Savannah State University played its final football game Saturday and ended its season with a losing record for a 12th consecutive year. The Tigers' troubles, however, extend well beyond the football field.
On Dec. 22, 2007, SSU - an institution listed among the South's historically black colleges and universities - broke tradition when Robby Wells became its first white football head coach. Barely more than two years later, Wells was gone, having resigned amid a cloud of charges and countercharges that included allegations of unethical behavior on his part and racism on the part of the university.
View documents on ethical issues involving Robby Wells
During Wells' two seasons at Savannah State, his teams produced a 7-15 record, including 2-8 in 2009. When Wells, 42, resigned on Jan. 28 after a meeting with former SSU Vice President for Administration Claud Flythe and interim athletics director Marilynn Suggs, he cited "personal reasons" and his "health."
His resignation came six days before National Signing Day, the first day recruits can sign letters of intent to play for colleges and universities.
Since then, Wells has accused the SSU administration of firing him because he's white, and national media such as ESPN and USA TODAY have done their versions of his story.
The Savannah Morning News, in the meantime, issued freedom of information requests to SSU for all documents, e-mails and other material related to the matter. Followup interviews were then conducted with university officials and others who were involved in the matter.
Charges and countercharges
During one interview, Flythe said Wells is "a pathological liar" who was forced to resign after lying to SSU administrators about a trip he took to Las Vegas in January.
View documents of Robby Wells' Las Vegas trip
Flythe said Wells also was forced out for disregarding a variety of rules, including those of the NCAA, and because Flythe feared Wells would jeopardize SSU's attempt to join the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
"If I had an issue with race, why would I wait two-and-a-half years to terminate him?" said Flythe, who retired on June 30.
Wells, for his part, has filed a discrimination lawsuit in an Atlanta federal court against SSU, the Board of Regents, Flythe, Suggs, assistant athletics director for compliance, Shed Dawson, and football interim head coach Julius Dixon, who has since been dropped from the lawsuit.
Questions for SSU President Earl Yarbrough concerning the lawsuit have been directed to SSU attorney Joe Steffen.
"We, Savannah State, have no intention and have expressed no desire to anyone about wanting to settle this case because we don't believe there is liability," Steffen said on Nov. 10.
Wells, who did not respond to a message left on his cell phone Tuesday, isn't the only person who's suing SSU.
On July 12, four white football players - Jacob Farmer of Riverview, Fla., Andrew Cannon of Orange Park, Fla., Rico Arellano of Matthews, N.C., and Forrest Hill of Jonesboro - filed a discrimination lawsuit in an Atlanta federal court against SSU, the Board of Regents, Chancellor Errol Davis, Yarbrough and Suggs.
The players allege their scholarship offers were withdrawn after Wells resigned because of their race. A fifth white player, Marcus Taylor of Jacksonville, Fla., did not file a lawsuit.
Taking a chance
Flythe hired Wells just before 6 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2007, after receiving approval from Yarbrough.
It was Wells' first job as a college head coach and a step up from his position as defensive coordinator at Benedict College, an NCAA Division II school in Columbia, S.C.
The next day, Wells was introduced at Tiger Arena as SSU's 21st football head coach and ninth in 13 years. He was paid $90,000 annually. The coach he replaced, Theo Lemon, earned $65,000.
Wells was given 36 scholarships, up from the 24 available before he was hired but less than the maximum 63 allowed by the NCAA for Football Championship Subdivision teams.
Wells got off to a rocky start. Personnel documents show he was reprimanded as early as March 17, 2008, three months into his job, by former interim athletics director and compliance director Paula Jackson, for "failure to adhere to athletic department policies and procedures."
Jackson reprimanded Wells for ignoring "repeated requests for documentation from you and your staff" regarding recruiting and athletes visiting campus. She reminded Wells that he and each member of his coaching staff was given an institutional compliance manual and an NCAA compliance manual.
