Chizik says he's not 'concerned' with NCAA investigationPublished: Friday, July 22, 2011, 7:32 AMMark McCarter, The Huntsville Times By Mark McCarter, The Huntsville TimesHOOVER, Ala. - The NCAA holds its members and its teams accountable.SEC MEDIA DAYS 2011It's time for the NCAA to be held accountable.There's something in the U.S. Constitution - Sixth Amendment to be precise - about a right to a speedy trial. The NCAA might want to contemplate the same.Give credit to Auburn coach Gene Chizik for demanding such from Julie Roe Lach, the NCAA vice president for enforcement, when it comes to the investigation over Cam Newton's recruitment.That led to Lach's ominous and now famous retort: "You'll know when we're finished. And we're not finished."The NCAA has an obligation, first and foremost, to get it right.Somewhere, though, is an obligation to get it done quickly, too.Look how long it took to settle the Southern Cal mess. Look how long Tennessee has been under investigation. Said Vols coach Derek Dooley, "This is our third recruiting class and we're still answering the questions."Expediancy of investigations is behind SEC Commissioner Mike Slive's proposal to "restructure the NCAA enforcement process in order to effectively focus resources on cases of core importance in a timely fashion."In other words, forget hounding the jaywalkers who send illegal text messages, stretching thin the NCAA's limited resources. Devote the resources to the bank robbers.As to a looming verdict, Chizik claimed Thursday at the SEC Media Days that he is sleeping well at night. No guilt, no worries. Just dealing with things he can control about his football team."All of the outside innuendo, speculations, rumors, all those different things, whether it be NCAA-related or otherwise, is just not a big part of what I concern myself with," he said.The same can't be said for much of his constituency. Auburn Nation needs a collective Ambien to help it sleep as well as Chizik. Meanwhile, the schadenfreude of many Alabama fans enjoying Auburn's anguish has further muddied the world of message boards.Things bubbled up Wednesday when "sports analyst" Danny Sheridan said on Paul Finebaum's radio show that it was "50-50" Auburn would be punished by the NCAA.Sheridan said his NCAA sources tell him they have identified a third-party representative who assured Cam Newton's arrival at Auburn. He cited his 30 years of breaking sports news to support that claim.Then it was Scott Moore's turn. The long-time radio host, whose checkered past and unabashed devotion for the University of Alabama bruise his journalistic credibility, crowed on Facebook that "All I can say in regard to AU and Cam is I TOLD YOU SO. It's going to get really hot for Chizik and AU Thursday at media days. Gig (sic) is up."Well, it didn't get hot. When the questions were asked, Chizik answered as if coated with a politician's Teflon."I'll make this real clear," Chizik said. "The NCAA on more than one occasion has said that Auburn has done nothing wrong in the recruitment of Cam Newton. Nothing's changed."Again, (I) can't control everybody's microphone. Can't control everybody's opinion. Don't try to. But, again, I'll say as I've said it maybe the fifth time today. I feel really good when my head hits the pillow tonight."Anybody who thought Chizik would find himself like a prisoner in an interrogation room, blinded by a bright light bulb and threatened with a rubber hose, was fooling himself. The media are still relatively civilized, the attack on Wednesday's seafood buffet notwithstanding. To suggest Chizik would take the stage at the SEC Media Days and offer some courtroom confession is absurd.Guilt on the part of Auburn may eventually be established. Punishment may indeed be levied. Or not. Sheridan's 50-50 may be his wisest oddsmaking yet.Things will happen in due time.But due time needs to be more timely.
Gene Chizik and Auburn keep winning; others keep wondering howPublished: Friday, July 22, 2011, 5:44 AM Updated: Friday, July 22, 2011, 5:45 AMBy Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham NewsGene Chizik, meeting the press at SEC Media Days 2011, says he sleeps well even though critics don't want him or Auburn to rest easy. (The Birmingham News/Mark Almond)HOOVER, Alabama - Gene Chizik has lifted the crystal football.He's taken a football team to the White House.He hasn't lost a football game in 20 months, and despite all that, the man can't win.It's as fair to say that today, in a totally different context, as it was unfair to say it the day he was hired.Back then, the prevailing sentiÂment held that he couldn't win at Auburn because he hadn't won at Iowa State. Brilliant deduction.Now, despite taking every game and every championship available to him last season - if not every award - he can't win beÂcause, well, you know.How did he win? Who did he win with? How did he get the players he won with, one player in particular?Chizik's not the first SEC coach to win a national title.He is the first SEC coach to win a national title, come to the next SEC Media Days and get hit with a quesÂtion about "a third-party bagman."Some coaches would've hit back Thursday, especially if the domiÂnant theme was defending their championship in a way that had nothing to do with departed stars or returning starters.Not Chizik. He didn't pound his fist or raise his voice.Kevin Scarbinsky is a columnist for The Birmingham News. His column is published on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.He took 22 questions in the bigÂgest media room in front of the bigÂgest media crowd, and nine of those questions touched on the subject of the NCAA's investigation of Auburn. Chizik addressed every single one of the NCAA-related inquiries, even if he didn't answer them all directly."I'll make this real clear," he said. "The NCAA, on more than one ocÂcasion, has said that Auburn has done nothing wrong in the recruitment of Cam Newton. Nothing's changed."Wait. That's not exactly what NCAA officials have said when they've spoken publicly on the subject. That would suggest the case is closed and Auburn has been cleared.Chizik sought that kind of closure from NCAA vice president of enforcement Julie Roe Lach at the SEC spring meeting, and clearly didn't get it.The coach was asked about that infamous private exchange, which recently became public knowledge. He denied, though not angrily, that he had agitated Lach.Chizik called their exchange "very informative.""There were some clarifications made that had to do with process," he said. "So I was very appreciative that we got some things cleared up and that I was able to be educated a little bit further in the questions that I had."If Chizik erred in Destin by questioning an NCAA official on an Auburn matter in a room full of his SEC peers, he corrected that mistake in Hoover.He stayed calm. He angered no one, except anyone foolish enough to expect him to lash out at Lach or any of Auburn's accusers. Asked about frustration, he displayed none."All of the outside innuendo, speculations, rumors, all those different things, whether it be NCAA-related or otherwise, is just not a big part of what I concern myself with," he said. "I've said this many times. I feel great about where we are as a football program. I sleep really good every night that my head hits the pillow."In a continuing story with no end in sight, with sources offering conflicting opinions on where the investigation stands and how it'll conclude, with a surplus of speculation and a shortage of visible supporting evidence - on Newton and beyond - it's hard to know what to believe.Despite the cloud of confusion, there's one thing that's easy to believe -- that Chizik himself believes every word he says on the subject."Can't control everybody's microphone," he said. "Can't control everybody's opinion. Don't try to. But again, I'll say as I've said it for maybe the fifth time today. I feel really good when my head hits the pillow."Confidence in the face of an NCAA probe can be dangerous, especially considering that a head coach can't control every player, coach, supporter or family member in his program or know what they're all doing at all times.That said, Chizik keeps winning, and others keep wondering.Sooner or later, doesn't one of those streaks have to end?
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