Franchione sold insider knowledge

[sooner_born_1960]

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione said he has stopped selling inside information on the Aggies in a newsletter to boosters who paid $1,200 per year in subscription fees that helped finance the coach's personal Web site.
About a dozen elite boosters subscribed for the past three years to the e-mail newsletter, called "VIP Connection." It offered Franchione's candid assessments of players and specific injury information, details Franchione routinely declined to discuss publicly because, he would say, it is not "our policy" to disclose injuries.
Franchione made subscribers sign a confidentiality agreement and said he doesn't believe any of the inside information was used for gambling, the San Antonio Express-News reported in Friday editions after obtaining a copy of the newsletter through a "third-party source."
"We asked them to sign something," Franchione said. "And for them not to do that. Most of these people are tremendously loyal Aggies."
Athletic director Bill Byrne could not immediately be reached for comment by The Associated Press on Friday.
The newsletter was written by Mike McKenzie, Franchione's personal assistant. The two denied benefiting financially from the newsletter, although Franchione said proceeds were used to underwrite his personal Web site, coachfran.com.
In one newsletter, McKenzie wrote about six players being unavailable to play against Montana State and listed their specific injuries. A seventh player was "iffy" because he had not fully recovered from a mild concussion, according to the newsletter.
McKenzie also wrote about Franchione's assessment of the Aggies' wide receivers.
"Privately, Coach told me last night that Earvin (Taylor) and Pierre (Brown) are very steady but with average speed," McKenzie wrote. "Kerry (Franks) has great speed, but (is) inconsistent in receiving."
"The whole point of it was for them to be informed about the program, straight from the head coach," McKenzie said.
McKenzie referred to "VIP Connection" as "private correspondence between a head coach and the individuals involved."
Franchione, who makes about $2 million per year in a contract that runs through 2011, has offered refunds to the subscribers, McKenzie said.



http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news?slug=ap-franchione-secretnewsletter&prov=ap&type=lgns

[sooner_born_1960]

Sorry, Lid. I just noticed you posted this in the spoof thread.

[The Maestro]

Coach Fran can make cracks about the Bomar deal all day long...he'll be lucky to get a job at Sam Houston State after this ordeal.

Man, I bet the Bama fans are eating this up! He's toast...surprised if he survives the day.

[Octavian]

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/3803/franronjm0.gif (http://imageshack.us)

[reddfoxx]

Randy Shannon. Miami Head Coach, found Franchione's insider service very valuable and wholeheartly recommends that coaches the the Big 12 sign up before playing Texas A&M. Shannon said the $1200 was a small price to pay to kick A&M's rears all over the field on national TV.

[sooner_born_1960]

http://www.beamerball.com/free/club.htm
Looks like Beemer offers a similar service. It's only $39.95.

[Tidefan36854]

Man, I bet the Bama fans are eating this up! He's toast...surprised if he survives the day.

Umm, yeah, you could say that!;)

[Seamus]

http://www.beamerball.com/free/club.htm
Looks like Beemer offers a similar service. It's only $39.95.


Hokies are smarter than aggies. No surprise there.

Only an idiot (or a texan) would pay $1,200 for a newsletter just so he could brag to his buddies at the country club.

[Tidefan36854]

You don't have a secret Little Orphan Annie decoder ring to read Frank's though!:D

[zeke]

So, what happens next?

What are the Aggholes saying on their message boards?

[Mac94]

Beamer's newsletter is available to the public .. Fran's little gig was secret, even reportedly kept hidden from AD Bill Byrne. As for what happens, that's kinda up to Byrne right now.

[King Crimson]

yeah, i don't have any real problem with "insider" material--it's a free market economy, but the secrecy of it combined with "underwriting the website" is a little iffy. it can't cost too many $1000+ subscriptions to keep a website up....when the guy providing the info is running practice.

and Fran may have unwittingly given ATM a "good" reason to dump him.

[badger]

If our state aggies weren't such easy targets right now, I would be cartooning Fran.

