Sports

Ole Miss Athletics Receives Notice of Allegations from NCAA (REPORT)

By

The University of Mississippi fielded a Notice of Allegations in which the NCAA outlined some 30 violations across three different sports.

Citing unnamed sources, Yahoo Sports learned Friday the NCAA issued the NOA, though it was not clear which violations were listed and which teams they were assigned to. The NCAA's enforcement staff identified the violations in Ole Miss' football and the women's basketball, and track and field teams.

Ole Miss has 90 days to respond, and in the event the school appeals officials will schedule an appearance in front of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions. Ole Miss could avoid an appeal and a COI hearing if it accepts the charges outlined in the NOA and comes to an agreement on sanctions.

Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork confirmed to Yahoo Sports in Oct. 2014 the school was under investigation, but declined to provide further detail. Yahoo reported at the time most of the potential allegations would be for the women's basketball team and the football violations were mostly for Hugh Freeze's predecessor.

But since the Oct. 2014 report, Ole Miss' football program was in the news for multiple incidents implicating players for rules violations. In one case, offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil was suspended for alleged improper contact from NFL agents, which came to light due to a domestic dispute with his stepfather. Ole Miss suspended Tunsil during the NCAA's investigation.

This past Nov. and Dec., both Denzel and Robert Nkemdiche, former defensive football players at Ole Miss, were connected by an unconfirmed report to the use of synthetic marijuana, Outkick the Coverage reported. Both were hospitalized under mysterious circumstances on separate occasions and both missed playing time because of the incidents.

It is not clear if the NCAA charged Ole Miss' athletic department for the incidents involving Tunsil or the Nkemdiche brothers.

However, SB Nation pointed out the football allegations could be related to alleged recruiting violations, as rival SEC coaches have not exactly been subtle about their qualms with Freeze. The Ole Miss coach has repeatedly denied those accusations.

© 2024 University Herald, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Join the Discussion
Real Time Analytics