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TALLAHASSEE - Florida State University President T.K. Wetherell told the Orlando Sentinel in an exclusive interview that he did not trust the school's athletic department to conduct an investigation into allegations of academic fraud involving approximately 50 athletes.
Wetherell, who will try to focus attention on a new era when he introduces a new athletic director this morning, has told the Sentinel that officials in the athletic department tried to "circle the wagons" when confronted with the allegations months ago.
Former athletic director Dave Hart denied Wetherell's characterization, insisting that he informed the president's office of the details as soon as he heard about them.
Questions directed at Wetherell today likely will focus less on the future than on the 10-month investigation into the cheating scandal that could lead to sanctions by the NCAA.
In his interview with the Sentinel on Jan. 24, Wetherell criticized his athletic department, called the university's Athletic Academic Support Services a "paper tiger" and described an environment early in the investigation in which "everybody was pointing fingers at everybody."
"One of the things that was frustrating about this whole process," Wetherell said, "was that as we began to unravel this thing in athletics, their solution was circle the wagons, don't tell [the president's office] what's going on."
When the investigation into academic fraud concludes, Wetherell admits, the school "should bear some of that brunt" from the National Collegiate Athletic Association in terms of sanctions against the athletic department. But Wetherell said, "It's not like some coach went out there and dreamed up this scheme. It just isn't the way it is. I'm comfortable with what we did [in response]."
Florida State announced in late September that it had discovered academic misconduct among 23 athletes in multiple sports. But FSU's final report has been delayed several months because the scope of the probe widened.
Music course
It's possible the university could submit its final report to the NCAA this week. It likely will detail, among other things, widespread academic misconduct in an online course titled "MUH 2051: Music of World Cultures" -- a course designed for nonmusic majors that meets a liberal-studies graduation requirement.
The school has not identified the course in question. But its creator and professor, Dale Olsen, confirmed to the Sentinel his course is at the center of the investigation.
FSU determined the misconduct occurred when athletes, athletic tutors and other students gathered for tests. The most egregious abuse, Wetherell confirmed, came when an athletic tutor "started hollering" answers during examinations.
"That's a violation of NCAA rules right there," Wetherell said. "Then they even got sloppier when [a tutor] actually took some tests for [athletes], because they were too . . . lazy to study.
"That's what happened. Plain and simple."
The course, which still exists with modified testing procedures, might have remained a breeding ground for academic corruption were it not for a whistle-blower who came forward last March.
Taking someone else's test
According to its initial report, FSU determined that on March 23 last year a former "learning specialist" in the department of Athletic Academic Support Services (AASS) provided answers and instructed one athlete to take an online exam for another.
On March 28, the athlete whom the learning specialist had instructed to take the test confessed the action to his athletic academic adviser.
In a matter of days, the information worked its way from Mark Meleney, then the director of AASS, to Hart, and finally to Wetherell.
Meleney could not be reached for comment.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/seminoles/orl-newfsu0408feb04,0,3525431.story
Wetherell, who will try to focus attention on a new era when he introduces a new athletic director this morning, has told the Sentinel that officials in the athletic department tried to "circle the wagons" when confronted with the allegations months ago.
Former athletic director Dave Hart denied Wetherell's characterization, insisting that he informed the president's office of the details as soon as he heard about them.
Questions directed at Wetherell today likely will focus less on the future than on the 10-month investigation into the cheating scandal that could lead to sanctions by the NCAA.
In his interview with the Sentinel on Jan. 24, Wetherell criticized his athletic department, called the university's Athletic Academic Support Services a "paper tiger" and described an environment early in the investigation in which "everybody was pointing fingers at everybody."
"One of the things that was frustrating about this whole process," Wetherell said, "was that as we began to unravel this thing in athletics, their solution was circle the wagons, don't tell [the president's office] what's going on."
When the investigation into academic fraud concludes, Wetherell admits, the school "should bear some of that brunt" from the National Collegiate Athletic Association in terms of sanctions against the athletic department. But Wetherell said, "It's not like some coach went out there and dreamed up this scheme. It just isn't the way it is. I'm comfortable with what we did [in response]."
Florida State announced in late September that it had discovered academic misconduct among 23 athletes in multiple sports. But FSU's final report has been delayed several months because the scope of the probe widened.
Music course
It's possible the university could submit its final report to the NCAA this week. It likely will detail, among other things, widespread academic misconduct in an online course titled "MUH 2051: Music of World Cultures" -- a course designed for nonmusic majors that meets a liberal-studies graduation requirement.
The school has not identified the course in question. But its creator and professor, Dale Olsen, confirmed to the Sentinel his course is at the center of the investigation.
FSU determined the misconduct occurred when athletes, athletic tutors and other students gathered for tests. The most egregious abuse, Wetherell confirmed, came when an athletic tutor "started hollering" answers during examinations.
"That's a violation of NCAA rules right there," Wetherell said. "Then they even got sloppier when [a tutor] actually took some tests for [athletes], because they were too . . . lazy to study.
"That's what happened. Plain and simple."
The course, which still exists with modified testing procedures, might have remained a breeding ground for academic corruption were it not for a whistle-blower who came forward last March.
Taking someone else's test
According to its initial report, FSU determined that on March 23 last year a former "learning specialist" in the department of Athletic Academic Support Services (AASS) provided answers and instructed one athlete to take an online exam for another.
On March 28, the athlete whom the learning specialist had instructed to take the test confessed the action to his athletic academic adviser.
In a matter of days, the information worked its way from Mark Meleney, then the director of AASS, to Hart, and finally to Wetherell.
Meleney could not be reached for comment.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/seminoles/orl-newfsu0408feb04,0,3525431.story
