Baddour & Butch hold presser, confirm Blake involved in NCAA investigation [2:40pm Update]

UNC Scandal44

Question: If a press conference is held where nothing is said…has a press conference really been held at all?

I don’t have a lot of time today so I can’t have my normal commentary right now. But, on the heels of this absolutely fantastic discussion, the ‘leadership’ at UNC-CH broke their public silence and held a press conference this afternoon! 

What did they say?  Apparently not very much 

If you followed our Twitter feed during the presser then you saw some real-time comments from @ArmstrongWTVD. Some highlights apparently included adroit reporter J.P. Giglio pressing Butch Davis on John Blake. 

Also, Baddour gave this fantastic quote regarding the NCAA investigation:

“UNC is expected to make players and staff available for all meeting and interview requests, gather necessary records, tell the truth and most importantly not talk publicly.”

So according to Baddour “not talking publically” is more important than telling the truth to the NCAA investigators!?  Wow!  Such candor from UNC-CH is nearly unprecedented.

For a more enlightening ‘newsy’ view of the press conference you can read Giglio’s post at the N&O by clicking here.

Davis answered one question about Blake and then declined further comment about his recruiting coordinator.

Davis said he hired Blake in Dec. 2006 because “he was a very good teacher, a good defensive line coach.”

Asked if there was any question or concern about Blake’s relationship with Wichard, an NFL agent who represents former UNC defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer, Davis said: “No.”

Davis then added: “I’m not talking about any of the things that have anything to do with this review.”

Here’s a transcript of the questions about Blake and Davis’ response from today’s press conference:

Q: What was the primary reason that you hired John Blake?

Davis: “He was a very good teacher, a good defensive line coach.”

Q: Was there any question in your mind about his relationship with Gary Wichard? Any concern?

Davis: “Any question in my mind? No. … I’m not talking about any of the things that have anything to do with this review.”

Q: Just to be clear, you’re saying that the assistant coach is involved in the review?

Davis: “Just to be clear, I said we’re not going to talk about the review.”

Q: I didn’t ask you about the review, I asked you about a coach.

Davis: “I know you did and I told you that anything that has anything to do with any kind of investigation or any kind of review, we’re not going to talk about it. I’d be happy to talk all you want about football.”

The SFN team will update this entry as more details emerge throughout the afternoon.

UNC Scandal

44 Responses to Baddour & Butch hold presser, confirm Blake involved in NCAA investigation [2:40pm Update]

  1. TheAliasTroll 08/12/2010 at 5:55 PM #

    Hey David Glenn, Baddour and your pal Butch must be racists too, right?!

  2. tuckerdorm1983 08/12/2010 at 6:23 PM #

    i would prefer a sponge bob motif instead of the southpark. Marvin could be Mr. Krabs (obsessed with money), Little could be Patrick (not too bright), maybe Blake could be Sheldon Plankton (diabolical) and Butch could be Spongebob himself.

    I think the picture is excellent. I LMAO so much I don’t have an A to sit down anymore

  3. tjfoose1 08/12/2010 at 7:46 PM #

    “Anyone remember SMU?”

    Worst case scenario, this is still a ‘first offense’ type deal here. Because of that, regardless of how bad it gets, the NCAA will be lenient, relatively anyway.

    SMU had a pattern, and history… of cheating, being caught, lying, and ignoring the NCAA.

    No sponge bob. Southpark is more widely known.

  4. rtpack24 08/12/2010 at 8:51 PM #

    The Ole Ball Coach will get to talk to the NCAA because the are going back to USC to talk to Sanders again. I believe some Carolina folks thought the 30 day review by NCAA was going to be a ruling. Actually, after 30 days they reveal to the school what they have so far. Baddour is in a pickle with Butch and the hiring of Blake. Baddour either knew about Blake’s past or obviously took BD’s word that it was a good hire. Austin attended an agent’s camp a year before he could enter the draft. It will be very interesting to see how this all plays out.

  5. highstick 08/12/2010 at 9:11 PM #

    That’s “Saunders”.. I keep waiting for one of the “big mouths” to rat on the other and Marvin and Weslye are “peas in a pod”. But, there’s a big difference in how SOS runs a program versus Butchy! The “connect” to the South Carolina program is Marvin whereas Marvin is only “one of a number of dirty ones” in Chapel Hill.

  6. highstick 08/12/2010 at 9:19 PM #

    Who the heck is this idiot?

    http://twitter.com/kingcfb

    Read the penalty!

  8. highstick 08/12/2010 at 9:32 PM #

    Forget the above as it was pure BS as I thought it was, but I made a faux pas and pretended I was a media person and didn’t check out all of my sources.

  9. tuckerdorm1983 08/12/2010 at 10:31 PM #

    i am sitting on my hands waiting to see how this plays out. please let christmas come early this year please o please

  10. wolfpack_83 08/13/2010 at 8:45 AM #

    I’ll be honest here. As much fun as it is to see the Tarheels wiggle nervously under the NCAA spotlight, it DOESN’T make me feel good if they go on probation (other than the fact that it might keep them from cheating in the future). Call me Old School, but I want to beat them at their best, not as they’re running away with their tails tucked between their legs.

