UCF Scandal

The Naples News has published an editorial calling on a full investigation into the death of Ereck Plancher. The paper’s editorial suggests perhaps the NCAA or even Florida’s Governor - Charlie Crist - may need to get involved.

There is too much at stake and one young man has died. As more time passes, recollections and will become diluted. UCF should be pressing forward and providing objective answers. The Naples News agrees:

Editorial: Football star’s death

UCF, or higher authority, must settle discrepancies

6:29 p.m., Monday, April 14, 2008

Until now, last month’s death of former Lely High School football star Ereck Plancher, 19, while practicing at the University of Central Florida, has been regarded as one of those tragedies that too often are part of life. A strong young person with a bright future is suddenly and unexpectedly snatched from our midst.

But now, Plancher’s death takes on another perspective, that of a tragedy that might have been avoided.

Four teammates — speaking under condition of anonymity — tell the Orlando Sentinel newspaper that Plancher was struggling to keep up with the rigor of the team’s workout that day and he was being scolded by the coach. He denies cursing at Plancher, but recalled telling people around him, “He’s better than that,” the Sentinel says.

In football there is nothing wrong with a hard workout. But why the differing stories? UCF officials call the workout routine while the interviewed players call it unusually tough, with other players vomiting and Plancher showing the most signs of distress.

There are NCAA rules for how strenuous springtime workouts can be, and UCF says the ill-fated March 18 indoor, air-conditioned session was within bounds.

Plancher’s loved ones say they want the truth. We all want to make sure of that. UCF also needs to know everything about what happened. The safety of future players and the integrity of its athletic program are at stake.

If the university is unable to conduct a timely and objective investigation, then someone else — such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association, perhaps — ought to be recruited.

Gov. Charlie Crist, by virtue of being the No. 1 elected official in a state where UCF is a prominent member of the public university system, ought to be in the wings ready to step in, if needed.

Nothing that anyone can do can bring back Ereck Plancher. Yet, the new comments from his teammates are serious. His legacy merits answers.

NaplesNews.com

Today’s entry in the Orlando Sentinel provides commentary from two of the players earlier reported the exercises were much more intense than UCF reported. This belief, if widely held by the UCF players, could be very detrimental to program and its student-athletes.

“After the funeral, we tried to move on and focus on football,” one player said. “We have a lot of work to do as a team, but it’s been hard because the coaches said a lot of things about what happened that day that weren’t true. I’m really angry they didn’t just tell the truth.”

This needs to be rectified. This is not about George O’Leary and the program. It’s not about lies. It’s about the death of a young man. A death that will remain a mystery if the truth is subdued.

Read the whole story in today’s Orlando Sentinel.

It is interesting that the only player to come forward to speak with the coaches on the Plancher situation, Cliff McCray, has decided to leave the program. He also turned down a follow-up meeting with Coach George O’Leary and instead talked with his parents.

From the Orlando Sentinel (April 14, 2008):

O’Leary denied the four players’ accounts (see earlier articles in which players claimed the football activity was more intense than UCF admits). He said he asked players to talk with coaches if they wanted to speak about what happened the day Plancher died. He said McCray is the only player who came forward and met with coaches.

And now he’s gone.

Read the full account on the Orlando Sentinel

Excerpt from Orlando Sentinel:

Plancher’s high school football coach Chris Metzger, along with numerous friends and family members, told the Sentinel Plancher collapsed during a UCF workout in late March or early April 2007. UCF coaches and trainers said they have no knowledge of Plancher collapsing, but they did have a note on his file that he needed water during a workout in summer 2007.

Read the entire report on Plancher at the Orlando Sentinel

For former UCF QB Steven Moffett, motivation different than intimidation

Shannon J. Owens
April 13, 2008

Says Moffett (in quotes):  “[O’Leary] said I wasn’t worth [expletive] and I’d never play here,” said Moffett, who was recruited by former coach Mike Kruczek.

Some call that incentive. I call that abuse. And that is the kind of environment Moffett said he and his teammates practiced in daily.

Moffett, 23, turned down offers from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Southern Mississippi for the opportunity to blossom under a Kruczek spread offense that would allow the athletic 6-foot-2 quarterback to throw the ball.

He considered transferring to Southern Miss when O’Leary arrived at UCF, but decided to stay so he could prove his worth to the new football coach.

But he would not get that affirmation. Instead, he says he was barraged with curses — the nicest one, he says, was “you stupid [expletive] idiot.” When the team lost, he said O’Leary would single him out as the reason for the loss.

Isn’t football supposed to be a team sport? “It doesn’t make you feel good at all,” he said. “I think he wanted me to snap on him, but I never did.”

“He’s a good coach, but he’s a disrespectful person,” Moffett said.

Entire report on the Orlando Sentinel

Bianchi: For UCF’s own good, it’s time for investigators to seek out the players and listen to what they have to say about the death of their teammate.

A team is built on believing in one another.

If you lose that trust — the trust of your players — your football program is doomed.

Read entire Bianchi story at Orlando Sentinel

Excerpt from Orlando Sentinel story linked below:

“The father of UCF football player Ereck Plancher, speaking for the first time since his son’s funeral, expressed concern about the family’s distant relationship with UCF and went so far as to say he was concerned about a ‘cover up.’”

And if that is not enough:

“Enock Plancher has remained silent since his son’s March 29 funeral. At the time, UCF told the media the school would pay for Ereck Plancher’s funeral. However, he said the family has not received any financial support.

