on Jul. 06, 2011, 10:24am

The man at the center of an NCAA investigation into football recruiting impropriety by the University of Oregon, Houston-based recruiting service operator Willie Lyles, appeared on Portland radio on Tuesday to talk about his role with the Ducks while providing new information to host and PORTLAND OREGONIAN columnist John Canzano about his relationship to the LSU, Cal and Texas A&M football programs.


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osugrad21;1949318; said:
Uh oh...definitely not a dagger but as tOSU learned, that drip can sometimes turn into a stream.

SBB--Willie Lyles: ?I know Les Miles And He Knows Me?
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If Lester says he knows a "Will" but not a "Willie" you almost have to believe him don't you?

les+miles.jpg
 
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The prices sure seem pretty arbitrary. $6K from LSU. $25K from Oregon.

I think BP is undercharging for our recruiting info. The BP Recruiting Team puts all this great stuff together for free, but it has gotta be worth at least $77.
 
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When you talk about decision-makers at Oregon, you have to include Nike mega-booster Phil Knight -- whose opinion may hold more weight than anyone actually employed by the school. Phil likes Kelly, he likes winning and I don't imagine he's a stickler for mundane NCAA rules.
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Boosters hate when mundane rules, like paying for people to influence recruits, get in the way of winning.
 
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SBB

Oregon ReDux? Les Miles Denied Knowing Lyles

Posted by Brooks on Jul. 06, 2011, 7:36pm

During a radio interview with PORTLAND OREGONIAN columnist John Canzano of 750 the Game in Portland Tuesday, Houston-based recruiting services operator Willie Lyles said, ?I know Les Miles and he knows me.?
​
Lyles? claim to Canzano jibes with a March 14 report by Jim Kleinpeter of the NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAUYUNE in which LSU senior associate athletic director Herb Vincent confirmed that the school had three months earlier paid Lyles for recruiting services.


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Dryden;1949334; said:
The prices sure seem pretty arbitrary. $6K from LSU. $25K from Oregon.

I think BP is undercharging for our recruiting info. The BP Recruiting Team puts all this great stuff together for free, but it has gotta be worth at least $77.
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Don't get me wrong, I love the state of Oregon, but it starts raining in October, turns gray in November and then you can forget about the sun until April or May. Whereas Baton Rouge is but a short hop in your test drive loaner Lexus to Bourbon Street. Is that a 19K difference? Dealing with young urban males and trying to get them to see the potential, I'd say 'yes.'
 
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CBS

Cal, LSU paid less for Lyles' packages


Oregon is not the only school that has paid Complete Scouting Services director Willie Lyles in recent years, though it appears the school was paying much more than the others that Lyles worked with.

According to a report in The Oregonian, Lyles sold similar packages to both Cal and LSU, though neither school paid nearly as much.
Lyles billed California $5,000 for what is described on the invoice as the Complete Scouting Services' "2010 National Package."

On the invoice, it appears nearly identical to the CSS "2011 National Package" for which Oregon paid Lyles $25,000.

The invoices indicate that both the 2010 and 2011 packages include game film and highlight film from the same 22 states.​
LSU paid Lyles $6,000 for what the invoice detailed as the "2010 JUCO perState Package" that included game film from California and Kansas junior colleges.

Obviously, this is yet another revelation that doesn't look very good for Oregon. Lyles has already said that what Oregon was paying him for was his access and influence with highly recruited players like LaMichael James and Lache Seastrunk, two players Lyles claims to have helped steer toward Oregon. The fact that Oregon paid five times as much as fellow Pac-12 school Cal did for essentially the same package gives Lyles claims a bit more weight behind them.

That is, unless we're supposed to believe that Oregon just tips really well.


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http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2011/07/important_members_of_the_orego.html

With Oregon's 2011 season-opener against Louisiana State less than two months away, questions about the Ducks' relationship with Houston-based talent scout Willie Lyles have raised concerns among some important members of the UO community.

Lyles, who operated Complete Scouting Services, took the offensive in a series of media interviews this week, alleging the Ducks paid him for access and influence with high-profile recruits from Texas such as running back Lache Seastrunk, and not for recruiting profiles and highlight video.

If true, that would seem to violate NCAA rules, which limit the information a scouting service can provide to published reports and video.

The school has confirmed that the NCAA has begun a preliminary investigation into the matter. NCAA investigations can take months or even years, making it likely that suspicion will hover well into the 2011 season. The Ducks continue to insist they have nothing to hide.

