UPDATE, 9:25 p.m. ET: Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork told reporters Thursday evening (per Yahoo Sports) that Freeze admitted to a "pattern of misconduct" during a meeting with him and school administrators Wednesday night. Bjork did not specify the nature of the misconduct, which he said was discovered through a search of phone records.

Bjork said Freeze would have been fired for cause, per the "moral turpitude" clause in his contract, had he not agreed to resign. Bjork told reporters no buyout or settlement was paid.

BENDER: Ole Miss pays for pursuing almighty W

“Coach Freeze was very transparent, open, honest and admitted the conduct,” Bjork said, per Yahoo. He said (per Yahoo) that Freeze resigned Thursday morning.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

Hugh Freeze on Thursday resigned under pressure as Ole Miss' football coach.

Freeze's resignation, effective immediately, was announced by the university minutes after Yahoo Sports reported, "Explosive new information has put Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze's job in immediate jeopardy." Matt Luke was named interim coach.

According to the report, a phone call was made from Freeze's university-issued phone to a Detroit number linked to a Florida-based escort service.

The attorney representing former Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt, who is suing the university for breach of contract based on previous NCAA allegations, brought attention of the call to the university's legal counsel.

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The school went through thousands of Freeze’s cell calls but didn't find any further calls made to the escort service, though they find additional troubling information that added to a long list of allegations against Freeze. Yahoo Sports reports.

Earlier, Freeze told Yahoo the call "might have been a misdial. I don’t think there was even a conversation. There’s nothing to it.”

The school acknowledged in June its response to the NCAA's Notice of Allegations that it "has concluded that significant violations occurred in connection with its football program over a period of years" but argued against the NCAA's claim of lack of institutional control.

Lack of institutional control and other charges levied by the NCAA against Freeze were deemed Level I violations, the NCAA's most serious. The school stood by its self-imposed sanctions, announced in February, that include but aren't limited to a postseason ban that necessitates the loss of nearly $7.8 million in SEC revenue, a double-digit reduction of scholarships and a more than 10 percent reduction in off-campus evaluation days in each of two years.

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The university also disassociated involved boosters and banned them from attending home athletic events or entering Ole Miss athletic facilities.

Thirteen of 28 NCAA violations levied against Ole Miss involved the football program, with nine of those violations alleged to have occurred under Freeze. The other four were alleged to have happened during former coach Houston Nutt's tenure.

Arguably the most notable accusation involved former tackle Laremy Tunsil, who said he received money and other forms of financial aid while he played with the Rebels.

Freeze, 47, was 39-25 (19-21 Southeastern Conference) in five seasons at Ole Miss.

Omnisport's Joe Rodgers contributed to this report.