Tucker letter sent to MSU alleges ‘new evidence’
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Mel Tucker’s lawyers sent a 106-page letter that presents “new evidence” to Michigan State‘s interim president and board of trustees Thursday morning as the administrative hearing tied to the misconduct allegations against the former Spartans football coach begins.
The letter, which is from one of Tucker’s attorneys and was released widely to the media, says the woman who brought forth the claim against Tucker that led to his firing, sexual assault awareness speaker Brenda Tracy, “appears to have made a career out of misleading and manipulating people.”
The letter attempts to detail contradictions in the allegations from Tracy, who filed the formal complaint against Tucker with the school’s office of civil rights in December 2022. It says she “manipulated a key witness,” “deleted key evidence” and selectively gave transcripts to the Office of Institutional Equity.
Tracy’s attorney, Karen Truszkowski, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Truszkowski previously told ESPN that she and Tracy would be appearing at the school’s sexual misconduct hearing.
Michigan State fired Tucker for cause Sept. 27. The next day, Tucker’s lawyers sent a note to preserve documentation “in anticipation of litigation.” At stake for Tucker beyond the hearing is the $79 million he had remaining on his contract. After initially suspending Tucker without pay pending the hearing, the school fired him, saying he violated the moral turpitude clause and that his admitted actions on a phone call with Tracy brought ridicule on the school.
The letter sent out Thursday is the latest in a tense back-and-forth between Tucker’s side and the school, with this letter being sent by attorney Jennifer Z. Belveal. It attempts to catch Tracy in conflicting statements, using dozens of messages between her and her assistant, who is now deceased. It does not say specifically how the messages were obtained.
The letter, in part, alleges that Tracy’s motivations for filing the complaint are financial. One of Tucker’s lawyers shared what Tucker’s team says are partially redacted parts of conversations Tracy had with her former assistant where they discuss her finances and the notion that she would be open to settling her claims with Tucker.
“I’m filing a formal complaint with MSU,” Tracy wrote, according to the letter. “… [My lawyer] said after that we can let him know that we want to come to an agreement then it doesn’t have to go to a hearing or anything unless he wants it to.”
According to the messages provided by Tucker’s lawyers, Tracy later added: “Money is my only recourse to make him feel like there is a punishment” and “when they do the money I should make him pay me 10k directly.”
The letter criticizes the MSU investigation for failing “to attempt to get fulsome text exchanges” for the Office of Institutional Equity investigation. It alleges the school left out Tracy having good feelings about her experience after Michigan State’s spring game.
“Blessings on blessings when you stay the course and do what’s right. … No regrets. My heart is good and so is my conscience[.]”
The messages came before the alleged phone encounter that became one of the focuses of the claim. Tracy said it wasn’t consensual, but Tucker has disagreed.
The letter was released minutes after the hearing began Thursday morning. Tucker will not attend the hearing, the letter states, because of a medical condition the letter doesn’t disclose.
Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, the chair of the College Football Playoff board of managers, told ESPN’s Paul Finebaum on Friday that the SEC would prefer to “not have automatic bids” in future iterations of the playoff.
Keenum’s comments came just weeks before the CFP’s Dec. 1 deadline to determine whether there will be a format change for 2026 and beyond.
“I’m not a big fan of automatic qualifiers,” Keenum said on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” which was live from Mississippi State ahead of Saturday’s game against Georgia. “I think the best teams ought to play in our nation’s national tournament to determine who our national champion in college football is going to be and not have automatic bids. That’s the position of the Southeastern Conference — presidents and chancellors, our commissioner, and probably most of the conferences that are part of the CFP.”
If the playoff is going to expand beyond 12 teams, the Big Ten and SEC will have to agree on the format because they were granted the bulk of control over it during the previous contract negotiation. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey haven’t reached consensus on a model. Following SEC spring meetings in May, a 16-team model that would feature the top five conference champions and 11-at-large teams gained support from every FBS conference except the Big Ten, which has been steadfast in its support of automatic qualifiers.
In August, ESPN reported the Big Ten’s interest in an expanded field that could include 24 or 28 teams and would eliminate conference championship games. That model could include seven guaranteed spots for both the Big Ten and SEC; five each for the ACC and Big 12; two bids for leagues outside the Power 4; and two at-large teams.
Multiple sources within the CFP have been skeptical for months that Sankey and Petitti would agree on a format — which means the most likely outcome would be for the current, 12-team format to remain in place for at least another season.
“We’re still negotiating,” Keenum told Finebaum. “We have to make a decision before the end of this month if we’re going to expand to 16 next year. … I’ll be honest, I’m not very optimistic that we’ll get to that, but we’ll keep working on it.”
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Eli Lederman
No. 22 Missouri will be without star tight end Brett Norfleet (shoulder) when the Tigers host undefeated No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday in Columbia.
Norfleet, a junior from O’Fallon, Missouri, has started in each of the Tigers’ eight games this fall and enters Week 11 leading all SEC tight ends with five touchdown receptions. His 26 catches on the season rank third-most among Missouri pass catchers, trailing only wide receivers Kevin Coleman Jr. and Marquis Johnson.
Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz told reporters that Norflett sustained a separated shoulder in Missouri’s 17-10 loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 25. Drinkwitz later described Norfleet as “day-to-day” during the Tigers’ bye in Week 10, and the veteran tight end was listed as questionable in Missouri’s student-athlete availability report Thursday night.
Norfleet’s absence comes with Drinkwitz and the two-loss Tigers essentially facing a playoff elimination game against the Aggies on Saturday. Missouri will also be without starting quarterback Beau Pribula in Week 11 after the Penn State transfer dislocated his ankle at Vanderbilt. Freshman Matt Zollers, ESPN’s No. 6 pocket passer in the 2025 class, is set to make his first career start Saturday, facing Texas A&M coach Mike Elko and an Aggies defense that ranks 18th nationally in defensive pressures (137), per ESPN Research.
“For our team, it’s really about us focusing on helping Matt execute at the highest level possible,” Drinkwitz said this week. “We’re excited about Matt’s opportunity and what he’s earned. He has done a really good job in practice of leadership, stepping up, embracing the moment, embracing the opportunity.”
Missouri (6-2) kicks off against Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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