Fran McCaffery Confesses

I didn't attend Iowa men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery's press conference Wednesday in Iowa City. I was too busy getting my picture taken with Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore.

That's just a joke. Iowa committed a secondary violation, according to the NCAA, because two of its men's basketball recruits met Ashton and Demi (I'm on a first-name basis with them). This was the news of the week regarding McCaffery's program. Not to worry. The regular-season starts on Nov. 14.

I got a transcript of the coach's press conference, and here is a passage I found chilling:

I'll tell you this story. If any of you were looking into my background, you would know that I had one other secondary violation in my coaching career. We sent a recruiting mail out in color on plain white paper. If it was on letterhead, it would have been legal. If it was in black and white on plain white paper, it would have been legal. But because it was in color on plain white paper, it was a violation, which we self reported. That's the extent of my transgressions with the NCAA. But it gives you an idea of what we deal with. That was in Greensboro. ...

Sorry, folks, but this opens a can of worms. Color, on plain white paper? Just what kind of rogue coach did Iowa hire?