The Inn at Ole Miss: Just a hotel, or The Network's money laundering cheat Palace?

Part 1: The Allegations

The Inn at Ole Miss, located conveniently just off the Grove on Alumni Drive, is a hotel that is owned by and answers to the University, but claims itself as its own entity. It was also listed twice in the NOA for allowing free lodging to families of recruits on two separate occasions, the weekend of January 18, 2013 and the weekend of January 25, 2013, both big official visit weekends for Ole Miss's historic 2013 recruiting class. The two allegations officially state:

6.[NCAA Division I Manual Bylaws 13.2.1, 13.6.7.7 and 13.6.8 (2012-13)]

It is alleged that between January 25 and 27, 2013, Chris Kiffin (Kiffin), assistant football coach, arranged for three family members who were not parents or legal guardians of then football prospective student-athlete [REDACTED] to receive impermissible recruiting inducements during his official paid visit.The total monetary value of the inducements was approximately $1,027. Specifically:

b. Kiffin arranged for and to receive two nights' hotel lodging at The Inn at Ole Miss during [REDACTED]'s official paid visit.The total value of the lodging was approximately $318. [NCAA Bylaws 13.2.1 and 13.6.8 (2012-13)]

8.[NCAA Division I Manual Bylaws 11.7.2.2, 13.01.4, 13.1.2.1, 13.1.2.4-(a), 13.1.2.5, 13.1.3.5.1, 13.2.1, 13.2.1.1-(b), 13.2.1.1-(e), 13.5.3, 13.7.2.1 and 13.7.2.1.2 (2012-13)]

It is alleged that during the 2012-13 academic year,a then representative of the institution's athletics interests, assisted the institution in its recruitment of four then football prospective student-athletes by engaging in recruiting activities that promoted the institution's football program. This included providing the prospects with various recruiting inducements.The total monetary value of the inducements provided was approximately $2,250. Additionally, Maurice Harris (Harris), assistant football coach, knew of association with the prospects and, at times, facilitated involvement in their recruitment. Between January 18 and February 3, 2013, Harris arranged for two of the four prospects to receive impermissible recruiting inducements from the institution.The total monetary value of inducements in which Harris arranged was approximately $485.Specifically:

j. Between January 18 and 20, 2013, [REDACTED] provided [REDACTED], [REDACTED], and [REDACTED]'s mother and sister with round-trip transportation between [REDACTED] and Oxford in order for the two prospects and [REDACTED]'s two family members to attend an unofficial visit to the institution. Specifically, on January 18, 2013,[REDACTED] drove [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] from to Oxford, and did the same for 's mother and sister January 20. On January 20, [REDACTED] drove [REDACTED], [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]'s family members back to [REDACTED].The value of the transportation [REDACTED] , and [REDACTED]'s family members received was approximately $136. Further, [REDACTED] notified Harris that he was planning to bring [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] to the institution on this occasion and also notified Harris upon their arrival that he had driven [REDACTED]'s mother and sister to the institution. Additionally, on January 18 and 19, 2013, Harris arranged for [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] to stay overnight at no cost in the hotel room at The Inn at Ole Miss that the institution provided to [REDACTED], who was on campus for his official paid visit. The value of the lodging provided to [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] was approximately $212.

Part II: The Inn and the Alumni Association/Boosters

The Inn at Ole Miss underwent a $22 million renovation in 2008. Also in 2008, Mrs. Gaye Burke, an alumna of Ole Miss and on the Faculty Advisor Board at Ole Miss, was named General Manager of The Inn, overseeing many things as well as reservations and booking. Bukur explained to Oxfordcitizen.com how this $22 million renovation was funded through a room sponsorship program. From the article:

The room sponsorships in the hotel were implemented several years ago as a funding mechanism for renovating and expanding the Inn at Ole Miss. Most of the rooms have sponsors already, and that only gives the sponsor priority to use the room for football weekends and other times throughout the year when it is available.

?It doesn?t mean the sponsor owns the room or that it is some type of time share. Their biggest priority is they have the first right of refusal for home football games. If there is a baseball regional or super regional, there is a block for room sponsors. And they do that for baseball home series and also basketball games.?

The sponsorships range from $65,000 to $500,000. They are a one-time gift to the university.
The new tower is all suites. There are two luxury suites on the top floor of the tower.