'TV Coach'
Wells craved the spotlight. After coaching his first spring game April 12, 2008, he surprised media by stopping an interview to propose - while three television cameras were recording - to his fiancee, Alkeisha Omoni (sometimes spelled Omani) "Nicole" Miller.
Some SSU players rolled their eyes and snickered behind Wells' back. They nicknamed him "TV Coach" because they said he always sought out the cameras.
In September 2009, Wells started his second season by debuting "The Robby Wells Coach's Show," a low-budget, 30-minute program that aired Saturday mornings on WSAV-DT2, the area's MyNetworkTV digital station.
The show's format included game highlights and commentary from him. Miller, his fiancee, was the host.
Documents show former SSU athletics director Bart Bellairs reprimanded Wells for failing to provide an outline of the show's content and failing to provide "a financial disclosure list in accordance to NCAA rules and our agreement."
Bellairs warned in the e-mail that Wells "will burn bridges if it is not done right and it will hurt you and the school."
Click here to read the e-mails
Bellairs, SSU's first white athletics director, was hired five months after Wells.
'Grounds for termination'
Bellairs resigned Nov. 23, 2009, to become the athletics director at Southeastern Louisiana University. During a May 18 interview, he said he never encountered racism at SSU and left for more money.
The day Bellairs resigned, he and Suggs, then the athletic department's senior woman administrator, submitted memoranda on their evaluations of Wells at Flythe's request.
Bellairs cited 14 concerns about Wells, including: "Lack of Protocol - goes around the system" and "Self Promoter - Cares more about his image than his team" and "Truthfulness - needs to be honest."
Suggs cited 15 concerns, including: "Lacks integrity" and "Business practices that led to his misuse of travel money during the 2008 football season."
View documents on financial issues involving Robby Wells
On Dec. 18, 2009, Wells signed a memorandum stating he understood his employment for 2010-11 was contingent upon his compliance with his job description.
Then, on Jan. 11, 2010, Flythe said he received a call from Suggs saying she, Dawson, golf coach Art Gelow and sports information director Opio Mashariki needed to see him because they feared Wells would get SSU in trouble with the NCAA.
They met with Flythe, who said he told them to draft a letter documenting their concerns. The next day, they submitted their letter to Flythe, who showed it to Yarbrough, who told him to give a copy to Steffen, the SSU attorney.
Flythe said Steffen told Yarbrough, "These are grounds for termination."
What happened in Vegas
On Jan. 19, Flythe and Suggs met with Wells. Flythe said he told Wells he could resign or be fired. Flythe said he gave Wells 24 hours to decide and instructed him to contact Suggs with his decision.
Flythe said Wells ignored his instructions and flew to Las Vegas, where he was paid $1,000 to speak at the National Association for Alternative Certification's conference for teachers. Flythe said he and Suggs did not see Wells from Jan. 19 until Jan. 28.
Judy Corcillo, executive director of the association, sent an e-mail to Wells on Aug. 25, 2009, in which she gave him an itinerary for Jan. 26-27, 2010, at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Summerlin, Nev.
Click here to view Robby Wells' itinerary
Corcillo asked Wells to give a 15-minute speech at the conference on Jan. 26 and to deliver a keynote address the next morning. Wells also received roundtrip airfare, per diem and a night at the hotel.
In a Dec. 21, 2009, e-mail Wells asked the association's administrative assistant, Kanasha "Kay" Trent, if she would book a flight for his fiancee.
"I will be happy to supply you with the payment up front," Wells wrote. "Her name is Alkeisha Miller. Everyone calls her Nicole."
On Jan. 25, Wells flew from Charlotte, N.C., to Las Vegas. The next day, Flythe said, he told Suggs to get Wells to return to SSU for a meeting.
"He said he was away, recruiting for the university," Flythe said.
Flythe, however, had documents showing Wells was not recruiting but was being paid to speak at the conference.
On Jan. 27, Wells returned to Charlotte.
He met the next day on campus with Flythe, Suggs and Tonia Mydell, Flythe's assistant. Wells resigned following that meeting.
