Stupid Is As Stupid Does: Franchione Investigation Uncovers Three Violations

by Peter Bean on Oct 11, 2007 11:05 AM CDT in Football Comment 10 comments

Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne told reporters today that an internal investigation conducted by Texas A&M uncovered three potential violations related to Dennis Franchione's "VIP Newsletter."

(1) Franchione did not report to A&M income generated through his Web site or from the VIP Connection. The school said Franchione thought he did not have to report the income until he actually received the proceeds that exceeded expenses incurred for maintaining the Web site.

(2) The VIP Connection occasionally contained information about prospective student-athletes. The NCAA prohibits a school from commenting publicly on recruits until they sign letters of intent.

(3) The school suggested that Franchione violated Big 12 standards of sportsmanship.

Three strikes, you're out?

Maybe not. For now, Byrne says Franchione will be administered a "letter of admonishment" - whatever that means. One wonders exactly how an already cynical Aggie fanbase will welcome the findings of this investigation. Though Byrne appears to be sidestepping an in-season housecleaning, the odds of Fran surviving beyond this year appear increasingly slim.

--PB--

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Ummm

The school said Franchione thought he did not have to report the income until he actually received the proceeds that exceeded expenses incurred for maintaining the Web site

For any of us that have created, had, or maintained a website, if he wasn't covering his costs for that website with a $1,200 subscriber fee, then we need:

(4) - The school suggested that Fran's head may in fact be up his ass.

by JT Longhorn on Oct 11, 2007 11:36 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

contract violation

I heard the guys on AM 1300 discussing this earlier, and it was suggested that if he in fact violated his contract (by not reporting outside income), then they could possibly fire him without buying out the contract. Not sure if that's true or not, but it sounds reasonable.

Personally, I'd kind of like to see him stay at A&M for a while. ;-)

by SelimSivad on Oct 11, 2007 12:00 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I find it hilarious

that a group of angry alums, who used to kiss his arse and willingly paid the jack for those subscriptions, then plunged a knife in Fran's back by exposing his little newsletter.

Aggie thy name is Judas.

It doesn't matter what Bryne or anyone else on that campus thinks. If big money donors set their cross hairs on your forehead, you are done.

Cats and dogs sleeping together.

by EYESofBEVO on Oct 11, 2007 12:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

newsletter recipients

They have all of their non-disclosure agreements up on the statesman's website, along with their email addresses. I was thinking about sending them some "inside information" - like "A&M Sucks!!!" and "You're an idiot for paying $1200 for worthless information." But I decided to take the high road and just laugh at them.

by SelimSivad on Oct 11, 2007 12:39 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

follow the money..

it's all about the buyout...

These will all be used as negotiating points when they talk to Fran seriously about "resigning", particularly when it comes to the payout.

In spite of all the fans screaming, and the talk about how the money doesn't matter, they're looking at a huge payout right now, and those big dollars are a lot easier to blithely wave off when you're just making noise on the radio or the internet than when you're actually cutting a check for real money of your own...

I'm kinda hoping they win just enough to make the old "tough schedule" excuse and keep him on for another year. Hmmmmmmm, another year of Frantastic recruiting....

by agent orange on Oct 11, 2007 12:40 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm really trying

to get as righteously indignant about these cruel accusations and innuendo as possible, since it would be an absolute disaster if Dennis Franchione were not the coach of the Texas A&M Aggies. Should he be forced to move out of College Station, so would Coach Leach have to sell his vacation home that he maintains inside Franchione's head on Saturdays. That's bad.

Leave Coach Fran alone!

by Red Blooded on Oct 11, 2007 12:47 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

True Story...

Coach Fran's wife, Kim, was my 3rd grade teacher. She was a fox.

More pointless information to follow...

by saveadre on Oct 11, 2007 1:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Over at Dawg Sports

the game between Tech and A&M is billed as the national game of disinterest. One would think that a coach would be happy with being paid over a million dollars and be too busy preparing for the next game to have time typing a newsletter with a high subscription cost. But just like the spoken word version of a rap song as covered by William Shatner Franchione found a way. I take that back, he did not find a way since they were battling Fresno State in overtime and were exposed by Miami.

by monolake on Oct 11, 2007 3:32 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

A&M has made everything public

Pretty shocking what they put in writing and then distributed.

http://www.aggieathletics.com/featur...

Cats and dogs sleeping together.

by EYESofBEVO on Oct 11, 2007 3:52 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It really is...

It's the kind of full public disclosure that is setting the stage for a dismissal at the end of the year that we all know is coming. As an accountant, I like how they were on the 2-year fiscal year, conveniently ending a couple of months before this all came public. Such a formal income statement too, it could never have been put together hastily a few weeks ago.

It's amazing how bad Fran has embarrassed Bill Byrne, on the field and off. You know privately he wants to stick it to him.

by JT Longhorn on Oct 11, 2007 4:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs