Post by elp525 on Aug 6, 2010 5:00:14 GMT -5
August 5, 2010
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - In the wake of the NCAA's notice of allegations against West Virginia's football program, former coach Rich Rodriguez and his athletic director at Michigan, Dave Brandon, issued statements Thursday.
Rodriguez, the coach at WVU when the alleged violations occurred and now the coach at Michigan, where similar violations are charged (and have been admitted to), merely reiterated his commitment to playing by the rules.
Brandon, who has had to defend Rodriguez to Michigan fans who want him ousted for the violations - as well as two losing seasons - once again said that the WVU investigation would not affect Rodriguez's status as the Michigan coach.
Here are transcripts of their statements:
Rodriguez:
"I have always taken compliance seriously and have sincerely felt our program was very open and transparent. I regret any mistakes that were made or rules that were misinterpreted.
"Any errors certainly weren't made intentionally. I openly discussed my past practices with NCAA investigators and will continue to cooperate fully during this process.
"I have redoubled efforts with my staff and our compliance team to improve several processes, strengthen communications, and work to ensure these mistakes won't happen in the future.
"We have a tremendous program and an exceptional group of student-athletes, and I look forward to an exciting and successful football season.''
Brandon:
"We're not part of the inquiry at WVU and we have limited access to the information pertaining to this investigation.
"We're certainly paying close attention to the situation, but we all need to let the process - and the facts - unfold before we draw any conclusions. I'm not going to speculate about any aspect of the outcome.
"I've already said Rich is our coach this fall and WVU's announcement does not change that fact. Our focus is on our program and the start of the football season.''
By Dave Hickman
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN - In the wake of the NCAA's notice of allegations against West Virginia's football program, former coach Rich Rodriguez and his athletic director at Michigan, Dave Brandon, issued statements Thursday.
Rodriguez, the coach at WVU when the alleged violations occurred and now the coach at Michigan, where similar violations are charged (and have been admitted to), merely reiterated his commitment to playing by the rules.
Brandon, who has had to defend Rodriguez to Michigan fans who want him ousted for the violations - as well as two losing seasons - once again said that the WVU investigation would not affect Rodriguez's status as the Michigan coach.
Here are transcripts of their statements:
Rodriguez:
"I have always taken compliance seriously and have sincerely felt our program was very open and transparent. I regret any mistakes that were made or rules that were misinterpreted.
"Any errors certainly weren't made intentionally. I openly discussed my past practices with NCAA investigators and will continue to cooperate fully during this process.
"I have redoubled efforts with my staff and our compliance team to improve several processes, strengthen communications, and work to ensure these mistakes won't happen in the future.
"We have a tremendous program and an exceptional group of student-athletes, and I look forward to an exciting and successful football season.''
Brandon:
"We're not part of the inquiry at WVU and we have limited access to the information pertaining to this investigation.
"We're certainly paying close attention to the situation, but we all need to let the process - and the facts - unfold before we draw any conclusions. I'm not going to speculate about any aspect of the outcome.
"I've already said Rich is our coach this fall and WVU's announcement does not change that fact. Our focus is on our program and the start of the football season.''