In a statement released last week, UO athletic director Rob Mullens said: "The University of Oregon athletic department has and will continue to
fully cooperate with the NCAA inquiry. Our department is committed to helping the NCAA in anyway possible and until their work is complete, we are unable to comment
further. Oregon athletics remains committed to operating a program of
integrity."

Oregon hired the law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King in March to conduct an internal investigation into the matter. As recently as a month ago UO President Richard Lariviere was assuring trustees of the UO Foundation they had nothing to fear.

So, trustees were caught flat-footed by the latest revelations from Lyles, having been told by the administration the NCAA had essentially come and gone on the matter.

Norman Brown, an investment banker in New York who is chairman of the trustees, said this week that Lariviere offered a review of the situation at the board's regular meeting on June 9th.

Brown said he left that meeting under the impression the NCAA investigation was over, that there were no violations, and that the crux of the problem was vague NCAA reporting rules on football scouting and recruiting. He said the rules governing basketball are far more specific, and the NCAA needs to update its regulations to reflect evolving practices in high schools athletics.

On Wednesday, Brown said he had "no concern at this point..There's no there, there. This is an old story. You're embarked on a cul de sac."

Interviewed again Friday, after he read some of the media accounts of Lyles' latest interviews, Brown said he wanted to see all the facts before coming to any conclusion.

"At this point I'm concerned that all the information is not out, " he said. "The story as it is being woven right now is not one that makes people happy. I want to see all the facts."

Steven Holwerda, an investment advisor in Portland who serves as secretary and treasurer of the UO Foundation board, said the last input the board got from the administration was that "everything was fine.. We were informed that they were not allegations of substance...Based on the original information, I think what (Lariviere) said was fair and accurate."

Holwerda said foundation members and boosters were obviously wondering how much substance there was to Lyles' allegations, and if so, how those would measure up against the NCAA rules. "I'm sure we'll get another update if there's any change."

Paul Weinhold, president of the UO Foundation, said he was getting a lot of questions from trustees, some in response to the newspaper's inquiries. He said LaRiviere typically offers a 30-minute update to foundation board members about what's happening at the university at their regular meetings.

Those updates, he said, are held under executive session rules, so there are no minutes kept of what transpires.
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New Position Open at UO

Heard about this on the radio today. Enjoy. *emphasis mine.

http://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/jobs/4340303/professional-development-coordinator

Job Description
shim.gif
Monitoring athlete-agent activity and perform regular surveillance on campus, in the community and in cyberspace for the purposes of NCAA compliance and state law. Monitoring current local and national trends and data with respect to student-athletes conduct and issues facing and affecting SAs.
Assisting with scheduling and coordinating community service programs and projects with outside community groups and organizations.
Assisting with the planning, implementation and evaluation of life skill workshops, special breakout meetings and orientation sessions to enhance the SA's collegiate experience.
Promoting communication among various university-wide programs and services which aid new SAs in the integration to the university by coordinating student services (i.e. office of judicial affairs, etc.).
Acting as a liaison with all law enforcement organizations both internally and externally to develop and enhance a positive relationship between student-athletes and athletic department staff and the law enforcement community.
Monitoring and assist in writing policy and procedure manuals for student conduct within the athletic department.
Monitoring and assist in activities on all athletic department facilities, fields and grounds.
Monitoring student athlete housing within the Eugene community and providing information about local safety and crime rates.
Providing educational support and counseling for all student-athletes regarding substance abuse and illegal activities, standards of behavior, and professional development.
Securing background checks on PSA.
Representing athletics department at campus briefings and committees.
Coordinate self-defense training for all student-athletes and staff members.
Performing duties and projects as assigned by the Director of Life Skills.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
Submit letter of interest, resume, credentials, and the names and phone numbers of three references to Mark Ruckwardt, University of Oregon Athletic Department, 2727 Leo Harris Parkway, Eugene, OR 97401. Fax (541) 346-5031. Email: [email protected]. Review of applications will begin July 15, 2011; position open until filled. Finalist must successfully complete a criminal background check. An equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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Position requires a Bachelor's degree and a minimum of four years of professional research experience, and/or professional investigative experience and/or four years of law enforcement. Strong written and oral communication skills required. Leadership and management experience preferred with the ability to coordinate multiple tasks at the same time. Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills. Candidates with experience serving the needs of diverse populations are strongly desired. Knowledge of NCAA rules, federal, state and local laws and regulations preferred. Successful candidate must pass background check.
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