Dave Campbell’s Texas Football confirmed that former coach at East Texas Baptist illegally used an electronic device in a road game in late October. The university took immediate action after they were made aware of the offence.
“We were notified of inappropriate communication from the sideline during a contest this season by a (now) former member of the assistant coaching staff,” said ETBU VP of Athletics Ryan Erwin. “We immediately reported it to the American Southwest Conference office and the conference chief of officials.”
The rule in question is Rule 1-4-10, which states, “Players may not be equipped with any electronic, mechanical or other signaling devices to communicate with any source.”
A 15-yard penalty would be assessed, and the offending player would be ejected if the opposing team discovered the communication device during the game.
“The American Southwest Conference has been notified by East Texas Baptist University regarding the use of an in-game communication device by its football team,” ASC commissioner Amy Carlton said in a statement. “The staff consulted with the Coordinator of Football Officiating, who confirmed that the action would violate an NCAA Football Rule and noted how the penalty for the rule violation would be assessed if discovered during the game. ETBU officials took action as an institution regarding the inappropriate game activity , and the conference accepted the action of the institution.”
The university or the conference office did not name the assistant coach responsible for the violation, but it was believed to be offensive coordinator Josh Moore. Moore’s name was removed from the team website towards the end of the season after notification of the incident. He was in his first season at ETBU and previously served as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bears from 2014-2015 and the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 2017.
A former member of the United States Air Force, Moore had experience as the recruiting coordinator at Navarro and Georgia State and served as the Director of Football Operations for the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL in 2020.
ETBU announced a change of head coach on Monday, where Brian Mayper retires from college coaching to pursue other opportunities. Defensive coordinator Calvin Ruzicka was promoted to be the Tigers seventh head football coach.
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