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Southern Miss basketball did some quality cheating, here's what they could've done better

So close!

Ivan Pierre Aguirre-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday, Southern Miss released the 43-page NCAA Notice of Allegations against former coach Donnie Tyndall, spelling out the NCAA violations supposedly committed by Tyndall while he coached at the school. Tyndall, who left Southern Miss for Tennessee in 2014, was fired by the Volunteers in March after just one season because of the allegations.

If the allegations are to be believed, Tyndall did some pretty brazen stuff! Tyndall allegedly had several staff members whose explicit purpose was finding ways for athletes to skirt academic rules. And he allegedly sent coaches on the road out of state to do online coursework for prospective athletes so the IP address would appear to be done by the athletes themselves.

This is quality hustlin'. Many academic fraudsters would never even think about the IP address concern; Tyndall apparently was willing to commit travel money and coaching time to take care of it. The thought and effort that went into this level of cheating was impressive.

But it's a bit unnecessary: For future coaches looking to cheat, here's what you should do:

  • Spoof your IP address: You can use a proxy address in another state/country to make it appear like you're using a computer someplace where you're not. You can trick the online course service into thinking you're using a computer in your player's home state.
  • Screensharing: Have the player access the online course on their computer, and then use a screensharing program -- Skype and Google+ have this function -- so you can access their screen remotely. Some programs even let you actually take over the other person's screen instead of just looking at it.

These will be cheaper, get the job done more efficiently, and won't require you to waste your coaches' valuable travel time. Plus, it's a less extensive operation, so it's harder to notice!

Good luck cheating!