Auburn investigates allegations
Professor: Athletes got high grades in class that required no attendance and little work

By BILL SANDERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 07/14/06

Auburn University is investigating allegations that one of its professors improperly assigned grades to student-athletes, particularly football players, in 2004 and 2005.

The professor making the charges went one step further Thursday night, telling the Journal-Constitution that the pervasive atmosphere of athletics over academics at Auburn is rampant.

The charges center around Thomas Petee, the chairman of the school's sociology department, who allegedly offered "directed reading" courses that became a favorite of football players. The one making the allegations, sociology professor James Gundlach, said little or no work was required of the students — many of whom were football players — to earn A's.

Auburn interim president Ed Richardson, in announcing the investigation, said the university would be open and up front with its findings.

"Over the past two years, Auburn has shown a willingness to address serious issues in a very open and direct manner," Richardson said in a statement. "... Auburn has been, and is, fortunate to have many dedicated instructors who, like us, will not tolerate academic misconduct."

The investigation was commissioned by school provost John Heilman on June 5. Gundlach said he complained when he noticed an Auburn athlete getting cited as a sociology scholar-athlete on a televised football game. Gundlach said neither he, nor the two other full-time sociology professors, remembered having the athlete in class.

Gundlach began looking into the matter and discovered that many Auburn athletes were getting high grades in Petee's class that required no attendance and little work.

Petee told The New York Times in a story for today's editions that he had shown no favoritism to the athletes.

Petee did not return phone calls from the AJC to his home.

Gundlach told the AJC he had tried for two years to get Auburn administrators interested in his allegations.

"[Petee] is destroying the credibility of the program by giving away grades," Gundlach said Thursday. "I had raised this with the faculty leadership, and I assumed no one was doing anything about it. I was seeing a place I had given 30 years of

devoted service to go to hell."

Several people with close ties to Auburn said Thursday they believe Gundlach's complaint to be without merit.

Dacula's David Irons Sr., the father of Auburn football stars Kenny and David Irons, said he he has seen first-hand how hard players work at academics.

"All the grades of the [athletes] were lower than the other students anyway," David Sr. said. "David had the class last year, and he said there was way too much hard work for there to be anything under the table. This is all a bunch of bull."

Irons said he goes to Auburn frequently to visit his sons and sees them coming in from study hall at 10 or 11 p.m.

"Coach Tub has them on tight shifts," Irons said. "These guys are all working too hard for something like this to be happening."

Jim Woods, father of Walton High star and Auburn recruit Bailey Woods, said this has not caused his family to

rethink the commitment.

"Auburn has done the right thing and come out and said, 'We are going to get to the bottom of it,' " Jim Woods said. "I'm pleased Auburn took care of their business. I am pleased the system worked. It is a black eye. When practice starts, this will be the furthest thing from anybody's mind."

Gundlach said he was not optimistic the investigation would change anything.

"I don't have much hope things are going to get better," he said. "... The roots of the importance of athletics over academics are so deep and it runs so high up at this institution, it's just that to be in good graces of the upper level of the administration here, helping the athletes is the way to do that."

Gundlach spoke specifically about how Petee would act like "what's it called when little girls chase rock stars? Groupies. He was groupie-esque around athletes."

According to the Times, Gundlach's research showed 18 players received an average GPA of 3.31 in Petee's classes and had 2.14 in other classes.

Gundlach brought up one of Auburn's most embarrassing moments — when it was revealed two decades ago that former star running back James Brooks was illiterate — as evidence.

"You're having folks hold out false promises that they'll get you through school and then you can go to the NFL and it'll all be worth it," he said. "Everyone talks about this

being a chance for an education, that your football body won't be young forever. But just like Brooks, they find new ways to not go to class."

Gundlach acknowledged he has never been much of a sports fan at Auburn.

"I was always appreciative of the supposed opportunity it gave minority students to get an education, but when they get a fake education, it undermines it," he said.

Auburn sports information director Kirk Sampson said coach Tommy Tuberville would not comment.

— Staff writer Carter Strickland contributed to this article.



I respectfully disagree with Mr Irons. This goes on all over the place. I don't doubt that many students are fantastic and do work tirelessly to pass and keep thier grades up in addition to football, but this kind of thing is pretty common. It sounds like one professor was simply a bad egg, not unlike the Harricks over at UGA.

great thread title

the SEC might have the best athletes, but it also has the dumbest

Hmmm, I don't know about that, according to the NFL draft the best athletes reside in the ACC

if you know me at all, i'm not going to argue with that one bit... and i whole-heartedly agree... i just wanted to give the SEC a little respect before i pointed out their ignorance

I hear you, it's sad but this shit goes on all over College Football. It's the way it is and I'm not about to say shit cuz you never know when it might appear in your own backyard.

This is what happens when all of the schools within a conference are nothing more than degree mills(except Vandy).

Does Willie Williams still count?

He's dumber than a sack of hammers.

and about the ACC....either the NFL is stupid for taking that many NC State defensive linemen in the first round, or Chuck Amato should spend less time in the gym and more time figuring out how to put some kind of shred of offense on the field. For all the talent they supposedly had that team was damn pathetic.

no doubt about that.

Actually, if you go by GPA and SAT scores Willie was anything but an idiot. He did very well in the class room, he just got in with the wrong group of kids which is not out of the question for a young man like him.

The D was solid but they were starting a new QB, new RB, and new WR's so the production was not that much of a surprise.

well, i blame a lot of it on coaching because i never saw a team fuck themselves over on penalties like the Pack have done the past couple years... bball didnt need a new coach; football does

True, in the classroom he's far from Frank Gore but as for common sense......not a whole lot. How many criminal violations and embarassments did he put the 3 Florida schoos through before Miami finally took a chance on him, and now he's unhappy because he isn't good enough to crack the starting line up?
________________________________________

A lot of people think Phillip Rivers made Amato look good. They've had a lot of talent, no doubt he knows how to recruit, but that team has been essentially mediocre during most of his tenure. Maybe he is a good coach for that program, like a Cutcliffe at Mississippi, but they should have been better than they were, even the defense to have 3 1st rounders on the D line. They were good yeah, but they weren't that good.

Tis true, Amato is a good recruiter and has an eye for talent but as far as coaching not so much. He also burns through assistant coaches like no one else.

ha ha, and he wears those damned hideous shoes and glasses.....and he talks like he swallowed a balloon full of helium.

Yeah, about those glasses, I just want to ask: why Chuck, why?

It'd be pretty funny if someone could dig some stuff up about the Robin Wright thing at Tennessee, writing papers for players, or the UGA scandal with the Harricks. Someone has to have that test on the web somewhere.

How many baskets are on a basketball court?


But hey while we're at it, maybe we could poke fun at Barry Switzer when he was at OU or Jackie Sherrill. Wow, were those guys dirty. I think I remember Arkansas having scandals too.

The SEC goes all out

oh man have I heard some hilarious comments from AU alumni this afternoon.... for instance "This professor had an axe to grind because he was passed over for promotion" Oh yeah? Ya think? No shit Sherlock. The Great Pumpkin told on Alabama, it dosen't mean it didn't happen.

That being said public schools in Georgia at least are guilty of wide scale grade inflation due to the hope grant so it's not like these guys don't expect to be coddled when they get to college too. It's not like AU and UA boosters don't give $100 handshakes. It happens all over the SEC and the rest of big time college football.

AU is probably as clean as it's ever been, Pat Dye went down in a hail of scandal, the younger Bowden had his share....it's just amazing. I can't think of a school in the SEC other than maybe Vandy that hasn't had some issues.

and look waht Vandy football gets for following the rules