If you’re looking for any new information regarding the NCAA’s tampering investigation into Ole Miss, you’re going to be disappointed.
There isn’t much to report, and that might be the clearest sign the case is still very much alive.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told On3 on Thursday at ACC Media Days he hasn’t heard a thing from the NCAA. That’s not surprising.
“They don’t have an obligation to report to me, right?” Swinney told On3. “So I don’t know anything other than what we (previously) talked about.”
As he pointed out, the NCAA doesn’t owe him updates. It doesn’t owe anyone updates, really. And so far, nothing has leaked, nothing has surfaced and nothing has hinted at where this is headed.
Ole Miss and head coach Pete Golding remain under investigation for alleged tampering with former Cal/Clemson linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
Swinney has been vocal about what he believes happened, spending an hour detailing the “straight forward tampering” and accusing Golding of texting Ferrelli a photo of a million-dollar contract while Ferrelli was enrolled at Clemson. Golding has denied wrongdoing and said in May that the compliance department is handling everything.
That was two months ago. Since then, silence.
The timing matters now. SEC Media Days start next week. Ole Miss opens the season against Louisville in 51 days. If the NCAA plans to hand down a punishment, the window for doing it without overshadowing the season is shrinking fast.
Of course, that assumes there will be a punishment. And that’s where things get complicated.
Tampering isn’t some rare offense. It’s everywhere. Coaches know it. Players know it. Fans know it. ESPN ran an article about it last October before Lane Kiffin had even left for LSU.
If the NCAA decides Ole Miss crossed a line, it has to be ready to apply the same standard to every other program caught doing the same thing. That’s a tall order, especially when the sport has spent the last few years pretending tampering is both illegal and unavoidable.
There’s also the matter of receipts. Sources told On3 that if Golding is sanctioned, he’s prepared to expose how widespread tampering really is. That’s not a threat as much as it is a reality.
If the NCAA pushes, Ole Miss can push back. And the Rebels probably have enough examples to make their point.
So the update is simple. There is no update. The investigation appears to be ongoing. Swinney is still waiting. Ole Miss is still waiting.
And the NCAA is still deciding whether it wants to enforce a rule that almost no one in college football actually follows.
Whatever happens, the clock is ticking.
