Three Cincinnati players — Gates, Cheikh Mbodj and Octavius Ellis — were suspended by the university for six games apiece, while freshman Ge’Lawn Guyn was handed a one game suspension. Coach Mick Cronin, who was obviously extremely disappointment in the players, said that all will have to learn their way back onto the team once their suspensions are served. Many have come out and said Gates’ suspension isn’t long enough, but athletic director Whit Babcock defends the decision in the following interview.

Whit Babock joined 1530 Homer in Cincinnati with Mo Egger and Artrell Hawkins to discuss how they arrived at the suspension lengths, why Gates wasn’t suspended longer, what the players might need to do for Cronin to let them back on the team, how Cronin handled the team and the embarrassing situation, and the rivalry between Cincinnati and Xavier going forward.

Tell us how you arrived at the suspensions and their lengths:

“We came in immediately after the game and reviewed a lot of film to see the guys with the inexcusable behavior. Then we processed things and visited with the Big East Conference trying to find some precedence there. We talked to the head officials … about Yancy, and he said in four years, none of their officiating crews had an incident with Yancy. We considered everything from the mandatory one-game suspension to suspending players and kicking them off the team. Really we just looked for precedence out there and got guidance from a number of people and actually took our number higher than that. … We came up with the number of six.”

Why wasn’t the suspension for Yancy Gates a little bit longer?:

“I think that you’re certainly entitled to that [opinion] and I’m not here to debate it. I can just say that our decision had absolutely nothing to do with a win-loss record or what games are going to be there or selling tickets or anything like that. Those things never came up. … We were operating a bit without a road map. … The numbers that we were getting from other people, we simply wanted to exceed that. There was no scientific method to it. … No matter how many games that we have suspension, it doesn’t take back the punches, it doesn’t take back the embarrassment. I’d just like to apologize to all the UC fans in the community. It’s a tough day and we let a lot of people down.”

Mick Cronin talked about the players involved having to earn their spot back on the team. What might that entail?:

“That’s a good question and I don’t know the full answer to it. I believe that’s more of Mick internally. I think he wants to see how the guys respond to it, everything from academically to their attitude in practice to them being sincere and genuine in their apologies. … I appreciate how Coach Cronin handled it after the game and how he’s handled it moving forward.”

Would you have liked to see him accept more blame and do less finger-pointing after the incident?:

“As far as ownership or taking responsibility, if we haven’t, we should take it all. This is on us. I use a term called the Bearcat Family. If we’re all in it together when times are good, then we’re all in it when times are bad. At least from the clips I saw of Coach Cronin, I thought he represented UC very well in a difficult environment. But we’re all embarrassed.”

What are your thoughts on the rivalry with Xavier going forward and how we avoid this again?:

“It was my first one going to it. Nothing that I say here can make up for what happened on the court there. … But I think some of the legend of the game, when people were describing the game to me, about it being intense, and then they went to talking about the fighting in the old days. … I think we’ve got to change the culture of that. I think it’s got to be more of a celebration of Cincinnati basketball because it’s a heckuva basketball town. I’m not sitting here today calling for it to stop, but I think there’s some merit in looking at that. If the game continues, obviously I think we need to have a good strategy on that going forward.”

Listen to Whit Babcock on 1530 Homer in Cincinnati here (Interview begins at 16:10)

During his time at Cincinnati, Kelly helped coach his Bearcats to an astonishing 34-6 record.  He captured two Big East titles at Cincinnati, was named a three-time coach of the year in the Conference, led his team to two BCS Bowl appearances and was named National Coach of the Year this past season for leading his team to an undefeated regular season.  Because of his success at Cincinnati, he is now going to get the chance to do what three other coaches recently have tried and that’s put Notre Dame back to the level of “elite” in College Football.  I have no issues with him taking the Notre Dame job.  I can understand completely how it can be a dream come true for him and he probably wasn’t going to stay in Cincinnati forever. 

