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Article published on: August 23, 2007
NCAA clears Ivy Williams
TUSCALOOSA / The NCAA has cleared former University of Alabama
assistant football coach Ivy Williams of wrongdoing in the
recruitment of Memphis prep player Albert Means, but the
university still faces charges that Means’ coach was paid by a
UA booster.
Williams’ attorney, Keith Belt of Birmingham, met with
representatives of the NCAA Enforcement Staff on Thursday for a
pre-hearing conference. He was told that the NC1AA had withdrawn
major charges involving Williams in the investigation of the
Alabama program.
The university, whose representatives attended a separate
pre-conference hearing last week, released a statement that said
another major violation charge, one involving former assistant
coach Ronnie Cottrell, also had been dropped.
That charge - No. 5 in the Letter of Official Inquiry received
by UA on Sept. 5 - cited Cottrell for unethical conduct for
failing to report violations concerning former UA recruit
Michael Gaines of Tallahassee, Fla.
The letter said that Cottrell “failed to report his knowledge of
an academic fraud allegation” committed by Gaines, who was never
admitted to Alabama. UA faces no institutional charge regarding
the alleged academic fraud, according to the letter.
Cottrell is still cited for failing to report loans of $55,000
and $1,600 from Alabama booster Logan Young, an extra coaching
benefit that must be reported under NCAA rules.
The vacated charge against Williams alleged a major violation
regarding NCAA Bylaw 10.1 (unethical conduct), claiming that
Williams had “provided false and misleading information during
an interview with the NCAA Enforcement Staff’ when he denied
that Lynn Lang, Means’ coach at Trezevant High School, solicited
money or vehicles during Means’ recruitment.
“The allegation regarding the ethical conduct charge against Ivy
Williams has been formally withdrawn,” Belt said Saturday.
Belt also said the NCAA had withdrawn a portion of another
charge that referred to Williams. The charge alleged that
Williams “knew that [Lang] was requesting [Alabama] to provide
money and a vehicle ... in order for [Means] to consider the
institution.’
The rest of that charge, which cites Alabama interests for
providing extra benefits during Mean’s recruitment, remains
intact.
“When reviewing the evidence, it was clear there was no credible
evidence to support the charges, and I think the NCAA did the
right thing,” Belt said.
Williams, who coached running backs at Alabama from 1994 through
2000, expressed relief at seeing his name cleared. He has
consistently denied any wrongdoing.
“I’m very happy, and I’m also happy for my family,” he said.
“They had to read and hear things about me that weren’t true.
I’m just glad this is over with.
“I want to get on with my life and get back to coaching, and
this will allow me to do that. I do want to coach again at the
college level, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Williams said his contact with Means’ high school coaches in
Memphis, Lynn Lang and Milton Kirk, was minimal. He said he had
no knowledge of any deals solicited or made during Mean’s
recruitment.
Kirk named Williams as one of the coaches who was solicited for
sums up to $200,000 to deliver Means during the recruiting
process.
“I dealt with the kid,” Williams said. “I didn’t deal with the
coaches. I recruited the kid, I called the kid, I didn’t talk to
the coaches.
“I knew Coach Lang did some strange things, but a lot of coaches
do strange things.”
Williams said Lang insisted that recruiters not contact Means
directly and arranged for all contact with Means to go through
the coaches. Williams said he had to call Lang’s office to talk
to Means during the recruiting process.
“I never knew anything about any money being asked,” Williams
said. “I didn’t know anything about that.”
Belt’s response to the allegations argued, in part, that
Williams was never party to any deal between an Alabama booster
and Means’ coaches.
“One of our positions, from a perspective of common sense, is
[if such a deal is made] you’re going to have as few people in
the loop as possible,” Belt said. “It really doesn’t make sense
that they would involve Ivy Williams.”
As a party named in the Letter of Official Inquiry that spelled
out charges against Alabama,
Williams was able to respond directly to all charges that named
him. Belt said the NCAA’s
investigation turned up assistant coaches at several schools,
including Auburn, Georgia,
Nebraska, Texas and Mississippi State, who were not solicited in
their recruitment of
Means.
“There were undoubtedly coaches who were pitched such a deal,”
Belt said, “but there were just as clearly some coaches, like my
client, who were not pitched the deal.”
Williams admitted to a secondary violation of exceeding NCAA
limits on recruiting visits to schools in the Memphis area.
Alabama self-reported that violation in January and self¬
imposed a penalty that NCAA investigators accepted.
Williams will receive a letter from the NCAA confirming that
allegations against him have been dropped and will start looking
for a collegiate coaching position.
“There’s no problem now,” he said. “I’m free and clear of it,
and I’m ready to move on.” Williams spent the past season as a
volunteer assistant coach at Central High School.
Cottrell is also named in a secondary violation self-reported by
Alabama, which cited his involvement in having a traffic ticket
against a UA player fixed.
Alabama still faces allegations of nine major violations of NCAA
rules, although sources close to the investigation say that UA
vigorously disputed several of those charges at its
pre-conference hearing. UA officials will attend a Nov. 17
meeting of the Committee on Infractions in Indianapolis, where
the case will be heard. A report on the final findings and
penalties in the case is expected to come about six weeks later.
Sports editor Cecil Hurt contributed to this report.
