Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Inside the Hot Dog Factory

Putting aside this former Texas Longhorn player's breathless hating on the SEC, he provides a decent glimpse into the way a strong compliance office monitors student-athletes. How, you ask?
To use some blunt military language, the Texas compliance office does not (screw) around.
How much do they not screw around?
"If you have a car, the compliance office will have the make, model, and plate number. You have to show how you are making payments or who is making payments. They let you know that if you drive something other than the car you tell them about, it better belong to a family member and if you park it on campus you have to bring it to the attention of the compliance office. God forbid that the UT Parking Nazi’s give you a parking ticket and it go unpaid before sunset. Got an unpaid ticket? MadDog had a way to remind you to park in your correct spot and that’s AFTER the ticket was paid. If you live off campus, you have to provide your lease at the beginning of each semester and show where the money to pay the rent is coming from"
Seems simple enough. Before you get your drawers in a wad over Fulmer Cups and such, keep in mind the Longhorns have had plenty of their own issues with John Q. Law during Mack Brown's days in Austin.

The money shot comes in at the end, when the author makes the point I saw someone else make the other day about Coach Richt (I can't find the post, but it was in a Dawg blog discussing the number of secondary violations that get reported out of Athens):
Reporting those issues when they happen are proof that your program is controlling and providing oversight.
Two things to remember. First, absent precog droidnannys that go Minority Report on the players, abject stupidity will occur at times. That is very much a cost of doing business with 18-24 year old males. Second, the compliance office is only as strong as the people in that office...and the AD/Coaches that set the direction for that office.

TD

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