Why UF football coach Billy Napier declined comment on NCAA investigation
At Wednesday's National Signing Day press conference, Florida football coach Billy Napier declined comment about the ongoing NCAA Investigation into the program regarding its recruitment of five-star quarterback Jaden Rashada.
A four-page notice of inquiry was sent from the NCAA to University of Florida president Ben Sasse last June, informing the school of the investigation. Reportedly, it's pertaining to whether UF used to a $13.8 million Name, Image and Likeness deal brokered by the now defunct Gator Collective as an inducement to sign Rashada.
NCAA bylaws prohibit Napier from speaking on an active investigation.
"We’ve made a statement there — we’ll refer to that," Napier said. "I think college football right now is in a very unique space and has been … there’s probably a lot more sanity as we speak to maybe 18 months ago. I think we at least kind of understand what’s required. But we need change; I think everybody knows that."
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Rashada was released from his Letter of Intent from the Florida Gators in January of 2023 and signed with Arizona State. Last week, Florida fired Marcus Castro-Walker, who was UF's director of player engagement and NIL at the time of Rashada's recruitment.
The NCAA is attempting to crack down on improper NIL use at a time when the college sports landscape is continuing to evolve. Not long after the investigation into Florida surfaced, the NCAA announced it launched an investigation into Tennessee for improper use of NIL regarding the recruitment of its star quarterback, redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA, but the lawsuit was denied in U.S. District Court, which means as of now it will continue to move forward.
Napier praised the Big Ten and SEC's alliance to look into changes regarding college athletics, the transfer portal and athlete compensation. But Napier also bemoaned the fact that more attention of late in college football has been given to moves off the field rather than on it.
"The game has become a little bit more transactional - used to be a little more transformational," Napier said. "I think there’s an element to our game that I’m hopeful we get to keep. We get to control how we operate at the University of Florida, in house. I’m excited about working with this team."
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florda Gators football coach Billy Napier on NCAA Investigation
