Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze Resigns, Apparently Dialed Escort Service

OXFORD, MS — University of Mississippi football coach Hugh Freeze resigned and his fall from grace is tied to the man he replaced.

Freeze, 47, resigned Thursday after the university said he engaged in a "pattern of personal misconduct" that was unacceptable. Freeze earned more than $5 million per year but will not receive a buyout, according to university athletic director Ross Bjork.

A recently filed civil lawsuit from Houston Nutt against the university shined a light on the phone records that eventually revealed Freeze's school-issued cellphone had dialed an escort service least once last year. Nutt coached Ole Miss from 2008 to '11. (For more Across Mississippi news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Freeze's phone records might have never been researched if Nutt hadn't sued the university earlier this month. The suit alleges a breach of his severance agreement because of false statements he says school officials made to try and pin blame for the NCAA investigation on Nutt.

There are 21 allegations in the NCAA's case against Ole Miss. Four of them occurred in relation to Nutt's tenure while 17 happened under Freeze.

Ole Miss won the Sugar Bowl over Oklahoma State with Freeze at the helm following the 2015 season. But the victory was largely overshadowed by a long-running NCAA investigation that includes charges of academic, booster and recruiting misconduct.

Ole Miss strongly defended Freeze in its latest response to the NCAA's allegations, saying the coach emphasized NCAA rules compliance during his tenure. Now the school will go forward in its case without him.

In researching the civil suit, Nutt's lawyers made a Freedom of Information filing asking for Freeze's phone records for several days in January 2016. The aim — which is detailed in the suit — was to try and show that Ole Miss officials conspired to spread misinformation to media and form a "smear campaign" against Nutt.

It found much more.

In those records, which were obtained by The Associated Press and several other media outlets, was a one-minute call to a Detroit-based number. An internet search shows the number linked to a site that offers various escort services. Subsequent research by Ole Miss officials into Freeze's phone records found more misconduct.

One of Nutt's attorneys, Walter Morrison, said late Thursday night that Freeze's attempt to pin blame for the NCAA investigation on Nutt backfired in a huge way.

"It's sad the university did not deal with this in the manner of which they should have," Morrison said. "And if they had dealt with Houston Nutt appropriately to begin with, he would not have been besmirched, he would have been treated appropriately and fairly, consistent with the severance agreement that all of us signed.

"And interestingly enough, Hugh Freeze would probably still have his job."

Bjork said Freeze would have been fired if he hadn't offered his resignation. He added that Freeze's resignation is strictly because of his personal conduct and not because of the current NCAA investigation.

"In our analysis, we discovered a pattern of conduct that is not consistent with our expectations as the leader of our football program," Bjork said. "As of (Wednesday), there appeared to be a concerning pattern."

Co-offensive coordinator Matt Luke has been named the interim coach for the upcoming season. Freeze finished with a 39-25 record, including a 19-21 mark in the Southeastern Conference, over five seasons.

By David Brandt, AP Sports Writer

AP Sports Writer Ralph D. Russo contributed to this story.

Photo credit: Rogelio V. Solis and John Raoux/Associated Press