This is ridiculous. FIRE FRAN NOW

Oh, and proof that he posts on FireDennisFranchione.com:

#
CoachFran.com said,

September 20, 2007 @ 11:29 pm

To the Aggie Faithfull,

Our players played really hard tonight. We were in the game with 10minuts left. I ask that all of you continue your support of our dear Aggies. I will be releasing a statement on CoachFran.com tommorrow evening summarizing the game. Cleary, we had a solid game plan but came up short in the execution phase of the game. Up next, we face the Baylor Bears at Kyle!! Hope to see everyone screaming for the Ag’s to BTHO Baylor! We are getting closer to where we want to be as a football program and the staff, players, and I just hope that you, the fans, give us time to reach that plateau. I’ve had a long night and I going to get some sleep now. Good night

-Coach Fran



and another...

#
CoachFran.com said,

September 21, 2007 @ 2:09 pm

Dear Fellow Aggies,

Longevity and persaveerance is the hallmark of a great team. Our team, staff, and coaches did everything possible to best prepare ourselves for what we might face in Miami. Sometimes great things happen and sometimes, unexpently, the opposite things happen. We will face a very familiar opponent next week in the Baylor Bears. Not to make light of non-conference games,

and another...

#
CoachFran.com said,

September 21, 2007 @ 2:13 pm

Sorry about the cuttoff and spelling errors in the previous post. Next week we start our conference schedule and our team would like the 12thMan in the stands supporting us. Rome was not built in a day or a few years. We are getting there step by step.
We will be sucessfull in Aggieland.

Gig ‘Em
Coach Fran


#
CoachFran.com said,

September 23, 2007 @ 10:33 pm

My Fellow Aggies,

Life presents its challenges in all forms. Our team and staff received that challenge Friday morning. After having the Miami game did not come out in our favor, we face the challenge of re-grouping and putting a negative episode behind us. After four weeks of football we find ourselves standing, with our heads up, at three wins and one loss. I am a religious man and I believe the good LORD gave us eyes in front of our head and not in the back to see where we are going and to look forward. Our focus now is on a solid Baylor team coming off a win. Our long term focus is on being the best team in the Big 12. While we all understand that one game only negatively determines a teams seasons if the team can not put disappointments behind them and get better. Aggie fans can be assured of one thing, our team will play their hearts out for our school and the 12th Man.

Gig ‘Em

-Coach Fran

and another...

#
CoachFran.com said,

September 25, 2007 @ 12:15 am

Fellow Aggies,

I obviously am not a fan of this website due to the nature of its intentions. By necessity, I must let the fans of Texas A&M football know how much I love them and care for this university. Our team had a great day of practice today in preparation of the beginning of t Big 12 play. There will be some new things inserted this week on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball which will be revealed this Saturday. I understand the frustration and disappointment the Aggie faithful endured with what happened this past weekend, but as I said in an earlier message, the exhibition season is over and we now will play for all the marbles of the Big 12. I honestly believe, as our AD Bill Byrne has said also, true Aggie fans and Kyle Field has no room for the two-percenters. I spoke with Bill over this weekend about the status of the football program and I can assure everyone that the pressure is on big time. Our team has shown the most grace under pressure, which I believe, will be visible throughout the rest of the season.

Gig ‘Em

-Coach Fran

He has a high level of hybris/hubris and needs to get cut down before he brings our conference down. FIRE HIM...

[Mac94]

Those writing have the hallmark of our "favorite" Fran lackey Mike McKenzie ... the writer of the infamous newsletters.

[Flagstaffsooner]

Coach Fran is making Jackie Sherrill look good.

[soonerinabilene]

I dont pretend to know a whole lot about this kind of stuff, so maybe a lawyer or medical type could help me out, but there is this little thing called "H.I.P.P.A." that is supposed to protect your medical information. Now obviously every team has injury reports and all that jazz, but selling that info in a vip newsletter sounds like it might be fracturing a law or two.

[SouthFortySooner]

Jeez peefle, he said he had stopped. :confused: By the way that hippa thing is a federal req. good luck with that.

