Former WVU coach in trouble - again

by: Carnacki

Tue Sep 01, 2009 at 16:31:49 PM EDT

Former West Virginia Mountaineer Coach Rich Rodriguez - I feel I have to explain who he is since his departure from WVU has resulted in him becoming a Loser coach who would have drifted into obscurity except for the numerous scandals - is in yet another scandal at the University of Michigan:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez says he won't let a lawsuit over a failed Virginia condo project affect preparations for Saturday's season opener.

The suit was filed in August in U.S. District Court in South Carolina against Rodriguez. It says he owes a bank $3.9 million for defaulting on a loan to build condos near Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium.

This coming on the heels of allegations of violating NCAA rules:

The University of Michigan football team consistently has violated NCAA rules governing off-season workouts, in-season demands on players and mandatory summer activities under coach Rich Rodriguez, numerous players told the Free Press.

Players on the 2008 and 2009 teams described training and practice sessions that far exceeded limits set by the NCAA, which governs college athletics. The restrictions are designed to protect players' well-being, ensure adequate study time and prevent schools from gaining an unfair competitive advantage.

The players, who did not want to be identified because they feared repercussions from coaches, said the violations occurred routinely at the direction of Rodriguez's staff.

"It's one of those things where you can't say something," one current Wolverine said. "If you say something, they're going to say you're a lazy person and don't want to work hard."

and his teary defense:

Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez appeared to tear up as he talked about his program during his weekly news conference in Ann Arbor.

He opened his weekly news conference - scheduled for each Monday during the season - by saying he would talk about the Free Press report in which numerous current and former players said U-M consistently far exceeded NCAA limits on practice time and other football-related activities. Rodriguez talked for 15 minutes on topic, stopping several times when he appeared to choke up.

When he finished, he said, "That was longer than I wanted to take." Then he asked for questions about Saturday's opener against Western Michigan.

Michigan announced Sunday that it had launched an investigation into the allegations. The Big Ten and the NCAA have been alerted.