“They (UCF) didn’t tell us anything about paying for the funeral,” Enock Plancher (Ereck’s father) said. “They just told reporters they would pay for it but never talked with us. We paid all the expenses for the funeral.”

Mr. Plancher goes on to say: “A lot of people think something is wrong and the university is not telling the truth,” he said. “I am worried they are right.”

Our prayers are with the family.

Full story and source of these excerpts from the Orlando Sentinel

UCF football player Ereck Plancher showed signs of distress during an intense workout last month before he collapsed and later died, four of Plancher’s teammates told the Orlando Sentinel.

Plancher, a 19-year-old receiver from Naples, was taken to a hospital March 18 and was pronounced dead about an hour after the workout, known as a “mat drill.”

A preliminary autopsy was inconclusive. Further tests are under way to determine the cause of Plancher’s death.

The UCF players, who asked for anonymity because they fear retribution from football coaches, said Plancher’s final practice was more intense than the basic-conditioning workout described by UCF officials.

In an interview with the Sentinel, UCF coach George O’Leary and his football staff disputed the four players’ account of Plancher’s final practice.

More from same story: “The four players said Plancher fell during the final sprint and members of the UCF coaching staff yelled at him to finish the drill. “Ereck took off running about 5 yards and fell; the coaches were yelling at him to get up, and of course he came in last,” one player said.”

“After the workout, the team huddled in the middle of the field, where O’Leary singled out Plancher and cursed at him for lack of effort during the final sprint, the four players said.”

“All four players recall that O’Leary said to Plancher, “That’s a bunch of [expletive] out of you, son,” in the huddle. O’Leary denied cursing at Plancher but recalled telling people around him, “He’s better than that.”

“Ereck was in the back when O’Leary was yelling at him, but Ereck couldn’t even look at him,” one of the players said. “He was trying to catch his breath the whole time, and he never could.”

“Plancher was noticeably woozy and staggering as he tried to participate in the final jumping-jacks drill, the players said. The team finished those exercises, then huddled one final time. Plancher collapsed while walking away from the huddle, the players said. ”

Go to the Orlando Sentinel for the full report

Financial issues coming home to roost for UCF Athletics as audit report uncovers millions in audit findings. Most peculiar are the loans to the UCF Athletic Association with no stipulated payback schedule or requirement and nearly $50 million in student-athletic fees diverted:

UCF Student Newspaper, Central Florida Future - March 17, 2008:

• UCF mishandled several million dollars in funds and is spending more money than it should, according to a recent state audit.
• Several findings involved the university assessing fees and transferring funds without having legal authority for its actions. According to the audit, the university loaned $7.4 million to the UCF Athletics Association Inc. in violation of Florida statutes. There is not yet a plan as to how that money will be paid back.
• The university also transferred about $15 million to the association and the University of Central Florida Foundation, the audit states.

The Chronicle of Higher Education - March 17, 2008:

• A routine review by a state auditor has found that the University of Central Florida may have inappropriately lent its independent intercollegiate-athletics association more than $7.4-million, a practice the university has discontinued, and provided more than $49-million in student fees to the athletics association without proper oversight.

The Orlando Sentinel - March 26, 2008

• State auditors criticized UCF for its unusual practice of lending money to the UCF Athletics Association, a 4-year-old organization that does not fall under the requirements of Florida’s sweeping open-records law. Auditors found the university had no repayment plan for the loans, which amounted to $9.5 million.
• Auditors also took the school to task for diverting athletics fees, which students are required to pay, directly to the association without having an adequate way to monitor how the money was spent. Students at UCF pay an athletics fee of $11.72 per credit hour.
• Those payments amounted to about $14 million last year, or nearly half of UCF’s entire budget for athletics. UCF gave the association about $49 million in student-athletics fees between the 2003-04 and 2006-07 fiscal years, according to the audit.

Sneaky.

The fan mail is streaming in from fans across the state of Florida. At this time FAU (UCF’s newest rival) is leading in total quantity of feedback. UCF fans are in second (some examples provided yesterday) and USF fans third. The FAU fans are the best, as they seem to understand the intent of the site (and they seem to possess a sense of humor). For the UCF fans that don’t quite get it, allow me to copy and paste from Dictionary.com (with easy to understand UCF examples in italics - those are the curvy looking letters):

scan·dal  (skān’dl)
n.

1. A publicized incident that brings about disgrace or offends the moral sensibilities of society: George O’Leary’s lying on his resume and the ultimate dismissal and public humiliation that followed.
2. A person, thing, or circumstance that causes or ought to cause disgrace or outrage: Former coach Gene McDowell’s cover-up, obstruction and lying to the Feds during their investigation into wrongdoing at UCF.
3. Damage to reputation or character caused by public disclosure of immoral or grossly improper behavior; disgrace. Brandon Marshall, the poster boy for UCF scandal and his assaults on fellow students and females. Add trespassing and DUI, and you have enough to strip him from the UCF record books.
   
4. Talk that is damaging to one’s character; malicious gossip. UCF fan generated lies across the internet. Coach George O’Leary manipulating the media in his reasoning as to why USF has no interest in playing UCF. Simple failures to be honest and truthful when disseminating information such as the alleged USF-UCF “rivalry.”

It seems UCF fans don’t really know what a scandal is. They think a guy divorcing is wife is a scandal. We hope to help them in this shortcoming by continuing to dig through UCF’s past and present for examples even they can understand.

Coming up soon, full details on the UCF cell phone cover-up - a look back at the scandal that defined Central Florida.