It’s official: UGA’s Mark Richt is the World’s Greatest Boss

Ward · Dec 21, 2011

Admittedly, this columnist is a cheerleader for UGA...

Atlanta Journal Constitution Link

but ESPN picked up the story, too

ATHENS, Ga. -- Believing members of his football staff weren't being compensated satisfactorily, Georgia coach Mark Richt unknowingly violated NCAA rules by paying them out of his own pocket.

Richt's payments to several staffers were among a series of secondary NCAA violations uncovered by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a standard open records report released Tuesday.

Low: Actually, Richt Should Be Lauded

Georgia's secondary violations say a lot about the NCAA's nit-picky rules, but they also say a lot about the giving nature of coach Mark Richt, ESPN.com's Chris Low writes. Blog

According to the AJC report, Richt's actions broke NCAA rules on supplemental pay. But discipline was limited to letters of admonishment from the school to Richt and those he made payments to, as well as additional rules education, the report said.

The NCAA considered the issue closed Nov. 30, according to the AJC.

"The report stands on its own," athletic director Greg McGarity said Monday, the newspaper reported. "There's nothing to add. We're moving forward."

Georgia's investigation into the matter determined that Richt made several impermissible payments:

• To former recruiting assistant Charlie Cantor, $10,842 over an 11-month period through March 2011.

• To former linebackers coach John Jancek, $10,000 in 2009 after the previous university administration declined to give Jancek a raise when he turned down a coaching opportunity elsewhere.

• To director of player development John Eason, $6,150 in 2010 when his new administrative position called for a salary reduction after he stepped down from an assistant coaching position on Richt's staff.

Richt also paid a total of $15,227 when the school -- citing "difficult economic conditions being experienced by the University" -- refused bowl bonuses to 10 non-coach staff members: director of sports medicine Ron Courson, video coordinator Joe Tereshinski, strength coaches Keith Gray and Clay Walker, football operations manager Josh Brooks, high school liaison Ray Lamb and four administrative assistants.

He also paid a five-year longevity bonus of $15,337.50 due to tight ends coach Dave Johnson when he took a job at West Virginia in 2008 just short of his fifth anniversary coaching at UGA and $6,000 to fired defensive ends coach Jon Fabris in 2010 when Fabris was unable to find a job after his UGA severance package expired.

According to the AJC report, Georgia did not consider any of the payments to violate NCAA rules at the time because they were made with knowledge of the athletics administration.
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Sounds like the kind of boss I'd want to work for.

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It’s official: UGA’s Mark Richt is the World’s Greatest Boss

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It’s official: UGA’s Mark Richt is the World’s Greatest Boss

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