Earlier today, ESPN's Pat Forde published a report stating the NCAA had sent Ohio State a "second letter". The report, originally published under the title "Sources: Ohio St. Gets Second Notice", has been cleaned up a bit to clarify that it wasn't a second Notice of Allegations, but still lays out additional trouble for the Buckeyes:
The NCAA notified Ohio State by letter last week that it is still investigating other issues involving the program. The result could be a second notice of allegations and a second trip through the NCAA justice system.
...
If any of those reports are verified by NCAA investigators, they could result in additional major allegations against the school.
Forde is currently in Indianapolis for NCAA president Mark Emmert's retreat and received quite the tip, it seemed.
Reached this evening, OSU spokesman Jim Lynch disputed Forde's report. The Dispatch:
The university has received no indications from the NCAA that it could face additional allegations or findings, Lynch said.
Lynch said that OSU President E. Gordon Gee received a letter from the NCAA on Aug. 3, but it concerned only procedural matters about the appearance of OSU officials before the Infractions Committee on Friday.
The letter did not make any references to an ongoing investigation of the football program, Lynch said. Ohio State cannot immediately release the letter because if must undergo legal review prior to its release, he said.
So, who to believe, the institution already in hot water or the connected reporter in Indy?
I'm going to go with the guys that eventually will have to release this document as part of a public records request. Why would they lie about something that's eventually going to become public?
That's not to say there won't be additional allegations downstream, but if -- big if -- those do surface, they weren't spelled out in a letter sent to Gordon Gee last week.
