re: Smoke at Michigan State...UPDATE: Mark Dantonio resigns

Bert said to be interviewung for the MSU job

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Seems like fickell would be in line for a P5 job that isn't a shitshow facing possible sanctions.

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Part of the reason he turned them down is b/c he doesn't trust the admin at MSU to follow proper compliance to root out bad people from the athletics program.

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When a Cincinnati reporter posted a picture to Twitter of MSU's private plane getting ready to fly back to Lansing on Sunday afternoon, a person in heels was seen. The view of the rest of the person's body and face were blocked by a fuel truck. Speculation overran Twitter that the shoes belonged to Fickell's wife, Amy.

That wasn't true. The shoes belonged to Jennifer Smith, MSU senior women's administrator and senior associate athletic director for compliance. And her being there was no accident.

That's because Amy Fickell, and Luke to some extent, had concerns about campus culture at MSU, including lawsuits roiling the football department. Those concerns were part of the reason the Fickells turned down the Michigan State football job on Monday, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Free Press.

Smith was along for Sunday's interview with Fickell to help alleviate those concerns, sources said. The interview was conducted at Fickell's home. No offer was extended, but it was understood the job was his if he wanted it. The Fickells have six children.

MSU has faced several years of controversies, including the Larry Nassar scandal, where MSU administrators were accused of covering up their knowledge of his sexual assaults of hundreds of gymnasts. MSU President Lou Anna Simon resigned in the fallout and is currently on trial for charges she lied to the police. Her replacement, Interim President John Engler, also resigned under heavy pressure for his insensitive reaction to Nassar survivors.

In the athletic department, athletic director Mark Hollis resigned as ESPN dropped a bombshell of a report about sexual assaults by athletes. Current athletic director Bill Beekman was the board secretary and a close confidant of Simon before being named as the athletic director, thanks in large part to pressure from then football coach Mark Dantonio and basketball coach Tom Izzo.

Dantonio and Hollis have been in the news lately, thanks to a lawsuit from former football staffer Curtis Blackwell, who has been alleging Dantonio violated NCAA rules in arranging jobs for recruits' families and for pressing to get Auston Robertson, who multiple MSU staffers expressed concerns about, admitted to the university, where he then sexually assaulted a female student.

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LINK

Chuck Martin from Miami Ohio