By Ed McGranahan, Will Vandervort, Hale McGranahan, William Qualkinbush, Robert MacRae.

By Ed McGranahan, Will Vandervort, Hale McGranahan, William Qualkinbush, Robert MacRae.

The  TCI staff of Ed McGranahan, Hale McGranahan, Will Vandervort, William Qualkinbush and Robert MacRae go Around the Horn to answer some of the questions surrounding Clemson athletics and college football.

Since ACC Commissioner John Swofford was Athletic Director at North Carolina for several years during their academic scandal should he resign or be fired as Commissioner?

Robert MacRae:  “The answer is absolutely he should be removed if he does not choose to resign.  We all know that if that scandal had happened at Clemson, Swofford and the conference would be leading the charge for major punishments against the Tigers.  With a scandal this big you can be sure that the head coaches and the Athletic Director were aware of the situation.  Swofford likes to brag about the academic success and standards for the ACC.  I don’t see how he can do that any longer with any credibility.  The conference doesn’t need someone that was part of this scandal leading the league.”

Will Vandervort:  “Well, isn’t this a mess. The question I would like to ask is who knew what? We know Coach Bunting and Coach Davis knew something was going on in football, but what about Mack Brown? Did this also happen under his watch when he had those great UNC teams with all that talent in the mid-to-late ’90s? How much did John Swofford know when he was the AD during that time?. He did not leave UNC until 1997, that’s four years after the start of these findings. Considering this investigation was approved by UNC’s new chancellor and the school is reporting its findings, I say the NCAA has to investigate it all, and perhaps strip at least all the football victories from the time the players started to enroll in these “paper classes” and any basketball games and that includes the 1993 National Championship and a few of their Final Four Appearances. Of course, Roy Williams–I don’t know if he truly is telling the truth–but at least the investigation proves the basketball program had a decline in players participating in the “paper classes” scandal since Williams came back to Chapel Hill.“

Hale McGranahan:  “One would have to assume that John Swofford had an idea that something was going on while he was still in Chapel Hill. If he was completely in the dark and didn’t have a clue about any of that stuff, well, that’s also pretty damming. Either way, it’s not a good look for Swofford, UNC or the ACC. If he wants to try and save face for his school and the conference, Swofford should resign. If not, the league’s presidents need to drop the hammer.”

Ed McGranahan: “John Swofford should resign mmediately as commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. No fond farewell, no final tour of nostalgia, no golden parachute.

On his watch a program of deceit began at the University of North Carolina that should embarrass and outrage every person tied to the school. Our country lost a president for things far less shameful, so what he knew and when he knew it isn’t excusable.

I challenge anybody who suggests that Swofford be absolved because of his work as commissioner of the ACC, that he deserves a reprieve, that he was not complicit.

Funny how these things never seem to make his bullet points at the annual state-of-the-league message each July.” 

William Qualkinbush:  “This is a tricky subject. Heads should roll at North Carolina for the willful ignorance displayed by higher-ups for nearly two decades as widespread, institutionally-backed academic fraud took place. As athletic director for part of the period in question, John Swofford should not be immune to criticism. However, his future as commissioner of the conference is an entirely different issue.

Unless there is a smoking gun proving Swofford knew what was going on and did nothing to stop it—or even perpetuated it—it will be tough to strong-arm him into a resignation. There is also a question of a statute of limitations since it was more than a decade ago that Swofford was involved. Ultimately—and this is a scary thought—the answer to this question lies solely in Swofford’s hands. Just as he is probably the only person who could end his tenure as ACC commissioner, he is the only one who knows his own level of culpability. Since we probably never will, we only have a limited amount of information at hand. It seems like Swofford needs to be held accountable, but it’s just difficult to figure out the extent of that accountability, thereby making it difficult to justify calling for a resignation.”