Bukur then goes on to explain the relationship between the Inn and the University:

Bukur emphasizes the Inn at Ole Miss and Conference Center is its own entity.

"This hotel is owned by the university. I answer directly to the executive director of the alumni association", she said. 'We're all responsible to the university. But we get no university or state funding. We're a real hotel. We have to make money to pay our debt service and stay operational."

Back to the NOA. In the second allegation that mentions the Inn, the redacted driver who allowed the recruits families to stay in his room is already known to be dissociated booster Walter Hughes of Memphis, who met the 4 Memphis recruits through an FCA organization. In Hughes' interview with the DJ journal, Parish Alford states, "In its NCAA response, the school describes Hughes as a former season ticket holder who had never made a donation of any type to the University". LOOP HOLE!!! Hughes may not have made donations to the University, but if he had the ability to set up a room for recruits to use in the Inn, then he almost certainly was a "sponsor" for the Inn. Again, to be a sponsor of the Inn, one must donate between $65,000 and $500,000. This money is used to help with renovations to the Inn and is a one time "gift" to the university. After this one time "gift", the sponsor has first dibs on any room in the Inn.

$65,000-$500,000 is a very large chunk of change to give as a "gift" to the Inn, just so that you could have first dibs on a room in a hotel. One might ask, if one can throw that much money around to just have the ability to reserve a room in a hotel at any time, why would one not just buy one of the many beautiful Condos on the square to call their own?

Part III: the Inn and the Coaches

Lets go back to 2006-2007, when Hugh Freeze was the Recruiting Coordinator for Ole Miss, Maurice Harris was Assistant Athletic Director of Internal Affairs, and Chris Kiffin was a Graduate Assistant for Ole Miss. After 2007, all three coaches went their separate ways until 2011 when Harris and Kiffin were hired by Freeze at Arkansas State. The day of the hire, Kiffin stated in an interview with astateredwolves.com "We (Freeze and Kiffin) were together at Mississippi and worked under Ed Orgeron together.  Obviously, we have the same recruiting philosophies and I know that he is going to do a great job at Arkansas State, so I'm really anxious to get going and be a part of something that I think is going to be special." Freeze brought Harris and Kiffin with him to Ole Miss in late 2012 when he was hired as head coach.

In Walter Hughes' interview with Parish Alford, he says that he met Harris through FCA when he was a coach for Whitehaven High School in Memphis in 1998. Interestingly enough, at this time, Freezus himself was also a high school coach in Memphis at Briarcrest Christian School. So in 2013, Harris and Hughes set up the 4 Memphis high school recruits families to stay at the Inn, in a room Hughes, most likely, obtained through a 6 digit "gift" to the University. Harris and Hughes met through FCA 15 years before this, when Freeze, the most godly man on Planet Earth, was also a Memphis High School football coach. Surely, Freeze, the Head Coach, was aware of this set up between two mutual friends(Harris and Hughes) of 15 years.

Let's talk about Mr. Chris Kiffin. Kiffin set up a room, once again in the Inn, for a recruit on the weekend of 1/25/13. The weekend that Nkemdiche, Tunsil, Treadwell and Chris Jones all had their official visits. Take your pick. On February 2nd, the Notice of Allegations states that Kiffin and Harris met a recruits family at the Inn, and led the recruits family to Harris's own room and allowed them to stay free of charge.

The link between Harris, Hughes, Freeze and Kiffin is strong. The Inn at Ole Miss, is not "just a hotel" as Ole Miss fans state, its an integral part of the network, receiving "gifts" from boosters and serving as a home away from home for many recruits, players and families of both. Hughes is not just an FCA man, he is a Pimp, and a long time acquaintance of current Ole Miss coaches. Freeze is not just a coach, he is a Liar.

Elitedawg record for the longest 1st post. Kudos.

That was a great read. Interesting stuff

That's some pretty damn good investigative reporting.
You must work for the NCAA***

Best first post ever?!?

Wow. That's some deep stuff. You have to be with some investigative entity. No way you spent the time necessary to figure all that out without getting paid

Started strong. Lot to live up to now. Rep given. This might be the only outlet for real CL journalists who have been silenced by their employer...

