Memo: SEC didn’t block Freeze hire in 2018
In 2018 when several SEC schools were interested in hiring Hugh Freeze, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent out a memorandum to conference presidents, chancellors and athletic directors to inform them of Freeze’s “status with respect to the conference.”
Freeze was hired Tuesday as Auburn‘s head football coach.
While Sankey’s 2018 memo, which was obtained by ESPN, did not prohibit schools from hiring Freeze, it was a stern reminder of the conditions and restrictions related to Freeze if an SEC school had chosen to hire him at that point. Per NCAA penalties, Freeze would have faced a suspension for the first two conference games of the 2018 season, but only as a head coach and not as an assistant coach.
Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee were among schools interested in hiring Freeze in an assistant coaching and/or coordinator role following his ouster at Ole Miss.
Freeze was out of coaching for the 2017 and 2018 seasons after running afoul of NCAA rules while the head coach at Ole Miss from 2012 to 2016. He was the Liberty head coach for the previous four seasons before getting a second chance in the SEC at Auburn.
After rebuilding Ole Miss’ program to a Top-25 level, Freeze resigned in the weeks leading up to preseason practice in 2017. University officials discovered he made a series of calls on his university-issued cell phone to multiple numbers associated with a female escort service. Ole Miss was being investigated by the NCAA at the time. Ross Bjork, then the Ole Miss athletic director, said the two matters were separate, but said he would have fired Freeze for a “pattern of misconduct” had Freeze not resigned.
Later in 2017, Ole Miss was placed on NCAA probation for violations that occurred in part under Freeze, and the sanctions included a two-year bowl ban. Freeze was charged individually by the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions of a Level 1 violation and found guilty of failing to adequately monitor his football staff and its interaction with boosters.
“We had a number of institutions in 2018 with interest in considering Hugh which were inquiring about what had transpired at his previous institution [Ole Miss] and if there was any applicable conference accountability,” Sankey told ESPN on Friday. “The purpose of the letter was to put all of our institutions on the same page with consistent information.”
Sources told ESPN that Sankey never told anyone during that time that he was blocking SEC schools from hiring Freeze. However, Sankey did tell Freeze that it was his strong preference that Freeze leave the SEC and go coach elsewhere without anymore NCAA issues — especially with Ole Miss still on probation — and then come back to the SEC if he had opportunities.
Sankey said he and Freeze spoke on the phone earlier this week and that Sankey congratulated Freeze on his hiring at Auburn.
“I look from this point forward. We’re informed by people’s past,” said Sankey, adding that he and Freeze have had multiple phone conversations over the past five years. “I appreciated the way he responded during his press conference, and I respect the fact that he and I, over the succeeding years since his departure from Ole Miss, could have candid and honest conversation.”
Freeze said several times during his press conference Tuesday that he was thankful for second chances and added, “I’m not sure that’s accurate,” when asked about reports that Sankey had previously blocked him from being hired within the league.
“He’s never done anything but shoot me dead straight and tell me what he thought was best, not only for the conference, but for me,” Freeze said of Sankey. “I appreciate a man that treats you like that.”
In his Nov. 12, 2018 memo, Sankey noted that SEC schools make independent decisions on who they want to hire, but those decisions must meet the expectations of SEC Bylaw 19.8.1.2, which requires institutions to contact the NCAA and SEC offices regarding a potential hire’s compliance background prior to offering employment.
In addition, Sankey wrote in his memo that the Committee on Infractions described Ole Miss’ violations “as cutting against and undermining core principles of the collegiate model.” Sankey added that Freeze was “directly involved in some of the less serious violations.”
Under the authority granted to him as commissioner, Sankey outlined in 2018 some of the conditions and restrictions related to Freeze should he be hired by an SEC school.
Those conditions included:
• Because Freeze had been found guilty of committing a Level I violation, the president or chancellor would be expected to consult directly with Sankey prior to offering Freeze a job.
• Within 30 days of Freeze’s hiring, the school’s president, faculty athletics representative, athletic director, head coach and Freeze would have to meet with Sankey at the conference office in Birmingham. Prior to that meeting, the school would provide Sankey with a written plan explaining its complete compliance oversight of Freeze and that plan would have to be approved and signed by the school’s president or chancellor.
• Freeze would be required to attend an NCAA Regional Rules meeting in 2019 and 2020 and remain for at least two days.
• Freeze would be prohibited from off-campus recruiting activities until Aug. 1, 2019.
• Any future violation of NCAA rules or SEC bylaws involving Freeze would be subject to additional scrutiny.
On Nov. 27, 2020, Sankey sent out a revised version of Bylaw 19.8.1.2 to presidents, chancellors and athletic directors that did not mention Freeze by name, but it included stipulations about the hiring of any coaches in the SEC that had prior NCAA issues.
In that 2020 memo, Sankey pointed out that SEC institutions were required to “thoroughly evaluate every candidate’s rules compliance record prior to offering employment, including asking the candidate directly and communicating with the NCAA and SEC regarding the candidate’s compliance record.”
Also, Sankey said in that 2020 memo that a school’s president or chancellor was expected to contact him directly to discuss any coaching candidate being considered for employment that had “engaged in unethical conduct or participated in activity that resulted or may result in Level I, Level II or major infractions.”
Sankey added that over the past few years he had received several inquiries from SEC schools about the status of “several of these individuals [primarily assistant coaches] and expect these inquiries will continue.”
