Ole Miss coach resigns suddenly

Pattern of personal misconduct found in phone records.

Mississippi football coach Hugh Freeze resigned Thursday after university officials found a “pattern of personal misconduct” they found unacceptable.

Freeze’s resignation brought a stunning end to a five-year tenure that included a Sugar Bowl victory but also a wide-ranging NCAA investigation into rules violations. His ultimate downfall came after school officials investigated Freeze’s phone records.

“We discovered a pattern of conduct that is not consistent with our expectations as the leader of our football program,” Athletic Director Ross Bjork said Thursday. “As of yesterday, there appeared to be a concerning pattern.”

Bjork said the school’s investigation started last week after a Freedom of Information request revealed a concerning phone call that lasted less than a minute. The school then looked into the rest of his phone records and found more problems.

Bjork said Freeze, 47, “admitted the conduct” and that the coach offered his resignation Thursday afternoon. When pressed to explain Freeze’s conduct, Bjork said the school needed to “protect that information.”

“His privacy is important. The conduct was just not something we could continue with as our head coach.”

Co-offensive coordinator Matt Luke was named interim coach.

“This is a sad day for the University of Mississippi,” Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter said.

Vitter and Bjork said Freeze’s resignation is strictly because of his personal conduct and not because of the ongoing NCAA investigation.

The Rebels, who were 5-7 last season, had a quick rise under Freeze, recruiting at a high level and reaching an apex with a Sugar Bowl victory over Oklahoma State following the 2015 season.

But an NCAA investigation — alleging 21 instances of academic, booster and recruiting misconduct — has overshadowed much of that success, especially over the past year. The school has self-imposed several penalties, including a postseason ban for the coming season.

Freeze — who was making more than $5 million per year — had a 39-25 record over five seasons, including 19-21 in the SEC. Bjork said that Freeze will receive no buyout on his contract.

Freeze’s exit — a few weeks before preseason camp — completes a stunning fall for a coach considered a rising stars a few years ago.

Freeze, previously coach at Arkansas State, took over at Ole Miss after Houston Nutt was fired during a 2011 season that ended at 2-10. Ole Miss immediately improved, finishing 7-6 in 2012.

The Rebels signed some of the nation’s top recruits in 2013, including defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche, receiver Laquon Treadwell and offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil. They helped push the program to eight wins in 2013, nine in 2014 and a 10-3 record in 2015.

But Ole Miss’ recruiting drew the attention of the NCAA, which was already investigating a handful of charges from Nutt’s tenure.

The case expanded in April 2016 after a post on Tunsil’s Instagram account showed an alleged text conversation with a football staffer about arranging payment for bills. Tunsil made news just before the NFL draft that month when a video of him smoking from a gas mask-bong contraption was posted on his Twitter account.

BUTCH DILL / ASSOCIATED PRESS Athletic Director Ross Bjork says coach Hugh Freeze (above) “admitted the conduct” after Ole Miss found cause to view his phone records.