![]() ![]() A member of Shannon’s coaching staff who asked to remain anonymous said Shannon met with Shapiro once, and was turned off by the booster’s arrogance. Meanwhile, UM insiders told the Miami Herald that Shapiro was more groupie than well-meaning donor. “It was accusations from a convicted felon that stole $930 million that was being made from jail. “It wasn’t on my radar screen, because seven months had elapsed from the allegations to the time that I came to Texas Tech, and there were no further allegations made or questions come forward relating to this situation,” Hocutt said. Texas Tech is standing behind Hocutt, who explained to the Lubbock paper why the Shapiro probe didn’t come up during the hiring process at Tech. Hocutt said he didn’t know why the NCAA waited more than six months to begin a formal investigation, and added his decision to leave UM for Texas Tech had nothing to do with the Shapiro situation. ![]() There were never any special experiences provided to this individual that weren’t provided to other donors at his level. “There are special events throughout the course of the year that Golden Cane members receive access and invitations to, so as a Golden Cane you’re going to receive those invitations. “At Miami, one of the higher giving levels is a ‘Golden Cane’ and there are over 200 Golden Canes within the athletic program. “He was no different than any other donor at those levels,” Hocutt told the Avalanche-Journal. As an athletic booster, Shapiro donated $150,000 to the program, a gift that earned him naming rights to a student lounge for a brief time. ![]() Hocutt also strongly denied an allegation in an Associated Press story in which an unnamed source said he approved much of Shapiro’s access to the program. Shannon hasn’t publicly commented.įormer UM athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who left the program in February after three years to take the same post at Texas Tech, told the Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal he had no knowledge of any improprieties involving Shapiro and any UM players or coaches. Haith said he has been contacted by the NCAA Coker, through a UTSA spokesman, said he has not. Of the three, only Haith is implicated by Shapiro in the Yahoo! story, along with six former assistants. Maria Elena Perez, Shapiro’s attorney, claimed in an interview with WTVJ in Miami that former head football coaches Randy Shannon and Larry Coker (currently the head coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio) and former head basketball coach Frank Haith (now at the University of Missouri) each knew about the gifts. ![]() Shapiro said he decided to write the book because he felt betrayed by former UM football players after they made it in the NFL.Īmong the current NFL stars named by Shapiro in the Yahoo! story are Vince Wilfork, Antrel Rolle, Kellen Winslow Jr., Andre Johnson, Jon Beason and Devin Hester. It was then Shapiro told the Miami Herald he was writing a tell-all book in which he would disclose how UM had violated a long list of NCAA rules. While that is unlikely, what first-year coaches Al Golden (football) and Jim Larranaga (basketball) need to be most concerned about are the loss of scholarships and lucrative postseason appearances.Īccording to various reports, UM first contacted the NCAA in August 2010 when it first got a whiff of the allegations. Only a vindictive hanger-on like Shapiro would glibly bring up the notion of UM getting the so-called “death penalty” from the NCAA, as he did in the Yahoo! interview. There are so many moving pieces to this story that any rush to judgement would be foolhardy. UM now finds itself squarely in the scope of the NCAA, which acknowledged it’s been investigating the allegations for five months. ![]()
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