Oklahoma assistant coaches were reported by the school to the NCAA for a handful of secondary violations involving text messages and improper phone calls dating back to February 2012.
Former tight ends coach Bruce Kittle (fired in February 2013) was reported for sending a congratulatory text to a player that had signed with the Sooners, sending a recruit contact information for another recruit (he intended to send that info to assistant coach Josh Heupel), and pocket-dialing a recruit a day after receiving an impermissible text from the recruit. Pocket-dialing has happened to us all, but when you are an assistant football coach you can never be too careful! Kittle was also reported for a phone call to a recruit who was a junior, although Kittle tried to suggest this was another accidental pocket-dial. The length of the phone call did not help his cause.
Running backs coach Cale Gundy was also reported for congratulatory text messages to a player who signed with Oklahoma. Former defensive line coach Jackie Shipp (also fired February 2013) texted a junior high school player and sent multiple texts to a recruit before that player had submitted his commitment forms to the school. Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops was reported for returning a phone call and for texting a recruit during the week of an official visit. Linebacker coach Tim Kish was also reported for accidentally sending a holiday greeting to friends and family. The mass text was also sent to a recruit.
The Oklahoman has a full list of Oklahoma’s secondary violations that were self-reported by Oklahoma to the NCAA, along with how the violations were punished. Most included simply prohibiting assistants from initiating phone calls or texts during recruiting periods.
Many of these violations are firly common around college football, and the NCAA certainly is not going to drop a hammer on the Sooners for these offenses.