This had been a long-standing rumor, but it looks like it took a major step towards confirmed status on Tuesday.
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In a hit piece for Bleacher Report, columnist Matt Hayes details a time he met with former Auburn coach Terry Bowden. The main topic was a rumor that Bowden paid off players during his time at Auburn, and apparently Bowden didn't shy away from the issue.
Everything changed within his first week. An assistant coach from the previous staff, whom Bowden was told he had to retain, walked into his office and placed a black ledger on his desk. It was a list of players who were being paid.
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Bowden told the assistant coach, "Pay off the players that were promised and never do it again."
Hayes also details that he has seen the alleged ledger at hand, of which Bowden showed him several years ago. Auburn was already on NCAA sanctions at the time Bowden took over in 1992, but they were never penalized for the incident that is describe here.
Of course, it being over 20 years later, Auburn can't be penalized for it at this point. However, when you consider all of the allegations that Auburn faced when they were able to land future Heisman winner Cam Newton, this probably isn't the look that the university wants right now.
Bowden was 47-17-1 in his career at Auburn, where he resigned after a 1-5 start to the 1998 season. Bowden is now currently the head coach at Akron, who are 24-37 in his five-year tenure.
