STARKVILLE — According to a national report, the Mississippi State football program won’t be disciplined after an investigation involving former Alabama player Luther Davis.
Players from Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi State were named in a Yahoo Sports report that claimed they received benefits from Davis, who is believed to be an intermediary between several college football standouts, NFL agents, and financial advisers.
The benefits were allegedly provided to former Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, former Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray, current Tennessee defensive end Maurice Couch, former MSU defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, and former MSU wide receiver Chad Bumphis.
According to a CBS Sports report citing anonymous sources Sunday, the NCAA notified MSU it considers the school’s role in the matter closed, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.
MSU officials confirmed to The Dispatch last September that the school had enlisted the services of attorney Mike Glazier as legal counsel. Glazier, head of law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King’s Collegiate Sports Practice Group, has served as legal counsel for the MSU athletic department in NCAA investigations involving football player Will Redmond and basketball player Renardo Sidney.
The Dispatch also reported MSU officials informed the SEC office of the matter immediately and continued to communicate with it as facts were determined.
The Yahoo Sports report provided copies of receipts for the purchase of airfare and an itinerary from Davis of a meeting at Little Dooey’s restaurant in Starkville. According to the report, Davis’ records included a receipt showing airline tickets from Birmingham, Ala., to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., worth $1,259.40 that were issued to Davis, Cox, Bumphis, and former MSU defensive back Johnthan Banks.
“Mississippi State constantly educates our student athletes about agent related issues,” MSU Athletics Compliance Director Bracky Brett said in a statement last September. “We’ve also worked closely with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office in recent years to strengthen the Mississippi Uniform Agent Act. As always, we will do our due diligence to evaluate any potential concerns.”
Citing anonymous sources, CBSSports.com reported in January that the NCAA can’t find Davis, which has stalled the case.
The Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann refused comment on a Yahoo Sports report a day after the story was published.
“Mississippi State University has always been responsive and cooperative to any inquiry by our Agency,” Hosemann said in a statement. “Furthermore, Mississippi State provided invaluable input to our recent revisions to Mississippi’s Athlete Agent law. However, it is the policy of the Secretary of State’s Office to neither confirm, comment, or deny any current or potential investigation our Agency conducts.”
According to the report, the names of Bumphis and Banks also appeared on a printed recruiting itinerary that included a passenger list on a private flight that stopped in Starkville on July 3, 2012. The passengers listed were Davis and three others with ties to NFL talent representation: Isaac Conner, an agent from the Allegiant Athletic Agency (known as A3), and Ronald Stewart and Andre Johnson, Nashville attorneys associated with Conner. Conner confirmed the recruiting trip to Yahoo Sports, and said the meeting was an introduction set up by Davis to meet Bumphis, Banks, and MSU defensive tackle Josh Boyd. Conner said Bumphis and Boyd were present, but Banks didn’t show up.
MSU’s football program is on probation through the 2015 season after a NCAA investigation revealed in June a former booster assisted Redmond, a Memphis, Tenn., area recruit, in purchasing an automobile at a discount and receiving other financial benefits. The program also had its number of scholarships and the number of recruiting visits reduced.
Redmond, a junior defensive back, was reinstated for the 2013 season after paying back $2,660 in benefits. He forfeited a year of eligibility and sat out the first five games of last season.
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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