One delightful side quest in the great NCAA investigation into Georgia Tech athletics that somehow spanned from 2009 to 2011 without anybody hearing about it: Paul Hewitt's basketball program was also declared guilty of secondary violations, which will come back to haunt new coach Brian Gregory in the form of diminished recruiting capabilities.
Hewitt, you say? Wasn't there something in his hilarious contract that would allow Tech to fire him without paying that ridiculous buyout if it could do so "with cause," such as Hewitt having committed NCAA violations? Why yes, yes there was.
Here's the relevant section of his contract:
Willfully violating an NCAA or ACC regulation or rule which results, after hearing, in probation or loss of scholarships or knowingly allowing a member of the Men's Basketball coaching staff to engage in conduct which results in similar sanctions; provided, however, that "Cause" shall be deemed to exist only after Hewitt has been given written notice of the basis upon which "Cause" is deemed to have occurred and thirty (30) days have expired since Hewitt's receipt of such written notice without Hewitt having cured such circumstance that has been alleged to constitute "Cause" and further provided that the President of the Association or the President's designee approves that such "Cause" exists.Should Hewitt disagree with the Association's assertion that "Cause" exists, Hewitt may, within ten (10) days of receipt of such written notice, give written notice of his objection to the Association and seek arbitration pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.
The basketball punishment didn't result in lost scholarships, and if he was given written notice of the matter before his termination, nobody ever found out about it. However, if they did manage to do that without anybody knowing -- and, remember, this entire investigation flew under the nose of everybody until this morning -- then perhaps they could make a case, but that doesn't change the fact that no schollies were docked.
You win this round, Hewitt, as well as every other round ever that didn't occur against teams such as Kennesaw State.