No mandate for in-state recruiting
On Feb. 9, SSU notified the NCAA that Wells, although he resigned, broke an NCAA rule when he "provided names and possibly contact information for select prospective student-athletes" to WSAV television reporter Ken Slats.
The next day, WSAV broadcast a story about five white high school football players who said they were denied scholarships Wells had promised to them.
During the interview, Slats asked Dixon, who had been Wells' assistant coach, why the five white recruits did not receive scholarships. Dixon told Slats that a "directive" from SSU administrators was to "concentrate in state" on recruiting.
"If you look at the rest of the coaching staff, nobody on this staff went outside the state of Georgia to recruit," Dixon told Slats.
Wells, when interviewed by Slats, said Dixon's comment was "absolutely false."
On Aug. 5, Dixon told the Savannah Morning News that he misspoke when he told WSAV there was a mandate against recruiting out of state. He said Bellairs "strongly encouraged" coaches to remain in Georgia to recruit as a cost-saving measure.
"Mandate was the wrong choice of words," Dixon said.
Travel expense records for the 2009-10 recruiting season show Wells and assistant coaches Dixon, Barry Casterlin, Hans Batichon, Vincent Allen Edwards, John Montgomery and Eddie Johnson were issued a combined $10,071 in checks to make recruiting trips, including outside of Georgia.
Accusations of racism and lies
On Feb. 11, Wells accused SSU administrators of racism and lies in a resignation letter submitted to Suggs and copied to Flythe, Yarbrough and Davis.
Wells wrote to Suggs: "When you and Dr. Flythe unexpectedly called me in off the road from recruiting and we met on January 19, 2010, and Dr. Flythe stated to me that I would never have the support of the SSU alumni or reach those individuals because I am White, and that I would never have the support of the citizens of Savannah, because I am White and my fiance is Black, I knew you had already made a decision about my future at SSU. That evening, I was unable to sleep and physically ill."
View documents on ethical issues involving Robby Wells
Wells wrote that Suggs called him in again Jan. 28 and gave him the choice of being fired immediately and losing pay and benefits, or resigning and being paid through March.
"I felt that I had no choice but to resign," Wells wrote.
Wells said in his letter that he wrote it as a follow-up to his meetings Jan. 19 and Jan. 28 with Suggs, "and pursuant to your verbal instructions of (Feb. 10) to write a resignation letter in order to keep my pay and benefits through March 2010, as we agreed on January 28."
Wells wrote that Suggs, Flythe and Dixon engaged in "outrageous conduct" toward the players he and his assistants recruited.
Recruiting visits
Steffen, the SSU attorney, told USA TODAY in an article published Aug. 5, that three of the white players suing SSU did not have applications on file and a fourth white player filed an application without a transcript. Students are required to fill out an application to qualify for an athletic scholarship.
Steffen said none of the four players were registered by Wells in the NCAA Eligibility Center, which establishes academic eligibility for prospective student-athletes.
Documents show only one of the five white players in question, Farmer, filled out an official visit request form. His official visit was Jan. 23.
Steffen said four black players recruited by Wells also were denied scholarships because they, too, did not complete the necessary paperwork.
Aftermath
Since Wells' departure, SSU made its football schedule tougher than it was during his two seasons. Livingstone, Concordia-Selma, Edward Waters and Webber International were replaced with Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Florida A&M and Norfolk State.
SSU did not play a game on campus this season because of construction to T.A. Wright Stadium. The Tigers lost their first nine games, all on the road, before playing in Savannah at Memorial Stadium and beating North Carolina Central, 28-21, on Nov. 13. SSU ended its season Saturday with 42-6 loss to Norfolk State at Memorial Stadium .
Click here to read the full story about Saturday's game
SSU has not announced whether Dixon will have the interim tag removed from his coaching title.
SSU on Thursday interviewed the third of three finalists for its athletics director job. Suggs is a finalist. SSU has not said when it will announce a decision.
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Originally Posted by J. W. Evans
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