Rutgers investigating Kyle Flood over email sent to faculty member

Rutgers football coach Kyle Flood is being investigated by his school for contacting a faculty member regarding the academic status of one of his players, the website NJ.com reported on Tuesday. Barnwell was participating in training camp with the team, but his academic status was widely known to be in question, according to the website. The current investigation is expected to be “concluded quickly”, according to Sargeant’s sources.

Kyle Flood has compiled a 23-16 record in three seasons as Rutgers’ head coach. Depending on the content of the email, Flood’s punishment could be severe, including suspension or even firing.

“Any correspondence that I had with a professor in regards to a student athlete would really be of this nature”, he said.

Flood could be terminated for cause or disciplined without pay for “willful misconduct, act(s) of moral turpitude, conduct tending to bring shame or disgrace to the University as determined by” university officials, or in “violation of university regulations, policies (or) procedures”.

Sargeant says it’s unknown whether Flood’s alleged actions violate both Big Ten and NCAA rules, but he cites the case of Jack Bauerle, the swimming and diving coach at the University of Georgia who was sanctioned by the NCAA in December for a similar violation involving contact with a player’s professor.

Rutgers assigned its office of general counsel to dive into the violation and determine the severity of the allegation which is likely to immediately impact the eligibility of junior cornerback Nadir Barnwell.

Rutgers prohibits coaches from having direct contact with instructors of student-athletes, which is why Rutgers is investigating this manner. “Is there a gray area in this?” The player is in danger of being ruled academically ineligible and Flood sending an email from his personal account to a school official regarding the eligibility of one of his players is a no-no. No player will make or break your season and Rutgers could have easily overcome the loss of Barnwell.

In the end this will come down to what Flood said in those emails. Our faculty are a part of our program. If eligible, Barnwell could a starter in Rutgers’ defensive backfield after playing in 22 games, including 10 starts, in his first two seasons with the Scarlett Knights.