Hmmm... reminds me of the 1st post by the poster who wrote this (abbreviated):

FORWARD REBELS
As the end of the Nutt/Boone regime was coming to a close in
2011, interesting events transpired in the summer of 2011. In August
2011, the Clarion Ledger newspaper printed an article that detailed
David Saunders' Notice of Claim filed against the University of
Mississippi on July 27, 2011 that was designed to embarrass the newlynamed "Black Bear" establishment (go to
http://blogs.clarionledger.com/um/fi...1-Redacted.pdf
to view).

Saunders was backed by the Forward Rebels largest
financial contributor. Now, one of the casualties of the purge of the
athletic department at Ole Miss brought about by the "Forward Rebels" has became a modern day "Deep Throat." Deep Throat worked in the Ole Miss athletic department when the head football coaches at Ole Miss were Ed Orgeron and Houston Nutt and now lives outside the state of Mississippi.

Etcetera...

The way the relationship between The Inn and the University is explained screams lawyer speak to me.

"The hotel is it's own entity"

"The hotel is owned by and answers to the University"

"The hotels employees are responsible to the University"

"but it gets no university or state funding"

"the sponsorship money serves as a funding mechanism for renovating and expanding the Inn at Ole Miss"

"the sponsorship money is a one time gift to the university"

I would bet loads of money that Walter Hughes made this one time gift to the Inn/University/Network. Unfortunately, there is no way to find a list of the Inn's "sponsors" online, but I bet someone could find it somewhere.

Ole Miss is obviously pushing to downgrade Harris's involvement in the NOA because he is the link between Hughes and Freeze. Ole Miss wrote in it's NOA response:

"Thus, while the university does not dispute the underlying fact that these benefits were provided and that Harris at least acquiesced to their provision, it disagrees with the enforcement staff's overall characterization of Harris' involvement"

Walter Hughes is obviously trying to protect Maurice Harris because Freeze knows that Harris is the link between Freeze and Hughes. I'm telling yall, this is the plan. Freeze asks Hughes to do an interview with Alford to downplay Harris's involvement and thus keep himself safe and distanced from the relationship between Hughes, Harris and Freeze. This is why they are only arguing against the allegations that involve Harris and Hughes. In Alford's interview with Hughes, he closes the article with a quote from Hughes:

"Not coach Harris or anyone ever asked me to do anything. That's what hacks me off. They're trying to tie in my relationship with coach Harris and these kids as a recruiting scandal. That?s the furthest thing from the truth there is."

How ironic would it be if a relationship Freeze made through the FCA is his ultimate down fall?

A side note: Remember Gaye Buker, The Inn's General Manager and Alumni Association member? Well.... her alumni association page is conveniently down for the moment. Error code 404: file not found. "The page you are looking for might have been removed,
had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable." Hmmmm, dissociated booster maybe?

http://www.olemissalumni.com/gaye-bukur/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DeviousDawg

The way the relationship between The Inn and the University is explained screams lawyer speak to me.

"The hotel is it's own entity"

"The hotel is owned by and answers to the University"

"The hotels employees are responsible to the University"

"but it gets no university or state funding"

"the sponsorship money serves as a funding mechanism for renovating and expanding the Inn at Ole Miss"

"the sponsorship money is a one time gift to the university"

I would bet loads of money that Walter Hughes made this one time gift to the Inn/University/Network. Unfortunately, there is no way to find a list of the Inn's "sponsors" online, but I bet someone could find it somewhere.

Ole Miss is obviously pushing to downgrade Harris's involvement in the NOA because he is the link between Hughes and Freeze. Ole Miss wrote in it's NOA response:

"Thus, while the university does not dispute the underlying fact that these benefits were provided and that Harris at least acquiesced to their provision, it disagrees with the enforcement staff's overall characterization of Harris' involvement"

Walter Hughes is obviously trying to protect Maurice Harris because Freeze knows that Harris is the link between Freeze and Hughes. I'm telling yall, this is the plan. Freeze asks Hughes to do an interview with Alford to downplay Harris's involvement and thus keep himself safe and distanced from the relationship between Hughes, Harris and Freeze. This is why they are only arguing against the allegations that involve Harris and Hughes. In Alford's interview with Hughes, he closes the article with a quote from Hughes:

"Not coach Harris or anyone ever asked me to do anything. That's what hacks me off. They're trying to tie in my relationship with coach Harris and these kids as a recruiting scandal. That?s the furthest thing from the truth there is."

How ironic would it be if a relationship Freeze made through the FCA is his ultimate down fall?

