Gigged: A&M Coach Franchione Shuts Down Insider Newsletter

Franchione Shutters VIP E-Mail Service To Select Donors

Texas A&M AD Bill Byrne indicated that he was unaware of a “secret e-mail newsletter sent by football coach Dennis Franchione to select boosters who paid $1,200 annually” for the information, according to Brent Zwerneman of the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS. Byrne said in a statement, “I was first made aware of this VIP e-mail list by a reporter two weeks ago. When I saw a copy of an e-mail, I called [Franchione] and recommended this program be discontinued.” Franchione Thursday stopped the service of the newsletter, which contained “information Franchione routinely has withheld from the public, including injury reports and occasionally candid personnel assessments.” There were around 12 subscribers to the newsletter, which had been distributed for three years. Franchione: “There was no intent to deceive anyone. I thought this was another avenue of trying to keep some of our top donors informed about our football program.” He added because of a confidentiality agreement readers had to sign for the newsletter, he “doesn’t believe the subscribers used the information for gambling.” (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 9/29). Franchione makes over $2M in salary annually, and a source said that he “did not benefit financially from the newsletter,” as the money was directed to the company that hosts Franchione’s personal Web site, CoachFran.com (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/30). Mike McKenzie, Franchione’s personal assistant, actually wrote the newsletter, and he said, “Everyone had the understanding that if this is ever compromised, it’s over” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/29).

E-Mails Contained Information Such As What Plays A&M Would Run

INSIDER INFO: In Dallas, Brian Davis reported one of the several newsletters obtained by the paper “names a potential recruit, a potentially minor NCAA violation.” However, other newsletters “talk about what plays A&M will run, the team’s travel schedule and generally harmless fluff.”  NCAA rules prohibit school personnel from talking publicly about recruits, but the newsletter was private, so it is “unclear if A&M could be subject to penalty.” An e-mail sent in November ’05 told subscribers defensive coordinator Carl Torbush “would be fired about 45 minutes before A&M officials told the media.” Meanwhile, Franchione said he apologized to his team and told them, "Sometimes you do things that turn out just exactly the opposite of what you think they should or how they’re going to" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/30). A specialist from the U.S. Dept of Health & Human Resources' Office of Civil Rights said that Franchione “probably did not violate any laws related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/29).

A BAD IDEA: In Dallas, Kevin Sherrington wrote, “The e-mail plan was foolish on several levels: Flaunting the possibilities of NCAA or recruiting violations; relying on the flimsy promise of confidentiality to keep the secret; keeping the idea from your boss; and the possibility of driving a wedge between everyday Aggies and the school’s elite” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/30).