Ole Miss has made a compelling argument to the NCAA in response to a charge of lack of institutional control.

The NCAA, of which Ole Miss is a member school, said in its Notice of Allegations that the school’s football program, under the leadership of head coach Hugh Freeze, had violated the organizations bylaws with its lack of control atmosphere.

That would mean the head coach is directly responsible for violations, which could lead to suspension or even termination.

There’s no denying the head coach has responsibility, of course. All leaders are directly responsible, always, and Freeze is no different. Many NCAA violations have occurred in the Ole Miss program and he must take responsibility for fixing that.

But Ole Miss, in its response to the NCAA allegations made public on Tuesday, made a case that while the university’s football program is indeed guilty of many recruiting violations there was never a lack of institutional control.

By providing detailed evidence of leadership compliance, and reminding the NCAA in effect that can’t merely be a subjective charge, Ole Miss made a case that could keep this investigation from reaching the most severe punitive level.

Already, it will be bad enough, with the reduced scholarships and self-imposed bowl ban in place. But if the lack of institutional control doesn’t stick, the damage won’t be as severe as it could be.

Ole Miss made a good case for just that.