After leading his team to an undefeated record and as the players are getting ready for the biggest game in the history of the program, Kelly has decided that he will not coach the team in the Sugar Bowl.  I think he should finish what he started this season.  I understand that he has a job to do at Notre Dame, but the season is not over yet.  If a college football player decided to leave college early and go onto the NFL, he wouldn’t skip the bowl game.  He would begin the pre-draft process once the season is over, once the bowl game is over.  Brian Kelly’s job is not finished and Cincinnati’s season isn’t over yet.  All of his players fought their butts off to put Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl.  All his players fought their butts off to capture a Big East title and go undefeated in the regular season.  And I think as the leader of the program, he should be there to finish the job he started and then move on to Notre Dame after.   

Brian Kelly joined The Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN Radioto talk about taking the job at Notre Dame, having to deal with the expectations that come with being the head coach of the Irish, and why he can’t coach Cincinnati in the bowl game.

On how it feels now knowing that he is the coach at Notre Dame:

“Cool.  It obviously is a special day for me and my family.  Growing up as an Irish Catholic in Boston and watching Notre Dame football, just a great and incredible day for me.”

On when he felt that getting the job at Notre Dame could become reality:

“Well there’s a pragmatic side to it.  It’s Notre Dame.  You don’t get it because you’re winning eight or nine games, you have to be consistently successful.  I thought as we continued to build our program at Cincinnati, I wasn’t looking for another job, but clearly as we were building, winning games and going to a second BCS, you start to think if something does change there you’re prepared for that challenge.  I think it’s a process that you work up towards.”

On the expectations of being a Head Coach at Notre Dame:

“It’s a high bar.  Clearly they want to be the very best.  They’ve got 96 percent graduation rate among football players.  As you know of the top ten in the BCS, Cincinnati was the highest at 75 percent.  It’s a very, very high bar academically and it’s the same when it comes to football.  Those are high expectations, but I took this job with my eyes wide open.  I want to be great.  I want to be around greatness and that’s the challenge here at Notre Dame.  That’s what the lure is to come here to Notre Dame.”

On how he feels about some of the things that his former players have said and how they’ve reacted:

“Understandable.  Transition is difficult.  My kids cried for two days or a day and a half.  It’s very emotional when those things happen.  We had a very strong bond as a football team.  You can’t win all your games without a closeness and a bond, but I did the right things along the way.  I was honest with our football team, I told them when I first had conversations with Notre Dame and I told them when I made the decision.  As a source of information, I was professional, I handled it with integrity, but I clearly understand the feelings when you have this kind of transition.”

On why he can’t coach his team in the bowl game this year:

“I’ve got work to do now.  I loved my time at Cincinnati, I love those kids, but we have to build for Notre Dame.  We’re going to leave the staff back there, Jeff Quinn who was with me for 19 years is the interim coach and they’ll do a great job.  I need to now get to work for Notre Dame.”

On why things didn’t work with the previous Head Coaches at Notre Dame:

“Well, I don’t know.  I don’t have the insight as to why they weren’t successful.  I can tell you why I’m successful and what we’ll do here at Notre Dame.  We’ll recruit the right kind of guys that fit the mission of the university, they gotta love to play this game of football, they’re gonna be passionate about what they do, we’re going to pay attention to detail and we’re going to be disciplined and organized.  That’s been me for 19 years.  I can’t really tell you why they didn’t do it.  I wasn’t here.  I don’t know what happened, but I can tell you what I’m going to do.  That’s how we’ll move forward here at Notre Dame and I expect that’s going to translate into being successful.”

Listen to Brian Kelly on the Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN Radio here

The news of Kelly’s departure first broke late Thursday afternoon, before the start of Cincinnati’s team awards banquet, though players said they weren’t informed of the decision until after the event’s conclusion. Players are coming out now and blasting their old coach. Liar was one of the words being used frequently when asked about their old coach and also he left for money. That is not a great goodbye for the three time Big East coach of the year. I am only guessing at this point that he won’t be back anytime soon for any alumni functions. But in all seriousness, Kelly has had a foot out the door there for a while. After his first season in Cincinnati, he tried for the Michigan job. Last year, he interviewed with both Tennessee and Washington before the Orange Bowl.  As happy as he was there, he was waiting for something big to open up for him and South Bend came a callin! He might be happy but his players think he lied to him, something he will never ever be able to make better and something he will always have to live with.

