More than a full week has passed since the hearing of still-suspended Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle, and the only news to report is that there is still no news out of Indianapolis on his long-term status.
Bauerle has been suspended to various degrees since the end of last season over allegations that he helped Georgia swimmer Chase Kalisz enroll in a class late in the semester and got him extra time to work on assignments to help him maintain his eligibility. Kalisz was briefly suspended as well, but was reinstated in time to win the 400 IM NCAA Championship in the spring – and in the process he swam the fastest time ever recorded at any level in that event.
Prior to Bauerle’s hearing in front of the Committee on Infractions, on October 16th, Georgia president Jere W. Morehead released the following statement:
A delegation from the University of Georgia met with the NCAA Committee on Infractions today in Indianapolis to discuss the ongoing case involving our head swimming and diving coach. The Committee has instructed us not to comment on the substance of today’s hearing. All I can say is that we appreciated the opportunity to present our case to the Committee on Infractions. We look forward to receiving the Committee’s ruling.”
A spokesperson for the school today reaffirmed that this was the only information they had on the pending proceedings at this time. Several other sources close to the program have told SwimSwam as well that they have not heard any information about the proceedings or their potential outcome (or timing of a decision) either.
While no information regarding the NCAA’s opinion on the allegations has been released, Georgia’s current and former swimmers have remained steadfast in support of their embattled coach. Two of Bauerle’s best from the 1990’s, Kristy Kowal and Kara Forbis, penned an open letter in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on the eve of his hearing asking the school to support their former coach in the way that the school has publicly supported embattled running back Todd Gurley.
For now, there’s nothing new to report on the status of Bauerle with the NCAA early signing period looming. The Bulldogs will host SEC rivals the Florida Gators in a dual meet on Friday.
There is no historical evidence in Jack Bauerle’s history at Georgia to suggest anything but exemplary behavior and sportsmanship. There is no financial loss to anyone but this coach so no pressure for the NCAA to be more expeditious in completing their review. Because Swimming is not a cash cow like Football or Basketball, there appears to be no hurry on the part of the NCAA to complete their review in a timely fashion. Jack has recruited quality human beings who are also great swimmers during his tenure at UGA. I sincerely wonder if the same charges were levied against the head Football or Men’s Basketball Coach that the University would have suspended them prior to NCAA review.
I think it is terrible the lengthly process this has been. But in hindsight I feel that there also has not been enough said that Harvey Humphries has a great coaching background and record. All the Georgia coaches have a fantastic background. Harvey has been part of the coaching staff for the USA National and Olympic teams. The negativity that is always shown about Georgia is amazing and the positives under announced. Georgia has a fantastic coaching staff and the teams are swimming strong as ever, don’t be fooled.
Keep in mind that the Committee only meets once a month and July, August, and September are reserved for football issues. Priorities, people!
Remember, the truth always rises to the surface. In this case it’s just taking a bit longer to reveal itself.
I’m sure the NCAA did their due diligence, and looked at more than the Chase Kalisz situation. If Bauerle blatantly broke the rules once, it really makes you wonder how many other times he did it.
All the OSU supporters didn’t seem to care that Tressel lied several times directly to the NCAA. They kept saying how great of a guy he was. That may be true, but you can’t do stuff like that.
Bauerle seems like a really good guy, and he’s obviously one of the best coaches we’ve seen, but you can’t do illegal stuff.
I’ve heard that many lawyers were involved–that, in addition to looking at Bauerle’s long history checking for other incidents, are probably a few… Read more »
Seems like cruel and unusual punishment to keep this coach and the Georgia program hanging in limbo. Speedy trial and all that? But then, this is the NCAA and they don’t seem to answer to anyone. This has already hurt their recruiting; however, there is so much talent there that Georgia will still be a threat for during the 2114-2115 season.
I don’t think there is any way to forecast how good Georgia will be in 2114-2115 🙂