Marketplace
![[SeMissourian.com]](http://www.semissourian.com/images/nameplate.gif)
|
|
Partly Cloudy ~ River stage: 33.99 Rising Saturday, November 21, 2009 |
RSS
 Print
 Email link
 Respond to editor
 Read comments (23)
 Share link
Southeast Missouri State University coach Edgar arranged special benefits for athlete, NCAA saysThursday, October 9, 2008
Those alleged violations were learned of by the university a few days before Edgar and the school's athletic director Don Kavernman were placed on administrative leave today. The university, in a release Thursday, said that athletic director Don Kaverman "has been relieved of his athletic director and all other duties and placed on administrative leave until Feb. 7, 2009, when his contract will end."
Edgar has posted a 23-39 record as the Redhawks‚ coach, and practice for the upcoming season begins Oct. 17. Kaverman became athletic director at Southeast on Feb. 1, 1999. He was a finalist for an associate athletic director position at Ferris State (Mich.) University earlier this year, but withdrew his name from consideration before the hiring was made. The university said that Cindy Gannon, the associate athletic director, was appointed as the interim director until a new, permanent replace can be found. The university also said that Gannon will not seek to replace Kaverman permanently. Gannon is in her fifth year as an administrator at Southeast. The university said it received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA on Oct. 6, "concerning possible major violations involving the men's basketball program," Southeast said in a statement. "Southeast is extremely disappointed with these allegations," Southeast President Kenneth Dobbins said in a statement. "We consider the allegations of NCAA infractions regarding our men's basketball program to be a matter of significant concern. Given the serious nature of the allegations, we believed we needed to take immediate action in the best interests of the program. We have in the past and will in the future cooperate fully with the NCAA's ongoing investigation." The Notice of Allegations, received by the Southeast Missourian in an information request, alleges: — A fifth-year women's basketball student-athlete received more than $7,000 in course expenses from a representative of the university's athletic interests after the player's eligibility was complete; —The men's coaches observed strength and conditioning workouts regularly during the summers of 2006 and 2007 and watched out-of-season pickup games in the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007, including a prospective student-athlete participating in a pickup game during an official visit. — Edgar and an assistant coach arranged for extra benefits, specifically $239 in institutional fees for a student-athlete to allow his enrollment and driving a student-athlete to Memphis. — Edgar provided "false and misleading information" to Southeast and the NCAA regarding the men's basketball allegations. —The university failed to monitor its men's and women's basketball programs. An NCAA investigation is nothing new at Southeast. The NCAA Committee on Infractions said the university lacked institutional control when it released in June its findings on the women's basketball program. The university was placed on probation for two years and the women's basketball team was forced to vacate two years of wins. Comments  Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on semissourian.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
|
Enter your email address to subscribe to our mailing lists:
|
del.icio.us
Digg
StumbleUpon
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Furl
Reddit
Google
Thanks heye!
While they are at it, they need to get rid of Ron "800+" Hines. He is as much of the problems in the athletic department as anyone else.
according to semosportsweb, kaverman was fired. the term "put on leave" was just the PC way of saying it.
Time for SEMO to go back to Division II!! I graduated back in 1984 when it was special to go to a basketball game and actually see players hussle at all times. It was enjoyable even when there were 2,000 of us packed into Houck Stadium. We had some local talent mixed in then also! It is obvious that we cannot get a coaching staff that knows how to recruit legally!
I have no clue about of what this represents, but a couple months ago I saw Mike Rembert having a garage sale. The items were mostly electronics and mens clothing. The thing that stuck out was that the garage sell was at a Mid-America Hotels employee's house (whom I won't name). The house was very very nice and had an inground pool, that the homeowner was cleaning at the time.
I knew something didn't seem right when I asked Mike (who I didn't know it was him at the time) what kind of vintage car was it that was under a sheet in the garage. He had no clue which told me right then that he didn't regularly live there.
He was wearing a St. Rita high school t-shirt. I went home and checked the roster and voila found out it was him!
I don't know exactly why he was having it there and if the homeowner was a booster or not, but something seems fishy.
Bring Back Ron Shumate!
Cindy Gannon has been at SEMO for a long time. Maybe 5 years in her current position.
Hopefully this is the last nail for Dobbins. He needs to go. Anyone with half a brain would have known that Edgar was a poor choice for SEMO! It would have taken very little asking around Murray to know that.
I agree with the DII comment. It was much more enjoyable watching a very competitive DII basketball team in the close confines of Houck.