[badger]

so... now all we have to do is open records request it and it's fair game, because he probably spent university money printing it and making it(and as he and his assistant are behind it, I would have to assume this to be correct)

[soonermix]

i say keep him around we all could use the easy win every year
i just hope we don't lay too big a beating on them this year so they don't go and get themselves a quality coach. i say keep coach fran all it does is help us in the long run

[arlington]

This proves that Aggie boosters are very supportive of there program. Who in there right mind would pay that much money for info on those sorry *** players? Wow, Pierre Brown and E.Taylor are slow and cant catch. Duh!!!

[goodonya]

Fran's got it made. He gets it coming and going. I'll bet his buddy's bookie is doing a banner business. I wonder how many times a year Fran "vacations" in the Caymans.

[RedGiant]

These morons are making millions a year and can't keep their heads out of their own a**es long enough to make a wise decision. I'm in the wrong line of work if it's this easy. I wonder if a graduate assistant position is open anywhere... Anyone? Anyone?

[Leroy Lizard]

At what point does a coach feel he is sufficiently compensated to where he doesn't have to do this stuff?

If a coach is willing to sell information about his program, then that information cannot be considered confidential. So if it isn't confidential, why wouldn't he make it public?

The coach does not own the information, so he has no right to sell it. Can any of his assistant coaches do the same? Can they compete on price?

[utex74]

yeah, i don't have any real problem with "insider" material--it's a free market economy, but the secrecy of it combined with "underwriting the website" is a little iffy. it can't cost too many $1000+ subscriptions to keep a website up....when the guy providing the info is running practice.

and Fran may have unwittingly given ATM a "good" reason to dump him.

Besides being sleazy, talking about players' injuries, if he did that, violates NCAA rules as well as, I think, federal law. There is the privacy issue which is why no one does it anymore. Could give aggie the hook to dump Fran, but that would be a shame. He is too entertaining.

[soonerboomer93]

my understanding is if they sign the waiver the information can be given out. However with or without a waiver, selling medical information is a whole different story.

[bluedogok]

At what point does a coach feel he is sufficiently compensated to where he doesn't have to do this stuff?
You could say the same thing about players....Vick anyone?

[Jacie]

Seems Franchione peddles inside information at $1200/week to a select group of boosters, the kind that can afford to pay that much for a newsletter. Of course, he had them sign an affadavit that forbid them from using the information to bet on football games. Now that his sideline has become public knowledge, he has agreed to quit. Check it out for yourself! Hoo ha!

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=AivnhGwyQT2sXXhBoLProoEcvrYF?slug=ap-franchione-secretnewsletter&prov=ap&type=lgns

[soonergirlNeugene]

Wow, discover that one all on your own?

[Ash]

Who, besides me, thinks this was reported by a ****ed Aggie booster who wants Fran fired?

[Crucifax Autumn]

Who cares? Just fire him before he gets a clue! Then we have 2 more years (at a minimum) of those weirdos sucking.

[jrsooner]

I dont pretend to know a whole lot about this kind of stuff, so maybe a lawyer or medical type could help me out, but there is this little thing called "H.I.P.P.A." that is supposed to protect your medical information.Not a lawyer or doctor, but I think the "loophole" is that they aren't actually employees and the Athletic department may not be classified as a "health care provider".

Some links for this...
HIPAA information (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HIPAAGenInfo/06_AreYouaCoveredEntity.asp)
Entity Charts (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HIPAAGenInfo/Downloads/CoveredEntitycharts.pdf)

[badger]

I created this yesterday. (http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7336/franmageg0.jpg) It's based off everything I've heard and some of the things NP's told me about their program under Fran.

[soonersweetie]

is anyone surprised that this hasn't been mentioned on Gameday so far? I also don't think I saw it on sportscenter either. Figured this would be all over the airwaves.

[badger]

there's an hour left

[sanantoniosooner]

There was a mention of it on the college preview show on ESPN before the WVU/USF game last night.

[r5TPsooner]

Hokies are smarter than aggies. No surprise there.

Only an idiot (or a texan) would pay $1,200 for a newsletter just so he could brag to his buddies at the country club.


Small pecker syndrome?

[badger]

Small pecker syndrome?
too much squeezing :D

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