What should the Big Ten do with PSU?
There has been plenty of talk about what legal actions are being taken and what the NCAA should do about Penn State, but I haven't heard much about what we in the Big Ten community think our conference should do to handle the situation.
I personally think that the Big Ten should give PSU the boot. Let them go crawling to the ACC or Big East or become independent, don't care just cut them loose. Replacing them might not be easy, but the Big Ten is supposed to stand for excellence and even a Rutgers or Maryland looks better right now from my perspective. Nebraska losing its status among the AAU was enough to question their fitness. This type of thing being allowed to happen at PSU surely is 100x more damning and harmful to the Big Ten's reputation.
Back when this whole Sandusky story broke, the Big Ten stated that they would have their own say beyond what the NCAA or legal system would do. What do you all think the Big Ten should do?
Edit: Full disclosure - I live in Pennsylvania currently and there are a lot of Penn State grads and just casual fans that I deal with every day. Some of them are willing to confront this issue, but it seems that most of them are just waiting it out until they can get their football so that is can all just blow over. If the Big Ten just shrugs it off and basically says that things are just the same, just cough up some money PSU, nothing to see here, move along everyone, what does that say about it as an institutuion?
Nothing. It's a legal issue, not an athletic competition issue.
It was founded, IIRC, upon a mutual benefit for elite institutions of higher learning. That is whay AAU memebership is so important.
Do no other cash cows exist?
PSU has won three league titles in 19 years. For most of their tenure they've been a clear third fiddle to U-M and Ohio. Without the aura of JoePa and the "Grand Experiment," maybe they'll never be any better. Besides, with Nebraska now in the fold we've got another historically elite program.
If you want to think in terms of finances, PSU brings us absolutely nothing in terms of basketball. If their football program goes in the tank because of this, what good are they? They certainly aren't good for the league's PR right now.
No other geographically sensible AAU member cash cows. Only other schools that remotely fit the bill academically are Missouri, Pitt, Syracuse, and ND.
is the best choice. I wonder if there are back room discussions with ND to get them into the B1G and kick PSU out?
A 2 year death penalty is more appropriate though.
ya, because ND to the B1G is clearly an option on the table, as we've seen in the past.
ND attemped to join the X for years and kept getting shot down; Fielding and even Crisler had lots to do with this. After about their third application was rejected and it was pretty clear they could stand on their own as an independent, their desire to join also changed because they found themselves in an enviable position. Pick your opponents, the dates you will play them, pick a few biggies pr year, pick your bye week, et.al., and all the while they continued to add numbers to their fan list. They became a distinct entity and powerful money making machine and their national following became huge.
It's tantamount to asking the same girl out repeatedly and getting shot down. Eventually, you will make the best out of a bad situation, and as is the norm, you'll ultimately end up with a far better companion. This one is on the BIG, not the Irish.
Read my post. Do I ever blame ND? No, I just say that the two getting together is not realistic. Like you said, they wanted us when we didn't want them (mostly for racist reasons), and then when we wanted them, they didn't want us anymore. The B1G and ND is not happening.
I don't view kicking them out as punishment. I view it as the right thing to do for the Big Ten.
You're hardly alone in saying the people involved are going to jail forever. While that's true for Sandusky, it is only true for him. Do you, or anyone else, truly think that Spanier, Curley and Schultz are getting life in prison? For what, perjury?
from what I've read about perjury in PA. Since it doesn't seem like their perjury was particularly terrible (they didn't finger someone else for a murder they committed on the jury stand, they lied about when they knew things to a grand jury), who knows how long, if at all, their sentences will be.
but Illinois is bigger than Pennsylvania.
The almighty dollar trumps everything. Probably the truth, but very depressing.
Of course, there is a legal aspect.
Does that absolve the dual responsbilitiy of the administrators and coaches to the NCAA?
Of couse not! I've heard "it's a legal issue" a lot, and disagree, entirely, that it stops there.
The action of officials at that cesspool define Loss of Institutional Control. You have the entire top chain President, VP, over football, and head coach conspiring to conceals crimes against children.
How in God's name is that NOT an NCAA violation?
Just because it's criminal doesn't end the NCAA part.
I believe you are wrong and I hope the NCAA agrees.
Death Penalty is warranted, at least one year.
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/bob-costas-meet-press-death-penalty-psu-foo…
Yes, this has been talked about endlessly. What should the BIG TEN do though?
I misread/misunderstood your post.
I thought NCAA not BIG.
BIG should suspend football one year and come down just as hard as NCAA.
WestCBlue,
Would you be so insisting and strong in your opinion if it were Michigan, not PSU? Would you ask for Death Penalty for Michigan? I think we are behaving as hypoctites.We don't have anything at stake. Let Penn State fans to voice their opinion, for they have a lot at stake.
say the same thing about M. A capital crime was committed in the football locker room. The Head Coach knew about it and did nothing. That is just as bad as doing it yourself.
Death Penalty for Jerry Sandusky and Death Penalty for PSU Football.
PSU benefited athletically from the cover up. It at least extended JoePa's tenure coaching (and transitioning from legend coaches doesn't always work out well) Also, PSU kept their "family" culture intact by the coverup.