What exactly are the benefits to SEMO for having a D1 athletic program? I can see a lot of costs (both financial and other) to run a D1 program ... not too sure what the payoff is for a small school ... other than the exposure from a beat down on regional / national TV by a real D1 program.
Kinda funny how the Missourian removed my comments and the info on this situation THEY FAILED to report when this story first posted. What a bunch of unprofessional scumbags.
This is EXACTLY what needed to happen. Edgar needed to GO and Kaverman needed to GO...now, if Dobbins will go, and Ron Hines, give the entire Athletics Department a makeover, things can start to move in the right direction. I know Dobbins isn't going anywhere, but lets face it...he's the ONLY reason Edgar was here...no one else wanted him. The root of the problem IS Dobbins, but having Edgar and Kaverman out is a good start. If the University is smart, Zac Roman and/or Rodney Hamilton will move into the interim head coach spot--the guys on the team respect both of them and will play hard for them. Too bad Cindy Gannon doesn't want to be considered as a permanent replacement...she'd do a great job. Going back to Division II would also not be a bad idea...does that actually happen? Do teams actually do so poorly that they get "demoted?" It will be interesting to see how it unfolds.
This could be the kiss of death for SEMO athletics. In the most recent NCAA ruling it was made clear the University lacks oversight of its athletic programs. The new allegations are very serious and would not be surprised if the NCAA shut down the men's and women's basketball program for an extended time. It would not be surprising if the NCAA bans Edgar from future coaching just like they did to Shumate.
It is obvious the Division I move has been a dismal failure. It could have worked with a sound strategy and financial support. However the current administration has ruined everything and should be held accountable. Should SEMO move back to Division II? That question will be answered when the NCAA makes their final ruling and announces their penalities. If the penalities are significant then it may be time to pack up the Division I initiative and move back to Division II.
Moving to DII isn't the answer. Packing up your bags and moving back a division will out tick off the NCAA. I promise you the NCAA will find ways to penalize the athletic department if they made such a move. They would want to set a precedent so other schools don't do that in the future.
I think it is silly of everyone to think that by dropping down to Division II, SEMO will automatically be able to return to the Shumate Era and win. Who in their right mind would want to be a part of SEMO athletics right now?
The Division I mania was created by the "Big Dance" and that is why so many Division II schools moved up. They have visions of appearing in the postseason tournament and possibly pulling an upset. It is becoming very expensive for the mid to lower tier Division I schools to remain competitive.
I can see the day when the "real" Division 1 schools move to create a higher level division that will block the mid to lower tier schools. There will be a day when SEMO and its similar sized counterparts may have to move down to another level.
Ahhh ... you know you've reached the pinnacle of D1 success when you're being compared to the UNLV athletic department.
St Louis Post-Dispatch: http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/tipsheet/tipsheet/2008/10/pm-update-semo-the-unlv-of-our-state/
Cool ... SEMO is making a name for itself in the Kansas City area.
Kansas City Star: http://www.kansascity.com/385/story/833892.html
Don't worry, outside of the state of Missouri no one has a clue who/what Southeast Missouri State University is.
Here's the sad thing about the story. If you are going to get busted by the NCAA for rules infractions, at least break the rules in a way to give yourself a winning record.
At least BJ Smith was smart enough to do that.
You're exactly right SEMissouri70. I don't condone cheating; but if you're going to cheat, do it well enough to win.
This university sports program has really gotten to a sad point. They can't pay people to come watch a basketball game, they can't win any of those games, and now that can't even play without breaking the rules. I see this going downhill before it gets any better. I look for a serious hammer being brought down on SEMO. I'm guessing the mens program will be punished with a serious reduction in scholarships AND a long ban on any possibility of postseason play...as if that were even a chance.
Edgar needs to go, and I think he'll be fired. If he isn't fired this year, he'll be let go after winning about 8 games this season.
"Ahhh ... you know you've reached the pinnacle of D1 success when you're being compared to the UNLV athletic department." BUT, there is no way you can compare "Psycho-case" Edgar to Tark the Shark as a recruiter or a coach.
expectwin:
The article accurately reflected Gannon has been in her current administrative position for 5 years. Previously she was head coach, which is not an administrative title. The writer used correct terminology, which eventually you seemed to understand. There was no need to point that out.
gofigure
Earlier in the afternoon the article said she had been at Southeast for 5 years. It did not say anything about her current position. The article was changed after I posted.
WHO CARES, THEY WILL ALWAYS BE BAD UNTIL DOBBINS IS GONE... IT STARTS AT THE TOP