HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- The jobs-for-props program that led to NCAA sanctions for Marshall University's football team started with Jim Donnan and continued with Bob Pruett, according to Thundering Herd booster Marshall Reynolds' most recent deposition.
Click here for to read Marshall Reynolds' deposition (Editors Note: Material in this document could be offensive)
Furthermore, Reynolds claims he had only one contact with a compliance official in about 10 years, from the time he started hiring academic non-qualifiers to the time he stopped.
Charleston attorney Jon Matthews, of Forman & Huber, deposed Reynolds on June 9 as part of Dr. B. David Ridpath's ongoing lawsuit against Pruett and other former or current university officials.
Click here to read Pruett's deposition
Ridpath is the former Marshall Athletic Department employee who took the brunt of the blame when NCAA officials punished the university for the following violations: impermissible employment of academic non-qualifiers at rates four times the prevailing wage, academic fraud and a lack of institutional control.
The football program could award only 20 athletic scholarships -- down from 25 --- to players in the 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 academic years. It also could have only 80 scholarship players -- down from 85 -- on its roster during those years.
With its depth decimated by the NCAA sanctions, Marshall has stumbled to three consecutive losing seasons -- 4-7 in 2005, 5-7 in '06 and 3-9 in '07.
In his first year as Marshall's head coach, Donnan talked to Reynolds about finding jobs for three or four props each year.
"We worked out a little program," Reynolds said.
"(Donnan) said if we could get, I think, three kids a year, which later he wanted to do four, it could make a big difference. Something like that. Some really good kids, really good athletes."
Donnan would send props to work for Reynolds' companies on the weekends, the booster said.
"I think they were all non-qualifiers," Reynolds said. "I think they were all Prop 48 kids. I wouldn't know a Prop 48 from a Prop 22. I mean, they are kids.
"Well, (Donnan) said (they were props). And they couldn't play as freshmen, had to come, pay their own way to school. I guess they had to make passing grades. Then, they could go on scholarship. That's the way I understood what he said."
Reynolds said the only time he spoke with a compliance officer was two or three days after Donnan started the project.
"I never ever heard from Marshall University after that, Mr. Ridpath or anybody," he said.
Pruett was hired to replace Donnan, who left Marshall to become the head coach at the University of Georgia in 1995. Donnan had a 64-21 record in five seasons with the Herd.
Reynolds said former Marshall Athletic Director Lee Moon introduced the booster to Pruett, who wanted to continue the jobs-for-props program after he heard about it.
"Coach Pruett said, 'Gee, this is obviously not broke, so I don't want to fix it. Would you feel comfortable continuing, keep doing what we are doing?' I said, 'That's fine.' "
Reynolds said the props received a flat rate -- $100 for an eight-hour shift Saturday and $100 for an eight-hour shift Sunday -- for working at MacCorkle Machine.
Reynolds said he set their pay, which wasn't based on hours.
"Some companies use daily rates of pay, like the railroad," Reynolds said. "If you go to work on the railroad as a telegrapher, you make $91 a day. That's the rate of pay."
In sworn affidavits, former Thundering Herd linebackers Sam Goines and Charlie Tynes said they received $25 per hour -- or $200 per day for an eight-hour shift -- from Chapman Printing, which is owned by Reynolds.
Reynolds said he realizes some players were paid even when they were absent.
"I'm sure some kids sneaked off," Reynolds said. "And as I found out, some kids didn't show up for Sundays sometimes. But neither did this kid that was running the program. They were all marked present. I have since learned that. But that happens. Not a big deal."
Reynolds said he didn't discuss details about the program with Pruett, who retired in 2005 as the winningest coach in Marshall history with a 94-23 record in nine seasons with the Thundering Herd.
Reynolds said he never thought there was anything wrong with it.
"I knew that morally it was a good program," said Reynolds, who couldn't associate with Marshall for five years because of the NCAA sanctions. "It was a good program for poor kids.
"Being a poor kid, I could relate to it. I didn't dream people like the NCAA was so stupid they couldn't see that, or so nitpicky."
Reynolds said neither he nor Eric Eckhart, a former employee who monitored the players in the jobs-for-props program, intended it to be a free ride.
"I made that plain to Coach Donnan going in," Reynolds said, "because we had other kids working there. We weren't going to let the jocks come over and stand around with their finger in their (butt)."
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- The jobs-for-props program that led to NCAA sanctions for Marshall University's football team started with Jim Donnan and continued with Bob Pruett, according to Thundering Herd booster Marshall Reynolds' most recent deposition.
Click here for to read Marshall Reynolds' deposition (Editors Note: Material in this document could be offensive)
Furthermore, Reynolds claims he had only one contact with a compliance official in about 10 years, from the time he started hiring academic non-qualifiers to the time he stopped.
