Arkansas Blog

I don't normally agree with you, but on this one I do.

If the Foundation can get away with that move, what is to say the Constitutional officers of this state could not create a special foundation?

ARK. BLOG: I had exactly the same thought.

Come on guys. Is it really about the legal status of the foundation, or is the Newspaper of Pollitics and Culture following the National Enquirer's approach to journalism? Pretty Sleazy.

Houston has a morals clause in his contract.

if he's getting his Nutts polished by someone who is not his wife, and using state resources to arrange said Nutt-polishing, then I don't think this is out of the realm of good journalism.

The sleazy ones are Frank and the foundation. They never had any right to sell preferenial treatment to razorback contests outside oversite by the university. Those are public funds payed for access to a state sponsored instutution event. Nothing else.

"if he's getting his Nutts polished by someone who is not his wife, and using state resources to arrange said Nutt-polishing, then I don't think this is outside the realm of good journalism."

I get it; ala Bill Clinton. But find the blue dress and stop making assumptions based on phone records. Still seems sleazy to me.

The head hog can keep his girlfriends and his phone records....why do you want them? Lets see, to cause him problems so he will resign....I'm no Nutt fan but I get tired of the "public record" excuse....Say it up front - We want the records so we can force him to resign...That sounds honest...

With regard to Sqwheel and walkinsmall's comments, Houston Nutt should obtain and use a private phone for his personal pecadilloes if he wants to keep them private. Surely he can afford his own phone. No one, not even the coach of the high-and-mighty Hogs, has any expectation of privacy in communications made using his employer's equipment, and the expectation of privacy is even less when the employer is a public entity.

This is getting scary, and out of hand. When they want public funds, they are a public institution. When they want to hush something up, they funnel it through the Razorback Foundation.

If public officials continue to look the other way on this, instead of cleaning it up, it will eventually grown into a HUGE public scandal involving missing public money and God knows what else. At that point public opinion will force huge changes and firings rather than the more reasonable measures that could, perhaps, still be taken now.

Broyles has said that the main reason for removing Heath was economic; that is, the decline of attendance at basketball games.

Who on earth would contribute money to Arkansas or the Razorback Foundation anymore? I suppose there is the hopeless residual, like Bush's 29%.

But honestly, after all that has happened, if you wanted to contribute money to help academics or athletics, how could you trust this administration to do anything worthwhile?

Heath should have fired Broyles and White.

Anyone with a company-paid phone knows that the people who own the company might take a look at those records occasionally, and indeed have a duty to do so if they are prudent stewards of the business.

It's strange to visit this blog and find people arguing that employees of the state are somehow exempt from this.

It's just another symptom of the underlying problem.

Without Razorback sports, this state would be MUCH better off.

According to a document the link to which has been posted here by an Arkansas Times blogger, Thomas McAfee sent a March 15, 2007, email to the UA board and other university officials alluding to, among other things, rumors of an affair Houston Nutt is having with Donna Bragg, a TV newscaster.

A few days later, Nutt's personal lawyer, Byron Freeland, sent a letter to McAfee to "request" a face-to-face meeting with McAfee's attorney to discuss McAfee's email which, according to Freeland, contains "malicious and defamatory" statements, "so there is no misunderstanding about the facts, your intentions, and any future actions which we may take on behalf of Coach Nutt."

What is "threatening" about Freeland's letter? He makes no definitive reference to "legal action." And, so what if he did? Freeland is precisely the lawyer I would want under the circumstances.

ARK. BLOG: Maybe I jump to conclusions. A lawyer writes, uses the words malicious and inflammatory and refers to future actions. I say that's a veiled threat. Call it what you will, it didn't shut down this fellow. McAfee is under no obligation to hire a lawyer or respond to Nutt's lawyer. What he may or may not do is, of course, up to him. What Nutt has done by authorizing legal communication has, of course, put this story in play on blogs all across America, prompted calls to public radio talk shows and, because of all that, demanded some kind of explanation for a curious public about what the heck is going on, even if Nutt's phone records contain nothing for which he need be concerned.

I hate to say this...or even think this...

But until Frank Broyles is completely out of the picture we will live in limbo as fans...

C'mon...with all that is going on what is it we are NOT reading? Or discussing?

The new A.D....you know? The guy that calls the shots?

Frank is trying to be the guy but is more interested in entertaining his clown buds at Augusta...gimme a break, man...