Mardy Gilyard joined Into the Night with Tony Bruno talking about the situation at Cincinnati and the entire situation with Brian Kelly.

Asked how he felt when he heard from Coach Kelly about taking the job at Notre Dame:

“I wasn’t happy about what happened, I was unhappy for our younger players because they bought into the system, and they bought into the whole BK deal. He just kind of left those young guys out to starve, left them out there naked. Those guys are trying to figure out who is going to coach our game. Me as a senior, I need to figure out a way to get our troops back together because we got to play Florida. They are the defending national champs and we got to be on our P’s and Q’s. We can’t let what happened with BK mess up what we are doing right now.”

Asked about Coach Kelly coming into banquet and if he talked to any of the players:

“No, he wasn’t talking to anybody. It was a little Hollywood deal. He came in; it was like a scene from a movie when he got in here. Everybody knew what was going on. He never had any security like that before. I mean he already won Coach of the Year before, so all that security wasn’t necessary. I think he was worried about what was going to go on with the city and the fans if anything. People just want honesty; we just want him to be straight up with us. If you’re going to leave, then leave. I feel like he had this in his head that he was going to leave for awhile now. Everybody knows the situation now. It’s human nature that you’re going to take more money, it is what it is, a business decision.

Asked if he knew if Kelly would coach them in the Sugar Bowl:

“I hope not, I hope he don’t even show up for the Sugar Bowl. I hope he makes sure all his attention is on South Bend, because that’s all he has been doing. All he has been doing is focusing his attention on South Bend. He has a job now so in my opinion he needs to hurry up and get out of here ASAP, get up out of Cincinnati ASAP and just keep it moving. So I can get my troops back together and the coaches that are here for us, the ones that are here because those are the ones for us. So those guys can have the opportunity to take care of the team like they need to.”

Asked if he thinks by saying what he is saying there will be backlash against him:

“No, I don’t care man. The whole BK situation is over. I am a senior so its not really affecting me, I am just more upset about the young guys. (The phone hangs up after that)

Listen to Mardy Gilyard on Into the Night with Tony Bruno

They have just one more hurdle to clear en route to a perfect regular season and that is this Saturday afternoon at Pittsburgh.

Brian Kelly joined ESPN 850 WKNR in Cleveland with Michael Reghi to talk about the season the Bearcats have had, playing for the Big East Title this weekend, how he keeps his team focused with all the media attention and clears up the Notre Dame rumors.

On keeping his eye on the National Championship picture:

“We know what to expect in the Pitt game.  The Pitt-Cincinnati game is for the Big East Championship.  We know what to expect, but it’d be nice to know that there is something even greater out there for us and that’s a National Championship chance.”

On how difficult it is for him and the staff to keep the team focused on the next opponent as opposed to the National Championship picture:

“Well I think we don’t talk about it much other than the times that I’m on the media circuit.  Everyday the message is the same, the routine is the same, the preparation is the same, so they don’t know any other way in terms of how to prepare and play the game.  They also see the internet, they watch ESPN Sportscenter, and they certainly listen to this show.  They know what’s at stake, but I think we keep it in a pretty good balance.  That is they just go out and play the game and let the other things take care of themselves.”

On his name being brought up to replace Charlie Weis if he is fired at Notre Dame:

“Obviously you can’t control a lot of that stuff and obviously they’ve got a football coach.  I try to just again, from my end, focus on the job because what do you say?  You can flat out lie if you want.  That’s one way to do it.  Or just be honest and say listen, that stuff can’t be a factor; it can’t be involved because we’ve got too much riding on it.  I just try to stay focused and keep the staff focused on the day to day and what happens, happens.  We deal with it.  Other than that, our kids know that if I have something to tell them, I’m going to tell them.  I’ve got nothing to talk about when it relates to jobs that our out there until we finish our schedule.”

