Bill introduced to govern NCAA investigations
A proposed bill in the Mississippi legislature seeks to get the NCAA to do what Ole Miss cannot: end the investigation of the Rebel football program.
Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, introduced the potential legislation (House Bill 1040), which would force under the threat of financial penalty for the NCAA "to complete its investigation, present findings to the NCAA Committee on Infractions and to render its final decision either imposing penalties for the violations proven in the investigation process or dismissal of the allegations" within nine months of a member institution's response to a letter of inquiry.
"So many times the cloud of uncertainty with these investigations drag on and drag on is unnecessarily more harming than the infractions themselves," said Lamar, who also said Ole Miss had no knowledge of the bill. "Really started thinking about it just in the last month or so ... I put the bill together myself."
Lamar earned an undergraduate degree in business with emphasis in real estate and management at Ole Miss where he played for the Rebels' football team.
Ole Miss' football program is currently under a four years-long NCAA investigation, which was reopened after Laremy Tunsil admitted to taking money from coaches during the NFL draft last April. The NCAA closed the book on its investigation into the Ole Miss' women's track and basketball teams in October, but said the investigation into the football program was still ongoing.
The bill would also require any appeal to the committee on infractions' final decision would conclude within six months of the committee's original ruling.
Should the NCAA fail to meet these time frames, the bill proposes it would be fined $10,000 each day it goes past the window of time and said fine should be "payable to the member institution subject to the investigation and actionable through the Circuit Courts of the State of Mississippi."
The bill states that its purpose is to ensure an "efficient" and "timely" procedure of due process, while also seeking to "limit any unnecessary harm" to the programs and its student-athletes.
"The bottom line is the NCAA is doing business in the state of Mississippi and I understand they have a job to do," Lamar said. "And I want them do their job. I just want them to do it in a reasonably timely manner. In my opinion, these four and five years, continuing to drag on is not a reasonable matter."
Ole Miss finished with the No. 5 recruiting class in the country in 2016, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. As the NCAA's investigation lingers, Ole Miss is currently ranked 45th in the country and 13th in the SEC. Most people have pointed to the NCAA investigation as a primary reason for a recruiting class that is, at the present, not up to the usual standard under coach Hugh Freeze.
The bill also asks that the committee of infractions' ruling be a matter of public record in Mississippi once communicated to the proper entities.
If the bill passes, it will go into effect and be enforced from July 1 forward. Of course, it's unlikely to pass this stage — thousands of bills are introduced each year, and most of them never come to a vote — and even if it did, it's questionable how the Mississippi legislature could enforce it.
An NCAA spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Contact Antonio Morales at amorales2@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter .