NCAA Broadens Probe of Vols Football

Submitted by psychomatt on

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5443243

Why did the NCAA have to get a backbone now? Many were extremely happy (and surprised) they came down hard on USC, but over the past 12 months it seems as if they have turned into an entirely unrecognizable organization that actually cares that the rules be followed.

We all know about UM's "Practicegate", but the NCAA also has recently upped the self-imposed penalties on Memphis' basketball program, they are crawling all over the SEC and ACC about players' contacts with agents (and seriously for a change), they just issued a notice of infractions to WVU that parallels the UM situation and now they are back looking at Tennessee for potential recruiting violations during the Kiffin "era" (is one year an era?). Normally, I would be all for this, but the timing totally sucks. It's as if the NCAA has decided it is time to make a statement in a number of areas where teams frequently are too lax or skirt too close to the edge of the rules or even intentionally go over the line because after all "everybody does it."

I will not be satisfied that UM is totally out of the woods until the NCAA says so. And I am feeling increasingly uneasy that the August 14 hearing is much more than a mere formality.

psychomatt

August 7th, 2010 at 12:22 AM ^

That is the problem. We see these things as minor, either because everyone does it or many teams are doing much worse. Historically, the NCAA seems to have taken the same view, but something has clearly changed at college sports' top governing body. It also seems pretty "minor" for a kid to attend a party in South Beach in the offseason, but apparently the NCAA thinks it is important enough to spend tens of thousands of dollars investigating it. I think it is a mistake to assume anything with regard to the NCAA anymore.

SysMark

August 7th, 2010 at 12:11 AM ^

You might want to just take a chill pill...understood you are getting pretty excited ...like many of us...

September 4 will be here soon enough

Distik

August 7th, 2010 at 12:35 AM ^

Serious question, whats the worst that can happen? A couple scholarships lost, RR gets his recruiting time reduced, and another year of probation on top of what was self-imposed? RR is still going to be the coach this year. If we win like everyone is expecting 8-4ish, the reduced recruiting time won't have much impact I would think. Scholarship loss will always hurt a little. Probation for another year or so SHOULD have little affect.

EDIT EARLY: I'm almost three sheets to the wind so there is probably things spelled wrong, but I don't care.

Tater

August 7th, 2010 at 8:14 AM ^

Maybe the NCAA realizes that the top 64 teams could easily tell them to take a flying "leap" through a rolling donut and start their own organization if they wanted to, and is doing everything they can to make school presidents think they are actually doing something for their "piece of the pie."  Or, maybe they are just trying to flex their muscles and remind everyone who is still the "boss."

Whatever the case may be, I agree that something different is going on at NCAA HQ. 

Don

August 7th, 2010 at 12:13 PM ^

Until such time as the NCAA announces that our self-imposed penalties are all that are necessary, I think all bets are off.

The thing that concerns me is the fact that it's well-known that virtually every BCS school is as guilty of the same practice-related transgressions that UM is, which then means the NCAA has a choice. They can either accept the fact that the rules are extremely vague, and develop new rules which are easier to understand and follow, or they can simply decide that the best way to ensure compliance with the existing rules is to make a big glowing example of Michigan and drop a big hammer on us, such as a further reductions of scholarships, an extended probationary period, and a post-season bowl ban.

If this seems paranoid because it wouldn't make sense for the NCAA to do that, just remember that the NCAA is an institution that on one hand will come down hard on a coach or booster for buying a recruit a Happy Meal, but on the other sees absolutely no problem with Les Miles yanking a kid's scholarship AFTER he's moved into the dorm for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with the kid himself, or with Nick Saban massively overrecruiting year after year.

wigeon

August 7th, 2010 at 12:45 PM ^

Doesn't make sense. This has to be the result of a directive by university presidents across the country to police college athletics again, like it should. 

SysMark

August 7th, 2010 at 4:35 PM ^

One potential positive to these other cases, assuming we get ours resolved as we expect and hope, is that they will push our situation out of the spotlight.