On whether the inquiries have come his way:

“Oh yeah (laughing).  Everyday it’s a flood.  I get real estate cards and it’s crazy.  (Things like) I want to be your new real estate agent in South Bend.  I just laugh and my administrative assistant, she kinda just throws most of that stuff away because she knows I’m not interested in anything that doesn’t have a Bearcat on it.”

On whether or not he is flattered by his name circulating:

“Absolutely, and they know at the end of the day, I’m going to work my butt off.  We’re here eighty hours a week and we’re going to be prepared and focused on the job at hand.  Keep doing what we’re doing.  We’re not going to let them down; we’re going to be here for them.”

On his long-term plan being with Cincinnati as of now:

“They are.  I have no intentions.  Again, I think anytime you look at this situation all you can do is do as well as you can at the job you have and when the season’s over, you take a step back and go from there.”

Listen to Brian Kelly on ESPN 850 WKNR in Cleveland with Michael Reghi

If Cincinnati wants to continue its magical season, they are going to have to get over the next stumbling block that could be in their way.  West Virginia comes to Nippert stadium on Friday night looking for revenge after the Bearcats crushed the Mountaineers dreams of a Big East Championship a season ago. 

Brian Kelly joined WLW in Cincinnati  to talk about his decision to start Zach Collaros, why he may use Pike in a package this week and not as a starter, how surprised he has been by the play of Collaros and the importance of the game against West Virginia.

On how exciting the game was this past week being the featured game on ABC:

“Oh, exciting.  Obviously our fans were out in full force and sold out Nippert Stadium on ABC.  Lance, you’ve been here a long time, it doesn’t get much better than that does it?”

On the decision he made at quarterback this week:

“Well, Zach Collaros is going to start.  Primarily Tony’s health is the concern.  He’s not there 100 percent.  Really quite frankly Zach’s play has allowed us to be really conservative with Tony, making sure that when  we do bring him back, we’re not brining him back too soon.  We want to minimize any risk he might have and obviously by playing as well as he’s played we can now shoot towards the Indiana game as Tony’s next start.”

On why he is willing to play Pike in a limited role, but not start him:

“Primarily it would be the risk factor.  Six weeks out on this injury minimizes the risk and the exposure.  It’s a lot like the (Sam) Bradford injury.  Bradford had that same injury.  If he got injured again, it may jeopardize his NFL career.   Same thing with Tony.  We run some risk in week four having him out there.  We don’t want to expose him too much.  Week six, he feels comfortable, our doctors feel comfortable that we have minimized the exposure that he would have and the risk factor.  That’s really the biggest difference.”

On whether or not he is surprised at the play of Zach Collaros:

“I think again, any time that you look at the stats and the numbers, you get an opinion of the level of play.  But what I’ve been most impressed with is his demeanor during the game.  You can really engage him.  It’s not too fast for him, it’s not blinders on or the bright lights are getting to him.  I think that has something to do with being at Steubenville, which is such a big high school area.  He’s been down this road before so that’s really been the most surprising.  The way he has handled himself in games has been really fun to watch.”

On the similarities between West Virginia and team that Cincinnati already beat, Oregon State:

“Well, very similar Jacquizz Rodgers and Noel Devine.  (They’re) Very similar players.  Jock Sanders and the other Rodgers (James Rodgers) are very similar players.  These are guys that they are going to try and get into space and first player there wins.  We’re pretty good at that kind of game.  At times we struggled a little bit with Fresno State and UCONN pounding the football at us.  This, on paper, matches up a little bit better.  Now we’ve gotta play better football in all phases, but these are the kinds of football teams that try to get the ball in space to their skill guys and those two guys are outstanding.”

On the importance of the win against West Virginia last season:

“Oh I think it set the program at a new level in terms of we didn’t have to have a stumbling block in front of us.  By winning the Big East Championship, we now set our program and our sites towards being a Top-25 team and being a championship team year in and year out.  It was as significant as any victory in the history of UC football.”

 Listen to Brian Kelly on WLW in Cincinnati with Lance McCalister (Kelly interview starts at 2:25)