May I repeat? We don't even have a short list to replace Frank, folks!

*John White needs to go too...

If the Foundation can get away with that move, what is to say the Constitutional officers of this state could not create a special foundation?

Or the party of the President of the United States and his executive branch appointees create a private web domain to shield the business of the people from public view?

let's recap: Arkansas is 48th poorest state(thank you Mississippi and West Viginia), some of them highest levels of obesity and high school remediation, highest divorce rate in nation (next to Neveda), only state in union without a trama center....hmmmm....seems like we're getting exactly what we've built - from Clinton and the blue dress, horrific graduation rates, coach and students spleefin' and juking...you are what you eat, vote, attend- to and provide..in other words garbage in..garbage out! Nutt and Broyles and U of A your fifteen minutes of fame is soon over..thankfully as UALR and UCA grow and surpass in quantity and quality...cheap retail, poultry and doolies...enjoy NWA..enjoy!

The real story here is that he can text message with that female Fort Smith TV anchor over 2000 times in a 3 1/2 month period but can't send ONE to two of the most sought after recruits in the state during the same period.

THAT my friends is JOB related. Oh and thinking about texting her 19 minutes before the Crapital one bowl instead of having his (and his players) heads screwed on straight for the game!

>Or the party of the President of the United States and his executive branch appointees create a private web domain to shield the business of the people from public view?<

I'm not getting into a pissing contest, but the Arkansas FOI law allowed the HDN phone records to be scrutinized.

You are comparing apples and oranges here. The feds have an FOI law. Arkansas' happens to be vastly more liberal (not big L).

I've read it all. This is damning. You can twist facts to suit your needs, but this is pretty straight forward. HDN is guilty-at the very least-of lying to the press. At most, he's guilty of being party to a smear campaign against an 18-year-old kid, neglicting to recruit the 2 highest-profile recruits in the state in 2006, and engaging in a relationship with a woman other than his wife. Whether or not that relationship was ever physical, I'm sure Diana is not pleased. You question that? Ask your wife how she'd feel to know you were text messaging another woman more than 2,000 times in a 4-month period.

The conflict of state/private money is secondary. That's legal mumbo-jumbo to most Arkansans. The phone records have sex appeal--and teeth. Most men know that can VERY dangerous.

Come on, people, there are far more important things to worry about.
This thread just amuses me. I don't give a damn about Houston Nutt's personal life.
Let his wife deal with it.

Again I say, no one cares about HDN's msgs to his sweetie (if that is what she is)..No one is trying to find out to help HDN's wife know the truth (if that is what it is).. No one really cares that his cell phone is state paid (well, some do)... You all care because it deals with your beloved HOGGS and you think HDN should go and this maybe the smokin gun that even FB can't fade..Anyway, the HOGGS are all anybody seems to really care about in AR... I love this state cause thats all I really care about... So, folks, just be honest and say thats all you care about too...If HDN would have won out and won the SEC/a major bowl this state would not give a s__t who he send 2000 msgs to......(unless it was Kelly Campbell)....

Right on, BlueRidge. I don't give a tinker's damn about Nutt's personal life, either, and don't understand why anybody else thinks they should. But, obviously, giving birth to rumors and spreading juicy gossip is exciting, big time sport for dullards who don't have a life of their own.

Pick up your rocks and get ready to stone me...I lost Jesus and any need for a sporting event over the last 10 years. I didn't ask for it....it just happened. I personally don't care if Lanny Van Eman is rehired as head basketball coach or the bones of John Barnhill.

I'm delighted if the rest of you want to live U of A sports day and night, I just feel the need to point out that sports drama doesn't rule the lives of everyone. We've got a war we're losing...remember?

Coach Nutt and Frank Broyles are sinking in popularity to the level of Bush and Cheney and that can't be good for the U of A sport program. Last thing Arkansas needs is more embarrassment heaped on it by anything connected with our university system.

However after a day of reflection I remembered what caused me to quit the Republican Party back in the late 90s. It was caused by Ken Starr's digging in Bill Clinton's personal sex life. I happen to believe unless the sex is forced on an unwilling person or the sex involves a child, humans have the right to have sex with anyone they can talk into it.

It is none of my business if Nutt is having sex with Donna Bragg or anyone else. I believe that is between him and his wife and the pork-ee. If he was dumb enough to use a school owned phone to conduct an affair, he'll have to lump it if someone wants to use FOI laws to get the phone numbers. But for me....don't bother.