Just look at Analzone and the Pedo dude at OSU. The Pedo wasn't even affiliated with the school and the recruit ran like hell. What would have happened if in 98 or 2000, JoePa tells the cops about Sandusky? How many recruits do they pull in, and when is Joe out?
Bernie Fine to Sandusky. Sandusky was convicted, and will spend his life in Jail. PSU is going to have to defend 7-8 lawsuits, which their insurance may not cover, and this case is on the ESPN front page all of the time. Fine wasn't charged. Big difference.
Also, Analzone is only 1 guy, but that's just an example of what I mean. I mean, how could JoePa go into some kid's living room and answer the question, "why did you had a pedophile on your staff for ~25 years, a man who is your good friend and are there others?"
At the very least, JoePa is out earlier (like when they tried to boot him in like 2003). If he gets even worse players in the 99-00-01 classes, maybe he is booted. That'sa competitive advantage.
The Big Ten should let the legal system run its course.
That could take a few years. There may well be more people named in the cover-up.
The Big Ten should come up with a plan of action. Sandusky's been convicted, an ex-FBI guy has done his investigation . . . that's a lot to work on. The conference can't just bide its time until 2014 or whatever, after round after round of convictions and appeals, and then say, "OK, time for sanctions."
The NCAA doesn't decide what's morally right. Again, leave it to the civil court system where a case of this matter belongs.
It is about arguably the top 4 individuals, who might well be thought to represent Penn State as an entity, covering up for disgusting acts of one of their own. If the President, VP, AD and Joe Pa did these things, it might as well be said that Penn State did these things. IMHO this is how the Big Ten should view the matter and take the proper moral high ground.
I don't think it will happen though and the sad reason will be $$$$$$$$$$$$.
best response yet
The NCAA does decide what's morally right. So do the Big Ten, churches, political parties, television celebrities, writers, this forum and each of us. Probably the only entity that does not decide what is morally right is our courts. They don't purport to and it's not their job. This was an institutional failure that most believe was inextracably tied to college sports. It is appropriate that college sports organizations evaluate that failure and determine whether action against the institution is in the interest of college sports and those that participate in them.
I haven't heard a single person expand this issue to include the entire Big Ten, so I would disagree with your statement that it is harmful to the Big Ten's reputation. Everyone knows this is an isolated incident and that there's nothing wrong with the Big Ten. PSU is a good academic institution and this has nothing to do with academics. PSU is a good athletic institution and this has nothing to do with athletics other than the fact that the people involved were also involved in athletics. Should we have been dropped for giving Ted Kaczynski a degree? Everyone involved in this scandal is now fired and on trial. Make the school give some money to an appropriate charity, put the guilty parties in jail, and move on.
If we had let him use the Chem Labs to make and package his mail bombs though, then I would think Michigan should get the boot.
Well you're arguing that PSU should get kicked because of a scandal that involved athletics. Why should Michigan get kicked out for something that doesn't involve athletics?
Dude, I have never seem someone comment so many times on their own post.
Why bring up a discussion topic if not to discuss it?
No, but if Michigan loses to App State in '14, I'd be in favor of relegating them to the MAC for a few years.
Careful. That same team kicked the hell out of St. Urban
is not isolated. it is everywhere.every campus. every city, and every town.
What do you mean by taking the high ground. Kicking them out would do nothing. They have over 40K students, and thousands of faculty. Not EVERYONE is involved in the scandal.
I admit that I don't know what affect it would have on the students and faculty. What affect did Nebraska moving to the Big Ten have on theirs? I would think no affect at all.
Yea but it was at least half of them. They are
Actually, I couldn't disagree with you more. Since this involved the president of the university, EVERYONE at the university is involved. That A-hole signed diplomas too. Personally, I think that the B10 should invalidate all the degrees awarded when he was president (between 1995 and 2011). It's the only fair thing to do.
We all know it will never happen because college's are all about the money, and not just the athletic department... but I digress.
Were my vote of any merit I would kick Penn State out and warn OSU that they are next: college football is one small part of what the Big Ten represents. And Penn State, at the leadership level, failed completely.
I am in the minority but I think College football represents legalized slavery, or at least indentured servitude ( I mean it is actually illegal to go pro: you have to play for a college). These bowl commitees are a joke, and even the athletic departments are can be seen in a negative light (I know that the football team revenue pays for all the other college sports, it also generates enough money to pay millions of dollars in coach money).
I don't expect too many people to agree with me and I understand that because the only thing that gives me any pause is the fact that the civil courts are going to work out the way they should and the criminal court already has. And everyone involved has been punished as far as we know... but it's the environment you can't indict and it's the environment, and the pressures that come with it, that kept those janitors from telling anyone, mcquery from following up, and JoePa content that he had done the right thing. I say kill the environment, stop seeing college fooball victories as the ends to justify any means...
Did you not get that out of my post?
And the fact that there is an age limit on the NFL exist so that the NCAA and its colleges can get money. I called it slavery, OR at least indentured servitude because for the elite players it is a form of indentured servitude...
you not so good at readign comprehension skills bro?
love you?
jdon