Oregon, You're On The Clock

And you have Willie Lyles and Lache Seastrunk ((among others)) to thank for this go-round...

The NCAA relayed the official "Notice of Inquiry" in a telephone call to Oregon President Richard Lariviere this week. The school announced this development before Oregon's game against Missouri State.

The inquiry is the result of reports that surfaced this spring concerning payments Oregon made to recruiting services, including a $25,000 payment to Willie Lyles and Houston-based Complete Scouting Services.

Most of the info Lyles and CSS gave Oregon was outdated and even included information on players that were playing against the Ducks in bowl games.

"This notice has been anticipated and is simply the next stage of the process," UO athletic director Rob Mullens said in a University release. "The University of Oregon football program, from Head Coach Chip Kelly through the entire organization, has tremendous respect for the NCAA's important role in monitoring collegiate athletics and, to this end, continues to fully cooperate with the NCAA 's ongoing examination.

"The Athletic Department, Coach Kelly and the entire staff remain committed to operating the athletics program consistent with the highest standards and ensuring our program follows best practices."


Of course, you will...

Lyles has admitted that he made a mistake in this and that CSS, for all intents and purposes, is a dead business nowadays...

Interesting to see who comes out alive in this one...

Is anyone buying what Chip Kelly and Oregon are saying?

Willie Lyles/Courtesy: oregonlive.com

No, we aren't "Breaking" a new story here, but we've been monitoring this story and have some serious, (well-sort of) questions about what Oregon and so-called street agent Willie Lyles are trying to tell us.

In this era of schools bending and in some cases just flat-out breaking the NCAA rules on recruiting, this story of Oregon allegedly "Buying" Lyles's services smells...kind of badly, but it also explains some things.

As you may know, Oregon coach Chip Kelly paid Lyles for his "Scouting Service". He allegedly sent information and videos of recruits to Oregon. The problem is, there is some question of Lyles "Scouting Service".

John Canzano of the Oregonian tracked Lyles down at his "Day Job" at a Houston grocery store.

And yes, the obvious question if that's Lyles day job, how exactly does he compile his "Scouting" reports? Lyles told Canzano about wanting to "Help" Houston area kids do "Better" for themselves.

In a Yahoo Sports interview, Lyles admitted he wasn't "Paid" for the "Scouting" service by Oregon, the payment was for "Access" or it was implied that it would be for that. The question is, considering Lyles ties to LaMichael James and the assumption he'd steer star recruit Lache Sistrunk to Oregon; were the Ducks trying to buy influence? It's a cloudy parallel, but one that raised many of the current questions today.

Read the Canzano story RIGHT HERE

And, this gets better. Kelly, on the day Yahoo broke the story about payments from Oregon and its head coach, told Canzano he'd never heard of Lyles.

Read that story from the Oregonian RIGHT HERE

Chip Kelly

Lyles has also admitted to escorting potential recruits to LSU. And while LSU hasn't been implicated in anything...yet, keep your ears open.

We don't begrudge Lyles, he's doing...or did what many are or have done in the past few years. Become street agents and make a tidy profit from it.

So here is essentially where we are at:

Someone is flat out lying here. Chip Kelly has more or less been caught lying to a writer. The question is: did he lie to the NCAA?

Oregon hasn't been above board in recruiting. We aren't saying this is connected, but how is it they went from Pac-10 also-ran for pretty much the history of the program to being a national powerhouse? We aren't alleging they cheated, but the circumstantial evidence is starting to pile up.

Despite the school saying they've done nothing wrong and they are cooperating with the NCAA, we wonder how serious that this is being taken. No, it hasn't caught on with the furor and headlines the Ohio State scandal did, but we are wondering if this is just as bad?

We also think that Darth Knight (Phil Knight) of Nike is somewhat complicit in all of this too. Having the CEO of the worlds largest Sporting Goods company as your primary benefactor and supplier doesn't hurt. There are starting to be questions about what they do for recruits...such as provide limited edition sneakers for said recruits, to really make you wonder.

Either way, we along with many other Sports reporting outlets will be watching. Because if it looks like a Duck, smells like a Duck and tastes like a Duck, it probably is going to get you in trouble.

Couldn't think of a more appropriate video than this:

Willie Lyles and Oregon: The problem or part of a bigger problem?

Oregon Football/Courtesy: goducks.com

((ht: canzano/oregonlive.com))

You'll have to excuse the not weighing in on this due to the vacation that the Satellite HQ was on. But we are back and yep...we've got questions.

We are quickly catching up on the story involving the University of Oregon (and possibly others) and its relationship to a "Street Agent", one Willie Lyles and what all of this means.

For some reading, check out this excellent background piece by John Canzano of The Oregonian RIGHT HERE

This raises a ton of questions, some of which we've raised in the past. Obviously, the street agent business is a thriving one and very successful. Isn't that something the NCAA should be aware of? Should they not be making them go away? Does it not go against everything they claim to stand for?

We had heard rumors that a "Big" school was about to be "Exposed" in an investigation. Since we are just catching up, it appears Oregon is that school. Or are they?

This whole process of paying a guy such as Lyles and miraculously showing up with a prized recruit, one Lache Seastrunk that he just so happens to claim to represent....hmmmm. Sure, it raises some red flags. Particularly when a school such as Oregon who desperately wants to be "Big Time"...has...on their ledger no less, a payment to just such a shady character. That character. One Willie Lyles.

There isn't an indication, yet, that Oregon did anything wrong. Which to us is astounding. Is this not the very thing the NCAA is allegedly trying to stop? We'll see where the investigation turns as it appears Mr. Lyles was on the payroll of more than just the Ducks.

Here's the other reason we think the NCAA should be investigating Oregon. One large booster by the name of Mr. Phil Knight. Or as he's known, the chairman of NIKE.

Here's ESPN's Bruce Feldman explaining what "Recruiting Services" are: