NCAA Football

NCAA Investigating Recruitment Of Auburn QB Cam Newton

Well, here’s a disappointing turn in what to date is a truly amazing season for Auburn quarterback Cam Newton – the NCAA is investigating his recruitment, specifically his ties to a man named Kenny Rogers, who allegedly offered Newton’s services to Mississippi State in exchange for a cash sum in the six figures.

Rogers’ accuser is John Bond – the two played football together at Mississippi State in the 1980s. According to Bond, Rogers said Mississippi State could have Newton for “only” $180,000, since Newton liked the school. Rogers apparently gets all this money running a company called Elite Football Preparation. ESPN’s writeup doesn’t make Rogers’ affiliation with this company sound promising:

A Lexis search for that business lists Kenneth Rogers as the contact and his title as “agent.” A Birmingham News story from 2008 said Elite Football Preparation “matches high school athletes with college programs.”

Newton’s father denied any wrongdoing on the family’s part, while the NCAA and Auburn declined comment. (Auburn did say Newton’s still eligible, so at we’ll still see him on the field.) Still, a distraction like this is exactly what a resurgent Auburn team didn’t need. This isn’t the first time Rogers’ name has surfaced around an investigation, and suddenly, the big story around Auburn isn’t their great quarterback but the circumstances under which they obtained his services.

For Mississippi State, though, it could be a huge PR victory. Bond blew the whistle on Rogers’ alleged infractions, and if anything comes of the NCAA’s investigation, the Bulldogs will likely come out above the fray, as today’s report also said Mississippi State declined to get involved with Rogers. Time will tell if Auburn did the same.

Either way, thus far, the Newton saga has worked out for all parties. Auburn is undefeated, and even though Mississippi State couldn’t lure Newton to campus (despite that he reportedly wanted to go there), they’re 7-2 and enjoying their best season in years. It would be shame if Newton’s inspiring story ended as another cautionary tale of what can happen when big money works its way into college athletics (or at least, when it’s caught).

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