  11. GAWolf 08/13/2010 at 9:09 AM #

    Check out the comments in the linked story from WRAL.COM below. I’m torn between being empathetic for Tar Heel fans due to their belief the media is constantly spinning old news into new problems. It’s comical regardless.

    Also, the below quote from Yates isn’t what I would want my kids to be saying publicly about this investigation. In light of this statement and the tweet he sent out regarding his golf lesson, he’s now placed two shots across the NCAA’s bow. That cannot be good thing. It also goes to show the players don’t appreciate the potential magnitude of this sort of investigation. It’s scary times in Chapel Hill, for sure.

    http://www.wralsportsfan.com/college_football/story/8129288/

    “I know everybody just wants this whole deal just to be over with so we don’t have to worry about it anymore, so we don’t have to wonder anymore about all this stuff,” quarterback T.J. Yates said Thursday at the team’s preseason media day.

    “It’s kind of annoying when new stuff keeps coming out on the news and we don’t even know about it,” he said. “We go into the lunchroom and there’s another thing up there on ESPN. It’s like, ‘Geez, come on, let’s get it over with,’ you know?

    “We’re all ready to move on.”

  12. Pack78 08/13/2010 at 9:38 AM #

    ^Apparently TJ is too dense to even understand the phrase ‘keep your yap shut’, he clearly does not understand the sh*tstorm heading for tarhole FB.

  13. ryebread 08/13/2010 at 9:45 AM #

    I see two scenarios playing out. One is the “light version” (which I full well expect to happen). A couple of players get suspended but Butch gets out unscathed. Blake “leaves for other opportunities” at the end of the season.

    The other extreme is that there’s enough roaring fire that even the NCAA can’t ignore it that Blake and several UNC players get immediately dismissed. Baddour gets fired (they’ve wanted that for years) and Butch “leaves for other opportunities” at the end of the season.

    I seriously doubt UNC gets an real sanctions. The worst they’ll get from the NCAA is vacating some wins (which doesn’t matter anyway).

  14. Clarksa 08/13/2010 at 9:55 AM #

    “Alert to the NCAA, it sure would make sense to take a look at that basketball program while you’re over there. There sure are a lot of unanswered questions that need to be addressed…just saying…”

    It will save them money on airfare…

  15. TAEdisonHokie 08/13/2010 at 9:57 AM #

    tjfoose1: If the NCAA rules that more than one UNC football player was guilty of improper contact with agents, I think that “first offense” idea goes out the window. The rule of thumb in NCAA investigations is multiple minor violations in the same area can be viewed as a major violation.

    Additionally, the NCAA appears to be honing in on the relationship between the NFL agent Gary Wichard, the UNC coach John Blake, and Marvin Austin. That is a ticking time bomb because it may…and probably will…reveal a “lack of institutional control”. That would be bad news for the UNC football program.

    Meanwhile, in a completely separate investigation, the N.C. Secretary of State, Elaine Marshall, has sent a letter to sports agents registered in North Carolina to preserve all information regarding six Tar Heel football players to include “all documents, tangible things and electronically stored information that you possess regarding the following individuals: Marvin Austin, Greg Little, Deunta Williams, Kendric Burney, Bruce Carter, and Quan Sturdivant.”

    Now, if the NCAA begins to receive information about, and/or uncover on their own, UNC recruiting violations, the wheels will come flying off the Tar Heel bus.

  16. Pack78 08/13/2010 at 10:32 AM #

    Also, re SMU, the stink went all the way to their Board of Regents (their BOG IIRC)and was so endemic that the death penalty was called for; do not think that its THAT bad in CH (but I`d love to be wrong!)

  17. Plz2BStateFan 08/13/2010 at 10:37 AM #

    You guys have the link to the post that summarizes the Elington BBall rent issue.

    Just email the content to the NCAA.

  18. nycfan 08/13/2010 at 11:25 AM #

    This was not a hastily arranged PC meant to respond to the NCAA investigation. It was the long scheduled media day intended to promote the football season, that started with limited comments about the investigation to try to move the PC forward to its intended subject, which will always be pretty futile in this sort of situation.

  19. tractor57 08/13/2010 at 12:42 PM #

    “Anyone remember SMU?”

    tjfoose1 –

    “Worst case scenario, this is still a ‘first offense’ type deal here. Because of that, regardless of how bad it gets, the NCAA will be lenient, relatively anyway.

    SMU had a pattern, and history… of cheating, being caught, lying, and ignoring the NCAA.

    No sponge bob. Southpark is more widely known.”

    Agreed worst case for sure and not likely to ever be repeated (at UNX or anywhere) because of the severity to the program. I don’t think UNX will suffer anything near that severe but I also see signs of “a new sheriff” in the NCAA enforcement activities.

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