A side note: Remember Gaye Buker, The Inn's General Manager and Alumni Association member? Well.... her alumni association page is conveniently down for the moment. Error code 404: file not found. "The page you are looking for might have been removed,
had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable." Hmmmm, dissociated booster maybe?

http://www.olemissalumni.com/gaye-bukur/

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Ok, you are probably right, but how would you prove any of this if you were the NCAA?

I understand where you're going. My argument has been that they are trying to downgrade the allegation involving Hughes, Harris, Freeze and the recruits because those are the allegation instances that Freeze is specifically named in. Downgrading from a Level 1 to a Level 2 might possibly protect Freeze from game suspension penalties or worse.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ShotgunDawg

Ok, you are probably right, but how would you prove any of this if you were the NCAA?

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You say give us what we want or there goes another 6 schollies. You have ten days.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ShotgunDawg

Ok, you are probably right, but how would you prove any of this if you were the NCAA?

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Tell OM to hand over the list of donors for the hotel.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ShotgunDawg

Ok, you are probably right, but how would you prove any of this if you were the NCAA?

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That's the NCAA's job, not mine. A good start would be a list of the Inn's sponsors. Look for Walter Hughes' name. Ask Ole Miss officials for a copy of how his "gift" money was used, account for every dollar.

However, I am sure that the NCAA has thought of this and I'm sure the NCAA has dug into this. We aren't talking "gifts" of a couple thousand dollars, we are talking 6 digit "gifts" that might go towards the Inn's renovations, or might go to the university or even the athletic department. The Inn is very vague on how and where this "gift" money goes. To me, it sounds like a pot that both the Inn and the University can pull from. Once the money is in the pot, no one knows where it goes. First dibs on a hotel room is not enough incentive to give away hundreds of thousands of dollars. The reason OM is fighting for Harris so hard is because the NCAA is most likely on to this. A connection between Freeze, Harris and Hughes that goes back to 1998 is fishy, OM knows and so does the NCAA. Harris and Freeze's relationship continued in 2007 at OM, 2011 at ASU and 2012-present back at OM. Hughes took the fall publicly in the interview with Alford. Why in their right minds would Alford and Hughes do that interview without orders from Freeze? The interview seemed fishy, but it makes sense now. Downplay the relationship between Hughes and Harris, cut the ties between Freeze and Hughes, save Freeze from a show cause. Everything that comes out of Ole Miss is spin, why would an interview between the spin master Alford and a disassociated member be any different?

I strongly believe Ole Miss is fighting the NCAA with this stuff right now, this is the kind of thing that show causes are made of.

Saying a US president should get killed makes you a huge POS. Someone else banned you first, before I could- BeastMan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bowwowjesus

You're gonna need a larger piece of paper to connect all those dots. The Russians killed Kennedy. Too bad they didn't kill Obama, now it's too late. Damn, it's hot outside.

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You're wrong, Troll, the piece of paper (well actually the 5 pieces of paper from yall's NOA that covers the 16 sub violations in allegation #8) connects them pretty well for me. I know you are probably too scared to actually read through the NOA, so I'll sum up allegation #8, which is just one of 8 level 1 violations, for you. All 16 sub violations involve our dear friend Walter Hughes.

(a) Hughes provided transportation for redacted recruit. Notified coaches Maurice Harris, Chris Kiffin, Matt Luke and Hugh Freeze upon arrival.

(b) Hughes provided transportation for redacted recruit, notified Coach Maurice Harris upon arrival

(c) Hughes provided transportation for redacted recruit, notified Coach Maurice Harris upon arrival

(d) Hughes arranged off campus meeting between recruits family and Coach Matt Luke

(e) Hughes attended an in-home visit between redacted recruit and Mauric Harris and Hugh Freeze

(f) Hughes paid redacted recruits phone bill.... sound familiar?

(g) Hughes paid redacted recruits mother's phone bill.... sound even more familiar? different recruit, different handler, same story.

(h) Hughes provided transportation, lodging and tickets to bowl game for redacted recruit. Notified Coach Maurice Harris of plans.

(i) Hughes arranged off campus meeting between Maurice Harris and redacted recruit's mother.

(j) Hughes provided ride for redacted recruit, notified Coach Maurice Harris upon arrival who assisted Hughes in arranging free lodging at The Inn of Ole Miss. Next morning Hughes then provided redacted recruits family transportation to Hugh Freeze's house, where he then attended a breakfast in Freeze's house with other coaches and recruits families.