If he's a rotten coach or if he's doing something illegal in his office, get after him. But I see no need for us to become mini-Ken Starrs and do to Nutt what the Republicans did to Clinton.

We're all adults, I'm betting 99% of us have something in our sexual past or present we'd be ashamed of if it got out. I know Donna Bragg, I like her and I'd curl around her ankle like a cat if given a chance.

Let's not be guilty of acting like Republicans. If the people running the sport program in Fayetteville are doing a lousy job...run em off. But their sex lives are NONE of our business.

DBI
I agree 100%!

Me2 DBI except, for the money bidness, using public college-university to set up a personal fiefdom called Razorback Foundation or the Atheletic Fund, or the Walton Grant. I say strip away the facades, let Nutt have all the sex he needs and ensuing divorces, but let state connected organizations be run for the good of all; money when publicly connected does better in the sunlight. Somehow this message, dear to Max and a few others on here who believe all gov related activities should be reviewed, will be lost on the Smithized, scandal oriented public driven as it is by a leacherous media.
_

I reslly personally don't give a damn about who hDn is sleeping with, when he is doing it, what position or how often. What I do care about is his complete lack of competence. If this is the "silver bullet" that will get rid of him...so be it. If any of you really think that there is nothing wrong with him sending over 2000 text messages to this one individual alone in 3 months and no telling how many others then think about how many phone calls, text messages and emails you get in 3 months. Do you think that all three of those combined add up to 2000? I know that mine don't. You wanna know why mine don't...because I have a job and don't have time to be sending and receiving that many emails, text messages and phone calls. Everyone is concentrating on what was sent between him and Donna Bragg and I could really not care less about that issue and am looking at the bigger picture of the number he sends and receives on a daily basis. When does the guy coach football? I think the phone calls and text messages for the period of time revealed in the FOI averged out to something like 1 every 32.5 seconds over the total time...good freakin' grief! Get a coach who wants to be a coach and not a switch board operator.

Want to meet your new Athletic Director? Click on Cato

No, it's not about the sex as hard as that is to imagine. It is about a state athletic program which has become so dysfuncation at every level that it is imploding. The fan base is attacking the AD and head football coach publicly in whatever ways are available. There are a hundred ways to slice and dice all of this but the only real solution is to finally clean house. Bring on the new Chancellor and new AD and lets get to it.

http://www.parkersearch.com/current-ops-athletics.htm

obviously, a slow webmaster or we don't chart a listing, ala Kentucky.

If you can make fans this angry after a 10 win season with a Heisman trophy candidate you have really done something.

I know in the halls of power a little lieing and mismanagement are nothing. I think this proves that that is not the case for the average person. Thank God.

Oh and by the way, has Frank headed back to Augusta yet?

I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

I've got no beef with the Foundation charging more for prime seats, its how the industry works.

However, that same Foundation raises money that is used to construct and even maintain structures on property owned by the state of Arkansas. It pays supplements in salary to various employees who have salaries capped by state law. It funds scholarships and programs at UA. It controls access to seats and parking at university athletic events. It conducts business using trademarks and copyrighted images owned by the university.

To say it is independent is a sham. If it were truly independent the board could one day declare they wanted to fund athletics at Arkansas Tech and UA Fort Smith, I doubt that sort of independence exists.

NCAA rules treat compensation from the foundation as if it came from the university (ie. a "volunteer coach" can't be paid by the foundation to skirt the rules and limit the activities of those groups.

When a full time state employee receives greater compensation from an "outside source" ie the foundation the relationship should be open to inspection, especially when the director of athletics, who is hired and reviewed by the chancellor with the consent of the president and the board of trustees (appointed by the governor) negotiates contracts binding the university but using the funds of the foundation. The relationship is open to inspection.

ARK. BLOG: Great analysis.

Time to clean house, start with Frank and clean out the whole athletic department except DVH.

This may not sit well with some of you that are on the "other things are more important" train...

Get off the thread if you don't like it. Got it?

That said, HDN lied to us and has apparently been using our bucks to flirt via text...

I don't really care about anyone's private life...do whoever you want at your own peril...

Except that it is clear the Nutts were aware of that awful email to Mustain...period.
Then they told us, the fans and supporters of the program, that they knew nothing...

I can't stand dishonesty...

I agree with others here: I don't care so much for whether or Nutt is having an affair. I felt that way about Clinton-Lewinsky, too.

