In 1997, Dave Ridpath walked onto the campus of Marshall University as a sports-loving athletic administrator with a career on the rise. Less than five years later, Ridpath's quest to reform one of the most corrupt athletic departments in college sports, while simultaneously standing up to the behemoth governing body that is the NCAA, had all but destroyed that career. While serving as assistant athletic director for compliance and student services at Marshall University from 1997 through 2001, Ridpath unearthed violations of several NCAA rules. These violations included overt academic fraud and impermissible, booster-devised employment for members of the Marshall University football team-a team had taken the nation by storm because of its incredible success on the field. Ridpath now chronicles his experiences through this trying time in Tainted Glory: Marshall University, the NCAA, and One Man's Fight for Justice. Instead of being hailed as a conquering hero determined to clean up an outlaw program, Ridpath had the tables turned on him. He found himself out of a job when Marshall University and the NCAA determined that the path of least resistance would be to remove him rather than address the issues head-on. With this action, they hoped to avoid damaging the university, the athletic department, and the NCAA overall. This story is about more than the NCAA or Marshall University. It is about the state of the business of intercollegiate athletics told by someone on the inside who lived it-the good and the bad. TAINTED GLORY Marshall University, the NCAA, and One Man's Fight for Justice By B. David Ridpath iUniverse, Inc. Copyright © 2012 B. David Ridpath All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4697-9087-9 Contents Acknowledgments..........................................................xiForeword By Dale Brown...................................................xiiiForeword By Dr. Richard Vedder...........................................xvIntroduction.............................................................xviiPart I...................................................................1Prologue.................................................................3Chapter 1 Kickoff........................................................6Chapter 2 Building a Winner..............................................11Chapter 3 Meeting the Players............................................16Chapter 4 Ashes to Glory.................................................23Part II..................................................................27Chapter 5 Baby Steps.....................................................29Chapter 6 Trouble in Paradise............................................34Chapter 7 The Tools of Power.............................................39Chapter 8 Friends Without Benefits.......................................44Chapter 9 Under the Gun..................................................47Chapter 10 Red-Zone Violation............................................53Chapter 11 Private Investigation.........................................60Chapter 12 The Masterplan................................................73Chapter 13 Misdirection..................................................81Chapter 14 The Big Dig...................................................91Chapter 15 A Scapegoat Emerges...........................................101Chapter 16 Wading Through................................................109Chapter 17 The Eye of the Hurricane......................................116Chapter 18 Seeking Shelter...............................................123Chapter 19 The Hearing...................................................132Part III.................................................................141Chapter 20 Breaking Down.................................................143Chapter 21 A Not-So-Clean Break..........................................150Chapter 22 White Lies....................................................154Chapter 23 Weighing the Options..........................................161Chapter 24 The Report....................................................167Chapter 25 Igniting the Flame............................................177Chapter 26 Upping the Ante...............................................190Chapter 27 Endgame.......................................................198Epilogue.................................................................219Postscript: What Can be done to fix College Sports??.....................223Endnotes.................................................................237Index....................................................................255 Chapter One Kickoff It was November , 1997, and in my mind I had arrived. I was making the cross-country drive from my former home in Ogden, Utah to my new one in Huntington, West Virginia, and it was probably the most pleasant drive of my life. It was a dreary day - gray, cold, and r