(k) Hughes provided transportation for redacted recruit, notified Coach Maurice Harris upon arrival.

(l) Hughes hosted an off campus meeting at his own residence between Coach Maurice Harris and 3 redacted recruits families

(m) Hughes provided transportation for redacted recruit to hotel, notifying Coach Maurice Harris upon arrival who, along with Chris Kiffin, assisted in checking in recruit and family.

(n) Hughes provided transportation for redacted recruit

(o) Hughes provided free acadamic assistance to redacted recruit

(p) Hughes purchased $510 worth of clothing for 3 redacted recruits

So, by my count, Walter Hughes provided 9 different rides for recruits or recruits families, one of which he notified Harris, Kiffin, Luke and Freeze and 6 of which he notified solely Maurice Harris. Twice he set up meeting between coaches, once with Harris and once with Luke, and recruits/recruits families. Twice he attended visits between coaches and recruits, once at a recruits home during an in home visit between recruit and Freeze and Harris, and once at Freezes house with recruits and Harris. Seriously, what is a big money booster doing setting up off campus meeting between coaches and recruits familes? Even worse, what is a big money booster doing attending in home visits between recruits and OM's Head Coach? If you can't see the connection between booster Hughes and coaches Maurice Harris and Hugh Freeze, you are simply blind. If he is notifying coaches upon arrival with recruit, that means it was pre-meditated, or planned. It's an official visit for crying out loud, the coaches knew these recruits were coming and they damn well knew that Hughes was bringing them, why would Freeze allow some random guy into his home during a breakfast with recruits and their families the Saturday morning of the biggest official visit weekend in Ole Miss's History? Obviously, because Hughes was allowed, not just allowed but invited. Freeze also knew that Hughes was allowing recruits to stay in his sponsored room in The Inn at Ole Miss. What do you think was waiting for these recruits in their arranged rooms in the Inn? I can promise you it wasn't just a mint on the pillow, remember the official visit back pack rumors?

Now for the dot connecting not provided for me in the NOA. Our friend Gaye Buker said in her interview that "there is a block reserved for room sponsors". This "block" of rooms is occupied by people that are all willing to fork up 6 digits to be able to hang out in this room. I bet this block of rich dudes are pretty close friends, actually Bukur confirms this "a lot of times the room sponsor have gotten to know each other well over the years.", sounds like the making of a network to me. Maybe, and this is pure speculation, this $65,000-$500,000 "gift" to the Inn is a sort of entry fee into the network. When you have something like an illegal secret network, it usually needs to be small in numbers. How do you achieve this? Create an entry fee only affordable for the 1%ers. Once your in, you get a room in the block and are now a sponsor for a different recruit each year, setting up rides and lodging for your recruit through instructions from each sponsors recruiting coach. In Hughes' case, Harris is his recruiting coach, and he is the sponsor for the Memphis kids. I can promise you Hughes is not the only one. He is just one guy in the Network, but fortunately, it only takes one guy to collapse the Palace. I can only imagine how many recruits and recruits families have stayed in that hotel free of charge, gotta be hundreds. As they say, if you build it, they will come.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bowwowjesus

You're gonna need a larger piece of paper to connect all those dots. The Russians killed Kennedy. Too bad they didn't kill Obama, now it's too late. Damn, it's hot outside.

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Also, fortunately for the NCAA, it can connect dots and make accusations without starting WWIII.

Freeze's days are numbered, lil bowwow.

You just had to give away your troll identity on your first post didn't you? Wishing the Russians assassinated Obama? Come on that's too easy man.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DeviousDawg

Also, fortunately for the NCAA, it can connect dots and make accusations without starting WWIII.

Freeze's days are numbered, lil bowwow.

You just had to give away your troll identity on your first post didn't you? Wishing the Russians assassinated Obama? Come on that's too easy man.

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Coming from a guy that started the thread with post numero uno. Russians wouldn't kill Obama, Putin is way too smart for that. Russian planes buzzing our warships, he's just trying to make life difficult Barry O. Makes for good TV.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bowwowjesus

You're gonna need a larger piece of paper to connect all those dots. The Russians killed Kennedy. Too bad they didn't kill Obama, now it's too late. Damn, it's hot outside.

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Hugh?

DeviousDawg - you are my new favorite poster.