A timeline of events that led to Title IX complaint, suspension of MSU's Tucker

A Title IX sexual harassment complaint by consultant Brenda Tracy of Oregon has resulted in the suspension of Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker pending the end of the investigation. The following is a timeline of events related to the case.

August 2021: Sexual harassment consultant Brenda Tracy meets Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker for the first time at a meeting where she told her story of being raped and turning it into a mission to fight sexual abuse.

Fall 2021: Tracy and Tucker speak frequently on the phone, according to an MSU investigative report.

Nov. 9, 2021: During a call, Tracy said Tucker asked her: “If I wasn’t a football coach and if I wasn’t married, would you date me?” She said she told him she would not because they work together.

Nov. 17, 2021: Tucker reported gets ready to sign 10-year, $95 million contract extension. He signs it.

Dec. 1, 2021: Tracy said she told Tucker on a phone call they would only be friends.

April 16, 2022: Tracy is honorary captain of the MSU's spring football game. MSU tweets out of a photo of Tracy and Tucker on the football field.

April 2022: Tucker calls her four times after the spring game, asking to meet her alone, Tracy said. She said no.

April 28, 2022: Tracy said Tucker calls her at 12:39 a.m. The call is 36 minutes long, according to phone records in the MSU investigative report. Tucker said they discussed having phone sex, and Tracy said once would be harmless. Tracy said she didn’t agree to it and was traumatized when she could hear him masturbating. Tracy said “she froze in the moment” and couldn’t believe she was being victimized again, according to the investigator’s report.

July 22, 2022: Tucker cancels a scheduled July 25 in-person training with Tracy. A Tucker assistant said there was a double booking, Tracy said. In a Sept. 11, 2023 statement, Tucker said the training was postponed until January 2023 after "a personnel change and scheduling challenges as football season approached."

Aug. 2 2022: Tracy gets Tucker on the phone, where he accuses her of gossiping about his marital woes. She said she didn't gossip. But Tucker said Tracy apologized for discussing his marriage with her assistant and apologized. They never spoke again.

Aug. 7, 2022: Tracy talked to her friend and lawyer, Jacqueline Swanson, who takes notes on a Zoom call about the Tucker accusations.

December 2022 (date unspecified): Tracy files a Title IX complaint with MSU. Tucker gets it the next day.

Late December 2022: MSU Athletic Director Alan Haller said he gets notified of the Title IX complaint.

January 2023 (date unknown): MSU hires Ann Arbor Title IX attorney Rebecca Leitman Veidlinger, who starts to investigate the complaint.

January 2023: Tucker and attorney Jennifer Belveal urge MSU to drop Tracy’s complaint, arguing it lacked jurisdiction to investigate Tucker’s “purely personal” relationship with Tracy.

March 22, 2023: Tucker holds an interview with the investigator and writes a letter to her saying he will never again “allow himself to be duped by kindness.”

July 25, 2023: Veidlinger files a 106-page report with findings of fact to MSU. She reaches no conclusion in accordance with MSU policy and recommends scheduling a hearing.

Sept. 10, 2023: In the early morning hours, USA Today publishes a story with Tracy’s allegations.

Sept. 10, 2023: In the late afternoon, Haller and MSU interim President Teresa Woodruff announce they have suspended Tucker pending the finish of the complaint case.

Sept. 11, 2023: In a statement, Tucker defends himself against Tracy's allegations, calling them "completely false." He said the investigator acknowledged her and Tracy had a "personal relationship" in which they shared "deeply personal and private information with each other.” While he was saddened that the April 2022 call was shared by Tracy, he contended it was a "mutual, private event between two adults living at opposite ends of the country." He said she sent him a "Happy Father's Day" text two months after the call.

Oct. 5-6: A Title IX hearing on the Tracy complaint has been scheduled. It is closed to the public. Tucker said in his Monday statement that it is a "sham" hearing because witnesses won't be required to testify under oath, there is no opportunity for the accused "to explain our case" and "we cannot present or offer any substantive evidence of innocence."

Sources: USA Today, public statements