Ole Miss finally had its meeting with the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions in September — a two-day hearing that covered the 21 allegations made against the school by NCAA enforcement.

Ole Miss, per sources, entered the Embassy Suites in Covington, Ky., expecting a contentious affair. The hearing was held Sept. 11-12. The first day covered allegations 1-14. And though the panel — which was headed by Greg Christopher, now the chairman of the NCAA Division-I Committee on Infractions — pressed Ole Miss on even allegations considered minor in nature (such as allegation 10, regarding former Ole Miss offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil being allowed to sleep on former assistant coach Chris Kiffin’s couch) the day, for the most part, was relatively even-handed.

Day two, however, was thought by many to be the day of reckoning for Ole Miss — a knock-down, drag-out fight, per sources. It would cover the allegations pertaining to Mississippi State linebacker Leo Lewis, who was named in the most-serious of the allegations, namely allegation 16, which alleged Lewis was provided $13,000-$15,600 in payments from a booster and facilitated by former Ole Miss staffer Barney Farrar. Lewis is listed as student-athlete 39 in the amended Notice of Allegations.

But what was expected to be “a bloodbath,” per sources who briefed The Ole Miss Spirit on the happenings in Covington, turned out to be anything but. Lewis was the focal point of the proceedings, and the lack of credibility in his testimony was called into question. Below is a summation of the defining second day, provided to The Ole Miss Spirit by sources close to the process. Also included is the long-rumored, taped conversation between Farrar and Lewis’ mother, Tina Henderson.

Ole Miss received a notice Thursday morning of a final NCAA ruling to be handed down Friday.

Mother of Leo Lewis Admits to Cash Payments for Her Son

The tape was shortened by the Ole Miss Spirit to the information relevant to this story. In the recording, which can be heard below, Tina Henderson, mother of MSU LB Leo Lewis, admits in a conversation with Barney Farrar LSU offered her son $60k and Mississippi State $80k during his recruitment. The significance of the recording is three-fold. 1) Henderson doesn’t say Ole Miss paid Lewis or Henderson 2) Farrar tells Henderson to not allow the other programs get Lewis in trouble, and 3) the recording was made on the eve of National Signing Day, well after the NCAA alleged Booster 14 paid Lewis. The full, uncut audio file can be found HERE.

Transcript

Barney Farrar: “I want you to be careful with them folks calling you, now. Don’t let them folks get you and Nino (nickname for Lewis) in trouble, now.”

Henderson: “I know. (Laughter) I said next time Barney calls, I’m going to have ask how much money he’s going to pay, ‘cause everybody’s calling wanting to spend some money.”

Farrar: “I know it.”

Henderson: “Like I say, I don’t know nothing about all this recruiting and recruiting and stuff. I’m just now learning. But I hope I don’t ever have to go through it again.”

Farrar: “You’re not going to have to go through it again, Tina.”

Henderson: “I hope I don’t ever have to go through it again with them grand babies. I told (indecipherable) she’ll have to go through that herself.”

Farrar: “Well, here’s what I’m going to say. What did you say LSU, they threw what figure out?”

Henderson: “Uh …”

Farrar: “60?”

Henderson: “60.”

Farrar: “Yeah.”

Henderson: “And Mississippi State, 80.”

Farrar: “Well, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to check in with you tomorrow, OK?”

Henderson: “Alright then.”

Farrar: “I’m going to check in early. I want you to get you some sleep, OK?”

Henderson: “OK. I am because I’m going to get up early. I’ll go to sleep probably … what time is it now? I’ll probably go to sleep about (indecipherable).”

Farrar: “Yeah, it’s about 12:50 right now.”

Henderson: “Oh, OK, I’ve still got about another hour by myself. Maybe I’ll get some sleep … (indecipherable).”

Farrar: “Alright. I’m going to check in with you bright and early in the morning.”

Henderson: “Alright then, bye bye.”

Farrar: “Goodnight.”

Henderson: “Goodnight.”

Leo Lewis and a Bombshell Day in Covington

Day two of the hearing wasted little time in addressing key inconsistencies in Lewis’ testimony. Per sources, one of the first topics addressed began with a simple question from COI member Eleanor Myers, an associate professor of law emerita and interim associate dean of students at Temple University. She asked Lewis to address Ole Miss defensive back Armani Linton’s interview with NCAA investigators. Linton and Lewis developed a friendship during the recruitment process. Linton even attended Mississippi State’s spring game in Starkville in April of 2016. During the trip, Linton told NCAA investigator Mike Sheridan Lewis told him then-Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, now at Florida, wanted to “put a plan together to protect me” from NCAA violations. Linton said Lewis told him Lewis met with Mullen in Mullen’s office to cover all bases.

Lewis confirmed to Myers in Covington that he had, in fact, talked to Linton during Mississippi State’s spring game weekend in April of 2016, and further confirmed Mullen had called Lewis into his office several days before then. Mullen, according to Lewis’ testimony in front of the COI, relayed to Lewis that Lewis would be interviewed by the NCAA. Mullen encouraged Lewis to tell the truth, which runs in contrast to Linton’s testimony. Meyers followed up, effectively asking Lewis if he was sure he didn’t tell Linton that Mullen told him what to say to investigators. Lewis answered, ‘Yes, ma’am.’

The significance of the exchange, per sources, is NCAA enforcement, in the case summary of its five-year investigation into Ole Miss, had claimed it had not reached out to Mississippi State to request an interview of Lewis until August, which begs the question of how Mullen knew Lewis was to be interviewed. Per sources, one can surmise the formal request was made in August, but there was collusion between enforcement and Mississippi State interests, whether it be Mullen or someone else assisting in the investigation. What effectively happened, sources indicate, is representative of the NCAA called a representative of Mississippi State and requested to interview Lewis. The MSU granted the interview and informed Mullen. Mullen brought Lewis in to brief him.

