Arizona is looking for a few good whistleblowers
In light of what's been going on at Ohio State the past few months, and especially this week, athletic directors, compliance offices and even school presidents are checking their closets for any potential NCAA skeletons. But one athletic director in particular is looking for a little help doing so.
University of Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne used his weekly email newsletter to ask Wildcats fans to be whistleblowers.
That's right, if you're in Tucson and you see an athlete getting a free cheeseburger, carwash, automobile or even private jet, Byrne wants you to alert your friendly Arizona athletic department immediately (or simply, rat out your athletes).
Here's the text of his letter:
I am sure that many of you have been following the recent developments at Ohio State with its football program. My purpose here is not to judge or be critical of one of our peer institutions. However, the situation does give us another opportunity to proactively communicate with our fan base and internally on the absolute need to pay attention to the rules everyday. We are one bad decision by a coach, employee, student-athlete and/or community member/fan from facing significant challenges that can damage our university and athletic program for many years to come.
If you ever know of a situation where a student-athlete is receiving an extra benefit (something that the rest of the student body would not receive) please contact me (520-621-4622 UAAD@arizona.edu) or our compliance department at (520-621-5692) or wmorgan@arizona.edu.
While this is a novel concept, who knows what kind of Pandora's Box Arizona might have opened here. Sure, some legitimate tips will probably come through the wire, but how many hoaxes are they going to get, too? How many student athletes are going to be victims of pranks?
On the flip side, what college kid wants to be the school narc?
It will be interesting to see how this whole plan works out and whether other schools follow suit.
