Inspired by the other thread (https://purdue.forums.rivals.com/threads/interview-with-an-sec-bag-man.230460/), what are some of the best cheating stories you’ve heard that aren’t really public, but you have good reason to believe are true?
Leave names out or change them since I’m sure none of us could “prove” these, but post the stories.
For me, I’ve been in and around college sports for a long time and heard many first hand accounts.
Story 1: One school in the south hosts an annual fundraiser event for their donors. The athletes volunteer to work the event as servers, valets, etc - helps keep the costs down and the charitability up, as well as makes donors feel cool to interact with the athletes. It also provides an opportunity for donors to “tip” for service. Some players valet parking would walk out with 5 figures in untraceable cash “tips” (though most players got a few hundred bucks). (Heard from a department person who attended the event)
Story 2: A different school in the south had a guy they called Uncle John (name changed) - who doesn’t have an uncle John? If you needed something, you texted his burner and just said what you needed - cash, a phone, whatever. He’d give a simple response like a time. That was when to pick up the gift from a stand-alone mailbox on a random country road and it would be there. (Heard from a former athlete who played at that school)
Story 3: A fellow Big Ten school used to have boosters take prominent athletes golfing at exclusive members-only country clubs. Friendly club pros and managers, plus the members were all team loyal. Guests fees would have been over a hundred dollars. (I saw this one first hand. I was invited to play and we were the group behind a 5*. The guy who invited me was friends with the booster, so we said hi and talked about it during the round.)
Story 4: Maybe not “cheating” per se, and many schools likely have a similar arrangement, but a school would have a player personnel casually tell athletes that when they drive around town, to always put their varsity jacket in the back seat. That way, when they’d get pulled over, the police would see it and just give them a warning. (Heard it from an athlete at that school)
Story 5: A school in the south has boosters in town that bring recruits through and sets up a program for them to sign memorabilia in a back room for cash once they sign with the school. Other desired merchandise (not cars) is provided and set up for a program that will give them more during their careers and then for their draft day. That business warehouses the merchandise until the player announces going pro, then they immediately make it available as the only place that has that players autographed memorabilia available. (Heard from a friend of a friend who had been in the warehouse.)
Story 6: I had a conversation with a basketball coach I knew at the time who was at a school I believe to be clean. A personal friend of mine had a nephew who was a 4 or 5* prospect and had asked me why that school hadn’t recruited him despite interest. I mentioned it and the kid’s name to the coach and he said he couldn’t recruit the kid because of his AAU team. That AAU team had basically a recruiting fee that if a college wanted to talk to the kid, a payment had to be made up front. Without it, the program just steered kids to other “friendly” schools and then they’d make your recruiting life hell even for kids not on their team. Needless to say, that kid went to another school.
—
There are many other stories, but what are yours?
Leave names out or change them since I’m sure none of us could “prove” these, but post the stories.
For me, I’ve been in and around college sports for a long time and heard many first hand accounts.
Story 1: One school in the south hosts an annual fundraiser event for their donors. The athletes volunteer to work the event as servers, valets, etc - helps keep the costs down and the charitability up, as well as makes donors feel cool to interact with the athletes. It also provides an opportunity for donors to “tip” for service. Some players valet parking would walk out with 5 figures in untraceable cash “tips” (though most players got a few hundred bucks). (Heard from a department person who attended the event)
Story 2: A different school in the south had a guy they called Uncle John (name changed) - who doesn’t have an uncle John? If you needed something, you texted his burner and just said what you needed - cash, a phone, whatever. He’d give a simple response like a time. That was when to pick up the gift from a stand-alone mailbox on a random country road and it would be there. (Heard from a former athlete who played at that school)
Story 3: A fellow Big Ten school used to have boosters take prominent athletes golfing at exclusive members-only country clubs. Friendly club pros and managers, plus the members were all team loyal. Guests fees would have been over a hundred dollars. (I saw this one first hand. I was invited to play and we were the group behind a 5*. The guy who invited me was friends with the booster, so we said hi and talked about it during the round.)
Story 4: Maybe not “cheating” per se, and many schools likely have a similar arrangement, but a school would have a player personnel casually tell athletes that when they drive around town, to always put their varsity jacket in the back seat. That way, when they’d get pulled over, the police would see it and just give them a warning. (Heard it from an athlete at that school)
Story 5: A school in the south has boosters in town that bring recruits through and sets up a program for them to sign memorabilia in a back room for cash once they sign with the school. Other desired merchandise (not cars) is provided and set up for a program that will give them more during their careers and then for their draft day. That business warehouses the merchandise until the player announces going pro, then they immediately make it available as the only place that has that players autographed memorabilia available. (Heard from a friend of a friend who had been in the warehouse.)
Story 6: I had a conversation with a basketball coach I knew at the time who was at a school I believe to be clean. A personal friend of mine had a nephew who was a 4 or 5* prospect and had asked me why that school hadn’t recruited him despite interest. I mentioned it and the kid’s name to the coach and he said he couldn’t recruit the kid because of his AAU team. That AAU team had basically a recruiting fee that if a college wanted to talk to the kid, a payment had to be made up front. Without it, the program just steered kids to other “friendly” schools and then they’d make your recruiting life hell even for kids not on their team. Needless to say, that kid went to another school.
—
There are many other stories, but what are yours?