Charleston attorney Jon Matthews, of Forman & Huber, deposed Reynolds on June 9 as part of Dr. B. David Ridpath's ongoing lawsuit against Pruett and other former or current university officials.
Click here to read Pruett's deposition Ridpath is the former Marshall Athletic Department employee who took the brunt of the blame when NCAA officials punished the university for the following violations: impermissible employment of academic non-qualifiers at rates four times the prevailing wage, academic fraud and a lack of institutional control.
The football program could award only 20 athletic scholarships -- down from 25 --- to players in the 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 academic years. It also could have only 80 scholarship players -- down from 85 -- on its roster during those years.
With its depth decimated by the NCAA sanctions, Marshall has stumbled to three consecutive losing seasons -- 4-7 in 2005, 5-7 in '06 and 3-9 in '07.
In his first year as Marshall's head coach, Donnan talked to Reynolds about finding jobs for three or four props each year.
"We worked out a little program," Reynolds said.
"(Donnan) said if we could get, I think, three kids a year, which later he wanted to do four, it could make a big difference. Something like that. Some really good kids, really good athletes."
Donnan would send props to work for Reynolds' companies on the weekends, the booster said.
"I think they were all non-qualifiers," Reynolds said. "I think they were all Prop 48 kids. I wouldn't know a Prop 48 from a Prop 22. I mean, they are kids.
"Well, (Donnan) said (they were props). And they couldn't play as freshmen, had to come, pay their own way to school. I guess they had to make passing grades. Then, they could go on scholarship. That's the way I understood what he said."
Reynolds said the only time he spoke with a compliance officer was two or three days after Donnan started the project.
"I never ever heard from Marshall University after that, Mr. Ridpath or anybody," he said.
Pruett was hired to replace Donnan, who left Marshall to become the head coach at the University of Georgia in 1995. Donnan had a 64-21 record in five seasons with the Herd.
Reynolds said former Marshall Athletic Director Lee Moon introduced the booster to Pruett, who wanted to continue the jobs-for-props program after he heard about it.
"Coach Pruett said, 'Gee, this is obviously not broke, so I don't want to fix it. Would you feel comfortable continuing, keep doing what we are doing?' I said, 'That's fine.' "
Reynolds said the props received a flat rate -- $100 for an eight-hour shift Saturday and $100 for an eight-hour shift Sunday -- for working at MacCorkle Machine.
Reynolds said he set their pay, which wasn't based on hours.
"Some companies use daily rates of pay, like the railroad," Reynolds said. "If you go to work on the railroad as a telegrapher, you make $91 a day. That's the rate of pay."
In sworn affidavits, former Thundering Herd linebackers Sam Goines and Charlie Tynes said they received $25 per hour -- or $200 per day for an eight-hour shift -- from Chapman Printing, which is owned by Reynolds.
Reynolds said he realizes some players were paid even when they were absent.
"I'm sure some kids sneaked off," Reynolds said. "And as I found out, some kids didn't show up for Sundays sometimes. But neither did this kid that was running the program. They were all marked present. I have since learned that. But that happens. Not a big deal."
Reynolds said he didn't discuss details about the program with Pruett, who retired in 2005 as the winningest coach in Marshall history with a 94-23 record in nine seasons with the Thundering Herd.
Reynolds said he never thought there was anything wrong with it.
"I knew that morally it was a good program," said Reynolds, who couldn't associate with Marshall for five years because of the NCAA sanctions. "It was a good program for poor kids.
"Being a poor kid, I could relate to it. I didn't dream people like the NCAA was so stupid they couldn't see that, or so nitpicky."
Reynolds said neither he nor Eric Eckhart, a former employee who monitored the players in the jobs-for-props program, intended it to be a free ride.
"I made that plain to Coach Donnan going in," Reynolds said, "because we had other kids working there. We weren't going to let the jocks come over and stand around with their finger in their (butt)."
Meanwhile back in Huntington, those left in the athletic department have to deal with probation and the other $$!# that those two fine individuals left behind.
For those of us who borrowed money, worked (really worked) 30-40 hours per week and still maintained a better than 3.0 GPA to keep our ACADEMIC scholarship this is a slap in the face.
I eventually went to work for Marshall and was around the athletic department during Jim Donnan's days. Yes, most of us knew about this sort of thing, some of the other folks even laughed about it in disbelief. There were also the envelopes that the football players got after the game...reportedly with cash for food.
This country needs to get its head out of its collective A## and put more emphasis on academics rather than athletics in college. Before all you jokers start whining about "oh it's the only way some of these poor kids will get an education"...stop it with that load of BS! There are no free rides, if you can't cut it find something else to do. Spend as much time studying as you do on the ball field and you'll do fine.