OT: Likely Big Ten action against PSU, too?

in this particular situation the last thing the B10 wants is a mass exodus of talented players to other conferences without affecting said conferences scholarship numbers.

They absolutely should in a situation like this.  Those players should be able to go absolutely anywhere they want.

So that's a rule and not just a gentlemen's agreement?

I'm fairly certain that in a situation like this, if the proposed sanctions are true, it's an NCAA rule that players can transfer anywhere freely and be able to play immediately with no loss of eligibility.

I have no particular insight into the situation, but some things to consider.

1. I seriously doubt a TV ban is in the cards. I saw some leaks and rumors on other boards talking about how existing TV contracts are a big reason why the NCAA never considered the Death Penalty. A TV ban would run into the same problem, both legally and monetarily.

2. The Big10 is a unique conference in the degree to which membership extends well beyond athletics. There are academic and research considerations on top of athletic ones. And these other aspects of conference membership are arguably more important than football (e.g., CIC membership). So there are reasons to keep PSU around that don't have anything to do with their football program.

As I said, I have no special insight into the situation. To be honest, I feel less sure than most others on the board seem to be about what the NCAA is going to do, and I have zero idea what kind of penalty the conference would hand down.

For what it's worth, the ESPN Big10 blog's twitter account responded with "Yes. And quickly" to the question of whether or not the conference will act to punish PSU.

Pay no attention to this.  Some random guy posted this on a Rivals message board.  First one right off the bat rules it out -- he says there will be no football this season, which would be considered a "death penalty", and is off the table.

Holy shit: seconded

The "relegation" punishment would be kind of interesting.  Allow them to field a team, but not in the Football Bowl Subdivision for a year or two.  I think that'd actually be a reasonable compromise (FCS teams still have athletic scholarships).  They'd probably lose a lot of transfers but those who want to be there and play football would be able to.

But what time is this supposed to all come out? What time tomorrow morning?



What does this mean for the coaches? I see how the student athletes have the freedom to leave, but what about the newly hired coaches? Would you continue to keep that position knowing this is falling on you?

If that is even remotely close to the truth then that program is going to take years to get back to relevancy. Holy shit indeed.

I doubt they make them shut down the program. But I'm betting a hefty bowl ban and giant scholarship cuts are in the offing. That will be coupled with an allowance to current players to transfer wherever. B1G will slap a hammer on revenue (none from bowl payouts / league championship / B1G Network) for a few years.

uva is a great school but its definitely more southern than anything. its a rural school way outside metro dv area, and athletics are deemphasized. (not necessarily a bad thing these days, i guess.)

Yeah unless Notre Dame came to us and said they wanted in, which won't happen, I really don't think the B1G has any viable options for getting another school. Notre Dame would jump to the Big East, ACC or Big 12 before they came to us.

Virginia is an amazing school, but doesn't really fit the culture of the B1G, and in my opinion, it doesn't really add much in the way of revenue for big sports. Football and basketball there are meh.

Pitt football. Meh. Basketball? Talented choke artists.

I thought about Virginia Tech a little bit, which would be a huge get as far as football goes, but they're another culture misfit, and the academics, as a whole, just aren't there for B1G standards.

I think PSU is here to stay.

I couldn't imagine jumping ship, unless I had some kind of ties to another school.  What would be more likely, I think, would be to simply lose interest in the sport and focus on other ones.  

We saw this to some extent with Michigan basketball- it took a big hit in attendance/fan interest after the Ed Martin scandal and firing of Steve Fisher (the crappy teams that followed didn't help either). 

Your alma mater surely means more to you than just the football team. In that sense most people don't really choose to be fans of Michigan, or Penn State or whoever. Especially if it runs in your family. The football program also shouldn't be soley representatie of those who lead it. I wouldn't be ashamed to wear a Michigan shirt. The football program is the fans, the past players, the culture, etc. Not necessarily what the leaders perpetuate it to be.

Pitt? Meh. Mizzou? Meh. Rutgers? Meh. Maryland? Meh. Notre Dame? TO HELL.

its been nearly 9 months since the initial release of the Grand Jury Report last fall.  Make no mistake the NCAA has been in full contact with PSU and having lengthy discussions about this for nearly all of that time frame if not longer, whether publicly stated or not.

Second, the NCAA sent out an official letter of inquiry last November, PSU had several months to answer the 4 key questions posed by the NCAA.  The NCAA most likely did indeed have an answer ready for PSU but decided to wait for the Freeh report which we now have.  Possibly even at the request of PSU.