The sense in the room, per sources, when the topic was broached in Covington was Linton’s testimony was credible.

Mid-morning, Lewis fully acknowledged he was paid $10,000 by Mississippi State to sign with the Bulldogs, and Lewis said in the hearing he was paid by Calvin Green, the defensive backs coach at Co-Lin Community College and the father of Mississippi State player Farrod Green. Lewis’ admission of payment from Mississippi State, and who he identified as the person who paid him, arrived prior to the hearing breaking for lunch. Per sources, the room, collectively, was stunned, with audible gasps. The oxygen in the room, per sources, was “sucked out.” The proceedings were, per sources, “deflated.”

The panel halted the meeting temporarily, and COI chair Greg Christopher covered his mic in order to confer with his fellow panelists, per a source who briefed The Ole Miss Spirit on the proceedings. The panelists, the source said, rolled their chairs together and huddled behind the table. After they conferred, Christopher announced the panel needed to break due to new information presented to the panel and the panel needing time to deliberate.

However, prior to the break, John Duncan, head of NCAA enforcement, spoke first. He argued not all payments to student-athletes are against NCAA rules. Duncan was not so subtly citing NCAA Bylaw XII, which pertains to payments to student-athletes through preexisting relationships. Henry Gimenez, one of two lawyers representing Ole Miss, interjected, making the university’s case against the investigative process, including the startling revelation of Calvin Green’s name in the hearing, which Ole Miss had not been privy to, as Ole Miss was not allowed to sit in on interviews. Effectively, Ole Miss was not allowed to face its accusers.

?The meeting broke for lunch for 45 minutes.

When the meeting resumed, Duncan spoke again, feeling a need to clarify his previous statements, a source said. Duncan, per sources, first said the topic was sensitive because it combines two different investigations. The NCAA, he said, has to be very conscious about not discussing one investigation while working on another. Duncan said NCAA investigators did look into the payments from Green to Lewis and investigators had determined there had been no violations, arguing, again, that not all payments to student-athletes violate NCAA rules. Gimenez interjected once more, arguing, in essence, the illogical nature of Duncan’s claims. The panel, per sources, was ready to move on, seemingly unconvinced of Duncan’s argument.

Later in the day, per sources, Lewis could only account for spending “about $10,000” of the money he admitted to receiving during his recruitment, which ran contrary to allegations against Ole Miss of payment to Lewis in the amended Notice of Allegations. It also ran contrary to his admission earlier in the day of accepting money from Mississippi State to sign. COI member Joel Maturi, retired director of athletics, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, latched onto that, giving Lewis every opportunity to identify what Lewis spent money on — a recently-purchased car, clothes, etc. Maturi questioned Lewis’ financing of the car and Lewis’ decision to accept a prohibitive rate of interest. The question was raised if Lewis had such large sums of cash in hand, why didn’t Lewis pay in cash, rather than accrue interest? Lewis, per sources, answered he “wasn’t going to keep the car all that long anyway, so he just decided to do it that way,” which raised questions due to the large sums of debt he would still owe. The panel, per multiple sources, “didn’t buy it,” and Maturi said he agreed with Ole Miss.

The two-day proceedings happened in somewhat of a staggered fashion. The panel, per sources, was really good at siloing information, meaning if allegation one was being addressed, the meeting would only cover issues pertaining to allegation one. If information not pertinent to the particular allegation being addressed was broached, the panel would, per sources, “head that off” and hold said information until the relevant topic was called into question.

But avoiding crossover of allegations was hard to do due to the similar nature (parties involved, etc.) of many of the allegations. Rebel Rags was a good example. The crux of the Rebel Rags allegations was rooted in the testimony of Lewis, Kobe Jones and Lindsey Miller. If Lewis’ testimony, in such a hypothetical, was deemed not credible in regards to Rebel Rags, his credibility, or lack thereof, would tend to bleed over into the money payment from Booster 14 and whether or not it happened.

Another significant development that occurred in the meeting involved Farrar, who was named prominently in four allegations, including allegation 16.

Coming as a surprise to enforcement, Farrar, per sources, didn’t fight in the hearing. Sources indicate enforcement was “geared up” to fight Farrar and his representation, Bruse Loyd, over the Lewis allegations — the rides, payments for food, et al. Farrar, however, admitted to all of the smaller-in-nature allegations, though he vehemently denied facilitating the alleged $13,000-$15,600 payment to Lewis. Lewis claimed Farrar arranged for him to get rides. Farrar admitted to doing so. Farrar’s general position and defense, per sources, was he might have done the wrong thing, but he did it for the right reasons. He detailed his background and how he’s related to student-athletes over his decades-long career.

“He saw a kid like Leo,” a source said, in summary of how Farrar argued in his defense, “and the chances were Leo would end up in jail if he didn’t end up on a college campus. And he was going to do anything he could to get him exposed to that environment, whether he ended up at State or Ole Miss. And he got him rides to make sure that happened. So he did the wrong thing for the right reasons.”

Sources indicate the panel “really liked” Farrar and his testimony, not to say Farrar won’t see a harsh penalty on Friday. One source went so far as to say COI member Bobby Cremins, the former men’s basketball head coach at Georgia Tech and College of Charleston, upon the conclusion of the meeting, made a point to shake Farrar’s hand and compliment his integrity.

Even more, the first person Lewis spoke to upon the meeting’s conclusion was Farrar, who he hugged and expressed his love for. Cremins directly followed Lewis.