But the difference I see is that Nutt is under an actual signed contract - as opposed to being elected president - that stipulates him as a representative of the University of Arkansas. His public image is part of his job, since he's got to sell "the program" to get families to want their sons to be Razorbacks. Therefore I think it is relevant to his job performance whether or not he is having an affair.

Remember Price at Bama. Fired because of a scandal started by him frequenting strip clubs.

when you start digging into the RF see if you can find out how much money they have in their investment account, who is handling it, and how much they pay that person. I understand you will be shocked with the answer ?

ARK. BLOG: That information is currently shielded from public view. You can see their net assets on their IRS Form 990. Its last form, filed for 2005 in 2006, showed about $25 mnillion in assets. But there's no disclosure on who's handling it. Only specific payments to Chuck Dicus and other Foundation employees are disclosed There's a mention that the Foundation pays for construction work by a company owned by Jim Lindsey, a director of the Foundation.

The most important allegation in the McAfee document is that Houston Nutt had almost immediate notice that an insulting and derogatory email had been sent to Mitch Mustain, but claimed that he did not know about the email for several weeks (thus negating any responsibility on his part for taking action to remedy the situtation).

It has already been made public that a friend of the Nutt family, Teresa Prewett, sent an long, insulting email to Mustain that she then immediately forwarded to many people involved with the Razorback football program, including a personal account of the Nutt family's purportedly used by Houston Nutt's wife, Diana. Given the concurrent media coverage of unflattering comments Mustain made about Nutt, it already seemed unlikely that Houston Nutt had no knowledge of the email, since it's quite likely his wife would have told him about it. What the McAfee documents reveal, however, is that not only was the insulting email sent to Nutt's wife the same day it was sent to Mustain, Houston Nutt himself spoke to Prewett 20 minutes before she sent the email to Mustain. The email is long and could not have been drafted it is unlikely it was drafted in a mere 20 minutes' time without forethought. Even more damning is that Nutt exchanged 7 text messages with Prewett later that same day.

It seems clear to me that, at best, Nutt knew of the derogatory email to Mustain and chose to do nothing about it until Mustain's mother forced his and Chancellor White's hand after weeks of silence following the email. This is certainly a failure of leadership, especially given Nutt's relationship with Prewett, which Mustain almost certainly knew about. Mustain could have easily assumed the email was approved or at least blessed by Nutt himself. And now given the revelation of Nutt's cell phone records, it seems more likely than not that Nutt was more intimately involved in the whole affair. This is unacceptable.

I lost faith in Houston Nutt as a football coach during his third season at Fayetteville, so my feelings about his tenure at Arkansas are not new -- just confirmed. Do others feel the same? I sometimes feel Arkansans are hesitant to criticize too much given that Nutt ended up with a decent season (even though he made some seriously questionable calls on the field). The University of Arkansas as an institution -- and the football program as an important part of that institution -- means a great deal to the identity of this small Southern state, and Houston Nutt does not deserve to be the face of that football program any longer.

Do I also think Nutt's alleged or rumored extramarital affair is relevant? I guess my answer is, why shouldn't it be? Nutt was using a university cell phone to have extensive communications with a woman not his colleague or relative on game days (which shows lack of judgment, if nothing else). Even if this episode is not ultimately as important when considering whether Nutt deserves to keep his job, I certainly do not believe that he (or any other future coach) should be shielded from future public inquiries by the Razorback Foundation. On this issue, Houston Nutt should get what he deserves (most importantly, from his wife).

Oh, and ditto the comments for removal of White and Broyles (immediately), as well.

I still want to know who called the last four plays in the LSU game. Did Nutt receive a text message telling him what to call?

I can appreciate merit on BOTH sides of this - HDN's 'personal life' should be off limnits, vs. those outraged by the apparent misuse of public $$$

HOWEVER, let's admit it - we of Britney & Anna Nicole 24/7: IF HDN wasn't such a religio-Baptist ICON in a Bible Belt state, would this be as delicious as it seems for some?

The on-going AthDept. fiascos are caused by ONE simple fact - Frank of the Ozarks has been FAR AND AWAY the most powerful person in the UofA system, and the tail wagging the dog eventually breaks down. He has the power, and he forgot from where it accrues.