The first 12-team College Football Playoff is down to the final two contenders: Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish and eighth-seeded Buckeyes will meet Jan. 20 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T. Whichever team wins will end a championship drought. Notre Dame aims for its first title since 1988. Ohio State’s lull isn’t nearly as long, as the Buckeyes won the first CFP championship a decade ago, but given how consistently elite they are, it seems like a while.
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Ohio State’s Ryan Day are also aiming for their first championships as head coaches, and Freeman’s past will be in the spotlight. Freeman and the Irish lost to the Buckeyes and Day in each of the past two seasons. But after a masterful coaching job this season, Freeman now will face his alma mater — he was an All-Big Ten linebacker for Ohio State under coach Jim Tressel — with everything on the line. Day, meanwhile, can secure the loftiest goal for a team that fell short of earlier ones, but never stopped swinging.
Here’s your first look at the championship matchup and what to expect in the ATL. — Adam Rittenberg
When: Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN
What we learned in the semifinal: Notre Dame’s resilience and situational awareness/execution are undeniably its signature traits and could propel the team to a title. The Irish have overcome injuries all season and did so again against Penn State. They also erased two deficits and continued to hold the edge in the “middle eight” — the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half — while dominating third down on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame can rely on front men such as quarterback Riley Leonard, running back Jeremiyah Love and linebacker Jack Kiser, but also on backup QB Steve Angeli, wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and kicker Mitch Jeter. These Irish fight, and they’re very hard to knock out.
X factor: Greathouse entered Thursday with moderate numbers — 29 receptions, 359 yards, one touchdown — and had only three total catches for 14 yards in the first two CFP games. But he recorded career highs in both receptions (7) and receiving yards (105) and tied the score on a 54-yard touchdown with 4:38 to play. A Notre Dame offense looking for more from its wide receivers, especially downfield, could lean more on Greathouse, who exceeded his receptions total from the previous five games but might be finding his groove at the perfect time. He also came up huge in the clutch, recording all but six of his receiving yards in the second half.
How Notre Dame wins: The Irish won’t have the talent edge in Atlanta, partly because they’ve lost several stars to season-ending injuries, but they have the right traits to hang with any opponent. Notre Dame needs contributions in all three phases and must continue to sprinkle in downfield passes, an element offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has pushed. And they finally did start seeing results against Penn State. The Irish likely can’t afford to lose the turnover margin, although they can help themselves by replicating their third-down brilliance — 11 of 17 conversions on offense, 3 of 11 conversions allowed on defense — from the Penn State win. — Rittenberg
What we learned in the semifinal: The Buckeyes have a defense with championship mettle, headlined by senior defensive end Jack Sawyer, who delivered one of the biggest defensive plays in Ohio State history. On fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes remaining, Sawyer sacked Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, forcing a fumble that he scooped up and raced 83 yards for a game-clinching touchdown, propelling Ohio State to the national title game. The Buckeyes weren’t perfect in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and they struggled offensively for much of the night against a talented Texas defense. But Ohio State showed late why its defense is arguably the best in college football, too.
X factor: The play two snaps before the Sawyer scoop-and-score set the table. On second-and-goal from the Ohio State 1-yard line, unheralded senior safety Lathan Ransom dashed past incoming blockers and dropped Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner for a 7-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, the Longhorns were forced into desperation mode on fourth-and-goal down a touchdown with just over two minutes remaining. All-American safety Caleb Downs, who had an interception on Texas’ ensuing drive, rightfully gets all the headlines for the Ohio State secondary. But the Buckeyes have other veteran standouts such as Ransom throughout their defense.
How Ohio State wins: Texas took away Ohio State’s top offensive playmaker, true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who had only one reception for 3 yards on three targets. As the first two playoff games underscored, the Buckeyes offense is at its best when Smith gets the ball early and often. Notre Dame is sure to emulate the Texas blueprint, positioning the defensive backs to challenge Smith. Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has to counter with a plan that finds ways to get the ball into Smith’s hands, no matter what the Fighting Irish do. — Jake Trotter
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Doug Greenberg, ESPN
Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, per ESPN BET odds.
If that line holds, it would be tied for the second-largest spread in a CFP national championship game and the fourth largest in the CFP/BCS era. Georgia was -13.5 against TCU in the 2022 national championship, while Alabama showed -9.5 against none other than Ohio State to decide the 2020 campaign. Both favorites covered the spread in blowout fashion, combining for a cover margin of 63.
Notre Dame is 12-3 against the spread this season, tied with Arizona State (12-2) and Marshall (12-1) for the most covers in the nation. The Irish are 7-0 ATS against ranked teams and 2-0 ATS as underdogs, with both covers going down as outright victories, including their win over Penn State (-1.5) in the CFP national semifinal.
However, Notre Dame was also on the losing end of the largest outright upset of the college football season when it fell as a 28.5-point favorite to Northern Illinois.
Ohio State is 9-6 against the spread and has been a favorite in every game it has played this season; it has covered the favorite spread in every CFP game thus far, including in its semifinal win against Texas when it covered -6 with overwhelming public support.
The Buckeyes also have been an extremely popular pick in the futures market all season. At BetMGM as of Friday morning, OSU had garnered a leading 28.2% of money and 16.8% of bets to win the national title, checking in as the sportsbook’s greatest liability.
Ohio State opened at +700 to win it all this season and is now -350 with just one game to play.
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