| | Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Critics who continue questioning whether
University of Tennessee is offering improper academic help to
athletes "should stop chasing windmills and get back to their day
jobs," a school official says.
Carmen Tegano, associate athletic director at Tennessee and head
of academic counseling for athletes, on Tuesday vehemently disputed
the latest allegations of misconduct by English professor Linda
Bensel-Meyers.
In his first extensive interview since ESPN.com reported the
allegations months ago, Tegano told The Tennessean in Nashville
that he looks forward to responding to the specific allegations
raised by Bensel-Meyers.
"Now, hopefully ... we can get people at a table and discuss
these issues," Tegano said.
Bensel-Meyers analyzed the academic transcripts of 37 football players and two other athletes, and released them in anonymous form without students' names listed. Among her findings: athletes failed even "soft courses" aimed at
keeping them eligible, like jogging, bowling and walking;
some seniors on the football team had yet to be accepted into a formal program of study, and grades were frequently changed.
John Peter, the Provost, reviewed her findings and declared that there were no NCAA or institutional violations. But the Faculty Senate on Monday unanimously recommended that its athletics committee investigate the allegations of academic misconduct made in Bensel-Meyers' summary of the transcripts.
Earlier, an internal lawyer for the university looked into allegations that tutors may have written papers for athletes. He found no violations of NCAA rules, and the NCAA enforcement staff also found no violations in a preliminary audit. Some of the papers in question were flagged by professors or other officials before they were turned in, so the players never got credit for the questionable work.
The NCAA did not look into Bensel-Meyers' more recent allegations, which focus on grade changes and the steering of players into less academically rigorous majors.
"The NCAA's review and the Faculty Senate's review were all
done by people who took the time, especially the Faculty Senate, to
visit with our tutors, visit with our athletes and visit with my
staff," Tegano said. "Some other people, however, have never been
to the crime scene."
However, he said he doesn't take Bensel-Meyers' claims lightly,
and has prepared his own report to show her findings are skewed or
inaccurate. He argues that grades of "incomplete" to a passing grade should not count as grade changes, which the faculty athletic committee and Bensel-Meyers counted in their assessments.
"I think it's time for people to stop chasing windmills and get
back to their day jobs," said Tegano, who has been at Tennessee
since 1985. "Our day job is to serve our students, and most
importantly, the university."
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