I repeat: IF they had the 'nads, the SOLUTION to this whole thing is DUMP FRANK NOW and let the new guy fix it - or not... Otherwise how will it EVER change as long as Frank is just down the hall, and all the other cast of characters remain the same?!!

Most men believe there is such a thing as a whore with a heart of gold and that she looks like Julia Roberts. We also tend to believe that there is still some honor and genuine glory left in college sports. My father was the Great Santini, yet he often cried watching college sports on the old Zenith.

Razorback sports is dirty and has been since TV was invented. Way back in 1973 I had lots of classes at the U of A with the semi-great Ike Forte. He was rarely in class and when he was, he quickly went to sleep. Yet, when the grades were posted Ike's grades always topped mine.

I figured he must have done a lot of out of class studying in his pea-green Cadillac Eldorado that the alumni either bought or leased for him. I was driving a car built in 1958 and I wondered what it must be like to drive a brand new car, much less a new Caddy. But I thought...good for him.

I may not have done so well as Ike in Geology lab, but I was smart enough to know the University was inventing good grades for and giving lots of money to Ike Forte for playing football and I assumed they were paying the rest of the better football and basketball players too.

I'm no goody two-shoes, buy the best college athletes, pay them well, give them cars and hookers, I figure everyone else does it too. But be honest about it.

Cry when the team pulls together and wins despite the odds, but don't fool yourself into thinking there is anything holy or sacred or pure going on. While a few levels south of professional boxing, it's still a dirty little game because we prize National Championships over Nobel Prize winners...we always did, do and will.

The current anger directed at Broyles, Heath & Nutt is do to a lack of success, not because Houston wastes time on the phone or is having an affair or the Alums are up to their usual hide and seek tricks. This too shall pass.

All the colleges have these foundations...the UALR Foundation is the NON PROFIT (Ha!) that qualified for the liquor license at the new Stephens Athletic Facility. The booster foundations are able to hide a multitude of sins from public scrutiny and good public policy. And they use public property and student athletics to further their endeavors. It ain't right!

If he can hold his head up doing it, I have no problem with Houston Nutt coaching the Razorbacks even if he had an affair with that anchor chick.

But if I were his wife, he would be doing it sans testicles.

anyone trust the TRUSTEES !!!all they have to do is ask for and review the text messages
and act accordingly

wonder if the ncaa can get the text messages and take action?

we are getting a new bb coach. we need to get rid of nutt, broyles, white, make the foundation under control of the univ board and shut up and root for the hogs again. this stupid drama is silly. who cares about the coaches sex life.

CAUTION!!! WHERE'S A COPY OF THE *.PDF OF THE ORIGINAL FOI REQUEST IN "THE FILE"? A TEXT MESSAGE WOULD NOT BE KEPT BY THE UNIVERSITY AS A BUSINESS RECORD AND WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO ARKANSAS FOI. IT WOULD REQUIRE A SUBPOENA TO THE CELLULAR CARRIER! THERE IS NOT AN ONGOING LAWSUIT IN ORDER TO HAVE A SUBPOENA. EVEN IF THE WHOLE THING DIDN'T STINK OF FRAUD AND IT WAS HDN'S PHONE ACCOUNT, THAT DOESN'T SAY WHO HAD THE PHONE. THIS FELLOW IS SUPPOSEDLY SOPHISTICATED ARKANSAS FAN WHO CAN GO TO THESE LENGTHS TO FIND THIS INFORMATION, YET HE CAN'T GET OR CREATE HIS OWN URL OR BLOG TO POST THIS STUFF?? IT STINKS OF AN ALABAMA "HACK" JOB!!! IT'S LIBELOUS!!

ARK. BLOG: And the libel is? The FOI request was made. The university supplied the records. By explaining some ofr the calls, Nutt's attorney has verified that the records are legitimate. What do the calls mean? Another question.

It is really sad that people are buying into this 48 page piece of crap. Thomas McAfee sent something to the UA Board of Trustees that contained phone records that are stored at the school. The University administration does not care that Houston Nutt made personal phone calls on his University issued cell phone. He has been doing this for 9 years. We could FOI 9 years of Houston's phone records, but what does it matter? The man has many friends that I am sure he talks to at all hours of the day and night. Other players received terrible emails. Maybe Thomas McAfee should find out who sent those emails and see if Houston has ever talked to those people. WHO CARES!!!
Thomas McAfee should have done more research to find out that the owner of the company where he is employed is a very close friend of the Nutt family. I really would not want to be in his shoes.