Terry Bowden--(Source: Darkside of College Football Interview with Paul Davis at Bowden’s ranch in 2001)
1) Way back in 1992-93, rumors and allegations surrounding AU's football program are swirling around Pat Dye, asst. coach Wayne Hall (the "Bookkeeper"), and Bobby Lowder; specifically, claims of both lump sum and monthly payments to highly touted recruits being made by the coaching staff and BoT members. Supposedly, 50-60 boosters would each contribute $5,000 to facilitate the payments. Hall collected the money from the boosters, as well as making the payments to the players. Hall and Dye also paid an Atlanta atty. $30,000 to forward to Gene Jelks as “juice” to keep him squealing about PFP programs at Bama. (This by the way if true, is absolutely hilarious!!)
2) The same year, Eric Ramsey uses a concealed tape recorder and documents booster "Corky" Frost's conversations with Dye and other coaches describing AU's PFP program and how it worked.
3) Before the shit-storm gets totally out of control with NCAA Investigations, Bobby Lowder 'ram-rods" Terry Bowden into Dye's position as coach, with the understanding Bowden keeps Hall (Paymaster and Bookkeeper) on staff, against the wishes of assoc. AD Mike Lude, because Lude knew Hall was the money man.
4) On August 18, 1993, Auburn was hit with some of the most severe penalties in the history of the NCAA (at that time). These included a two-year bowl ban, a one-year television ban (for the 1993 season), and the loss of 13 scholarships spread out over a four-year period. Dye was also banned from any appearance at an Auburn function until August 1995. The probation period, while enforced at the beginning of the 1993 season, did not actually start until the 1991 probations of the basketball and tennis teams ended. The probation therefore extended until Thanksgiving 1995.
5) Although Bowden admits to allowing Hall to honor payment agreements reached with existing players, Bowden begins the "termination" of the PFP program involving any new recruits, pissing Lowder off for not playing along, even though sanctions were severely limiting the talent pool in Football. Lowder begins to panic, has his daughter hired as Bowden's admin. asst. to keep tabs, and implements a "coup" of the Athletic Administration. He has Muse replaced with David Housel, someone to act more as a puppet controlled by Lowder. Also orchestrates BoT Members Jimmy Rane, Paul Spina, and John C. McWhorter as the BoT Football Advisory Committee, which orchestrates the demise of Bowden.
6) According to Bowden, Danny Rane (a walk on and YellaWood's son) is secretly sending AU practice tapes to Miss. St. to further the failure of Bowden and staff (also absolutely hilarious if true.) Bill Oliver (Bowden's def. coord.) brings a concealed tape recorder to a coaches meeting and prods Bowden into lying about supposed "votes of confidence" assured for Bowden and Staff by Lowder. Mid-season Tommy Tubs is promised AU's head coaching job, while still coaching at Ole Miss.
7) Bowden gets wind of all this, and resigns mid-season before the BoT and Lowder can orchestrate his formal termination. By doing so, Bowden secures a severance package of the Ranch where this interview took place, a lump sum payment of cash, and deferred installment disbursements, in all valued at over $1.8Million. Also included in the package is a confidentiality agreement sealing ANY discussion of Lowder, BoT, the Athletic Dept. or recruiting.
TOMMY TUBERVILLE- “TUBS” (source: AJC, Mobile Register, and ESPN Archived Articles via Google)
1) From 1999 to 2003, Tubs wins between 7-9 games per season, placing 1st in the West twice. On more than one occasion, Lowder and Tuberville butt heads during this period, pissing Lowder off.
2) That Lowder, then President William Walker, then AD Housel, and BoT members Franklin and McWhorter fly to Louisville to meet Bobby Petrino about replacing Tubs, starting the fiasco later known as JetGate.
3) Tubs gets pissed, threatens to go to the SACS (which is in the midst of it's own review of BoT problems caused by Lowder), and the whole thing blows up in Lowder's face. In an effort to keep Tubs at bay, his contract is renegotiated to include a disclosure provision that Tubs is to be notified before any contact with a potential coach or search is made.
4) Tubs goes 13-0 yet AU gets snubbed for 2004 BCS.
5) 2007 Saban is hired at the University of Alabama
6) Lowder and Co. are scared about the Saban hire and want Tubs out, allegedly because Tubs won't "actively" participate in PFP schemes which Lowder and Co. feel is necessary to compete with Bama's new hire. Also, the Tubs hire of Franklin as OC was a compete failure. Supposedly “YellaWood” (Still BoT Member) contacts Huston Nutt (Sexton Client) about possible interest. Nutt tells Sexton, who tells Tubs (also a Sexton client), who threatens litigation for breach of Search Notification clause.
7) AU and Boosters shell out $Millions to Tubs as settlement.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)-(source: Timeline - AJC Archives, Al.com, via Google)
1) April 1999. Budget cuts orchestrated by Lowder as head of BoT Finance Committee eliminate the PhD. program in Economics, pissing off a large portion of the faculty, including then Pres. William Muse. By Feb, 2001 (led behind the scenes by Lowder) Muse has enough, resigns under pressure, and takes a similar position with East Carolina.
2) March, 2001, Muse along with several faculty and Dept Chairs, initiate a formal complaint to the SACS that BoT has severely infringed upon the authority of the University President, specifically the "Micromanagement" by Lowder in both Academics and the Athletic Dept. They specifically site the termination/resignation of Terry Bowden as record.
3) SACS records 9 votes of no confidence and was in the process of initiating and investigation when AU sues the SACS for lack of due process.
4) In August, 2002 a Federal Judge appoints an independent examiner to look into allegations, as well as the financial ties between the various BoT members. Richard Bradley issues a report on December 13th, but the Judge, at the insistence of SACS, deems the report inadequate. So Bradley does another investigation, the results of which are curiously sealed by a separate court order, an order which still remains intact today.
5) SACS places AU on a one-year probation, the most severe sanction possible without pulling the accreditation entirely. Although hampered by a Federal Judge's restrictions, they were still able to substantiate Micromanagement issues. Specifically, the business relationships between Lowder's Bank, Atty Jack Miller (BoT member as well as lead counsel for Colonial Bank) Jimmy Rane (BoT Member whose Lumber Company's primary commercial banking relationship is with Colonial Bank, Also owning Colonial Bank Stock valued at the time over $2.4Million), would allow Lowder and his "minority" vote could influence the "majority" of the Board. They also noted Lowder & Co.'s involvement in both the Dye-PFP and Bowden termination as Micromanagement.
Chizik - (source: ESPN: editorial via Google with added supposition)
) Rane makes contact with Houston Nutt in 2008 mid-season, violating the search notification clause in TTubs' Contract renegotiation after JetGate.
2) Nutt tells Sexton (his Agent), which in turn tells Tubs who is also a Sexton client. Tubs resigns, gets a huge settlement, leaving AU coachless.
3) Lowder and AU continue search, which ultimately leads to the hiring of Chizik, a former Sexton client which with a 5-19 record would knowingly jump at any opportunity to enhance his resume. Chizik also was familiar with Lowder, Dye, and Co., as he previously acted as DC under Tubs, making him a perfect "puppet" for Lowder and crew to manipulate. Chizik's new Recruiting Coordinator is Trooper Taylor.
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