Leavitt fired at USF

That's three NCAA football coaches fired after misconduct or mistreatment of the athletes placed under their care. The warning shot has been fired across the bow to old-school coaches to change their ways or be gone. You would have thought that the Bobby Knight incident that was part of the reason he was run out of Indiana would have been a wake-up call but apparently not. It would be difficult in sports like basketball and football but you almost need a "no-touch" policy for coaches in dealings with players.

This is a little surprising since the player involved seemed to downplay the event in question. The school will come forward today with more details and perhaps more incidents that have not been publicized.

Leavitt literally raised this program from scratch. At one time, the coaches offices were temporary construction trailers and he brought them up to a level where they are able to compete in the Big East Conference. The program has been ranked in the top ten. I believe that years ago Leavitt could have cashed in on his success at USF and left for greener pastures. Reportedly, Alabama among others were interested. I'm sure USF improved Leavitt's financial condition there as a result, but this is three high-profile, highly paid coaches, so it bears watching to see if this trend continues.

In light of Leavitt's history with the school in a perverse sense, I hope they have more than this one incident as cause for firing Leavitt.

AP Report:

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt has been fired following an investigation of an allegation that he struck one of his players in the locker room.

Leavitt confirmed his dismissal, telling The Associated Press he was "disappointed" and the allegation was "absolutely false."

USF would not confirm Leavitt's dismissal, but university spokeswoman Lara Wade said all questions would be answered when the school released a report later Friday.

AOL FanHouse first reported the firing Friday. USF president Judy Genshaft and athletic director Doug Woolard launched the investigation last month after a FanHouse report said Leavitt had grabbed sophomore Joel Miller by the throat and hit him in the face twice during halftime of a game on Nov. 21.