On Monday, Oklahoma State announced the hiring of Charles E. Smrt to lead an independent review of alleged misconduct in the OSU football program.
Who is Charles E. Smrt?
The short answer is "Chuck" Smrt is a household name to insiders when it comes to these kind of jobs.
In 2011,
CBSSports.com writer Dennis Dodd said Smrt's firm - The Compliance Group, based in Lenexa, Kan. - is among "gold standard" firms when it comes to guiding schools through NCAA investigations.
The Internet site for Smrt's firm says TCG has provided compliance and academic reviews, investigative assistance and strategic planning to many NCAA institutions. Included on the site is a partial list of NCAA member institutions who have been TCG clients, including 63 at the Division I level.
You'll need to get Smrt's information from the site - or from other sources - because he's in no position to talk about himself.
On Tuesday, the Tulsa World sent Smrt an email asking if he would be willing to walk a reporter through the process OSU will face or if he could provide background on "who is Chuck Smrt?"
Smrt replied that it is TCG's policy not to talk with media during the course of a review and that includes general questions about process or an employee's background.
Don't ask Mike Glazier, either. Glazier was called Tuesday and was asked only if he could confirm he and Smrt were football teammates at Indiana.
Glazier said in no uncertain terms that he could not talk about "that case." By "that case," he meant the OSU case. And, though Indiana football history has nothing to do with the OSU case, Glazier shot down a follow-up question with a similar response.
Why ask Glazier? He and Smrt have more than Indiana in common.
Smrt's site says he is a former Indiana football student-athlete. An Indiana spokesperson, citing a letterman's list in the 2013 football media guide, said Smrt lettered for the Hoosiers from 1972-74.
That means one of Smrt's Hoosier coaches was Lee Corso, who is now known to the nation as the "not so fast!" guy from the ESPN GameDay crew. And one of Smrt's teammates was Glazier, an ex-Hoosiers quarterback (and former Northeastern A&M QB) who gravitated toward the same line of work as Smrt.
Glazier is a college sports attorney at Bond, Schoeneck & King in Overland Park, Kan. Earlier this year, Glazier was ranked No. 1 on a "most influential people in Oregon sports" list by The Oregonian because he was the University of Oregon's hired hand in the Ducks' recent dealings with the NCAA.
A May 23, 1994, issue of Sports Illustrated said Smrt and Glazier were roommates for a year as undergraduate students at Indiana.
In the same story, there's a reminder of why Glazier's name should sound familiar. Glazier was retained by OSU to assist with an NCAA investigation in the 1980s. Former coach Pat Jones was quoted by SI as saying he would have hated to have gone through the process without Glazier.
At that time, Smrt was working in the NCAA's enforcement and compliance office. He was employed by the NCAA enforcement staff for 17 years. Now Smrt will be working with OSU to sift through the rubble of "The Dirty Game" series by SI.
In an OSU news release announcing Smrt's hiring, OSU/A&M Board of Regents chairman Tucker Link said the regents endorsed Smrt's selection and will treat allegations with the utmost seriousness.
"We must determine, based on credible sources and confirmed facts, whether the claims made in a series of Sports Illustrated articles have any truth to them," Link said.
"But let there be no doubt: The OSU Board of Regents does not and will not condone illegal, immoral and unethical conduct or conduct that violates applicable rules. We will work with President (Burns) Hargis to take appropriate action based on what the investigation determines should the claims prove to have any merit."
Smrt provided a statement for the release, saying he will be given "unfettered access" and the cooperation of Hargis to carry out his review.
Said Smrt, "He has asked me to pursue the facts wherever they may lead. I assured him that I will do so, and that I will conduct the review with care and urgency."
Among Smrt's past clients is Ohio State. Smrt assisted the Buckeyes with NCAA issues during the Jim Tressel regime.
Wrote Dodd in 2011, "(Smrt) has done one hell of a job if you're a Buckeye. Smrt, and the school, have seemingly isolated the case to a rogue coach and a handful of knuckleheaded players."
Oklahoma State hired Charles E. Smrt, president of the Lenexa, Kan.-based The Compliance Group, to lead an independent review of alleged misconduct in the football program. According to Smrt's bio from The Compliance Group's website:
- Smrt was employed by the NCAA Enforcement Staff for more than 17 years.
- Was responsible for the overall coordination of the major infractions process while at the NCAA. Was involved in the decision-making process, including examining case precedent to determine whether the case was secondary or major and whether allegations of institutional control and unethical conduct should be filed.
- Drafted many of the enforcement procedures and assisted in their interpretation.
- Has been present at more than 100 hearings before the NCAA Committee on Infractions.
- Has also worked at Virginia Commonwealth University and taught an undergraduate class in information collection and analysis.
- Received his undergraduate and master's degrees from Indiana University, where he was a football student-athlete.
Get to know Charles E. Smrt
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At West Virginia
TBA Sept. 28
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Original Print Headline: Firm hired by OSU is the 'gold standard'
OSU football investigation
In the final chapter of "The Dirty Game," Sports Illustrated said so many players have been jettisoned from the Oklahoma State football program and wound up in bad situations that this question should be asked: "How much did the program really care?"
