BREAKING: Hugh Freeze Resigns, Matt Luke Named Interim Head Coach

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI) — Ole Miss head football coach Hugh Freeze has resigned, effective immediately, per Ole Miss.

Assistant head coach Matt Luke has been named interim head coach through the 2017 season.

In a joint press conference, Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter and Athletic Director Ross Bjork addressed Freeze’s departure.

“While Coach Freeze served our University well, in many regards, during his tenure, we simply cannot accept the conduct in his personal life that we have discovered,” Vitter said.

The conduct mentioned is in regards to a phone call made in January 2016 that Freeze made on an Ole Miss-issued cell phone where the number was traced to an escort service in Tampa, Florida. The USA Today is the first to report that information.

Bjork said the one phone call, which lasted around a minute, was originally believed to be a “misdial.”

“As part of our core values with running the athletics program, we have an obligation to do the right thing. So, we proactively looked into the rest of his phone records. In our analysis, we discovered a pattern of misconduct that is not consistent with our expectations as the leader of our football program. As of yesterday, there appeared to be a concerning pattern,” Bjork explained.

Bjork said that Freeze was “very transparent, open, honest and admitted the conduct.”

Vitter also says Freeze resigning is “totally unrelated to the NCAA case.”

Luke’s promotion to interim head coach comes after the Ole Miss alum spent the last five seasons as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.

Bjork said the program “hasn’t even thought about” a search for a new head football coach with less than two weeks before practice begins.

When also asked about the possibility of player transferring because of Freeze resigning, Bjork said the program “will give the space, we will listen and whatever they decide to do, we will support them.”

Freeze went 39-25 in five seasons as head coach, and lead the Rebels to four bowl appearances, including a Sugar Bowl victory over Oklahoma State in 2015.