Leaders And Best

February 13th, 2018 at 1:25 PM ^

It drops Notre Dame from 906 wins to 885 (sixth all-time) and its all-time winning percentage from .729 to .727 (still second but not close to Michigan now and in danger of falling behind OSU).

NCAA sure knows how to punish schools who are forthright in their investigations. I think the lesson Michigan and Notre Dame should probably learn by now is that it is better to obstruct and deny like UNC and OSU.

stephenrjking

February 13th, 2018 at 1:46 PM ^

I hate, hate, hate this lesson/idea.

I hate, even more, that it is clearly 100% true. 

I think it's safe to assume that whatever malfeasance has been taking place in big-time college sports, the spineless investigations and enforcement that only seems to punish those who are forthright has made things worse by telling schools what they can and can't get away with. And what they can't get away with is having integrity.

Schools that have tried to do the right thing (I don't think anyone is perfect, but some want to do things the "right way") have found themselves falling behind with no true recourse. So many of them have decided that all this clean stuff is junk and they need to keep up. Much like doping in cycling and track. 

It is my belief that Georgia's rise under Smart is an example of this happening in real time. And, btw, I don't think that they're some kind of monster that's worse than everyone else; I think they're catching up to the field. 

bronxblue

February 13th, 2018 at 2:12 PM ^

I'm not sure if the right word is "ironic", "moronic", or "sad", but it's telling that the NCAA absolutely 100% won't let ND count their victories due to academic improprieties, but cover up the sexual molesation of young boys by your DC for years and you just have to ask nicely for those wins to come back.

As always, fuck PSU.

WolverineHistorian

February 13th, 2018 at 2:39 PM ^

The NCAA doesn't give a crap about the 20+ years of fake classes that North Carolina basketball got away with.  So I'm a little confused.  If ND had won the title game in 2012 would they be able to keep these wins?  

Fuck Notre Dame either way.   But trying to understand the NCAA's logic will make your head hurt. 

NittanyFan

February 13th, 2018 at 3:08 PM ^

The NCAA restored JoePa's wins because they were likely going to lose the Jake Corman (Pennsylvania State Senator) lawsuit. 

They were likely going to lose the Jake Corman lawsuit because of the internal NCAA e-mails that came out during discovery (the internal e-mails where NCAA top chiefs themselves were saying "we don't really think we have the authority to do this"). 

The Jake Corman lawsuit was only a thing (without this, there wouldn't have been a lawsuit) because the NCAA wanted to distribute the $60MM fine amongst different states as opposed to purely within Pennsylvania.

I have no idea why the NCAA cared so vehemently about that issue.  But they did.  If the NCAA had simply said "fine" on that, the lawsuit gets dropped and there is no settlement.  But  Emmert got hung up on a tangential issue and thus set the scene for (1) those internal e-mails to be exposed and (2) a good chance of a decisive in-court loss in the lawsuit.  So of course he settled.

MadMatt

February 13th, 2018 at 2:27 PM ^

Since the NCAA is clearly unwilling to preserve anything other than its own reputation and income stream, and the demand for pro level sports is insatiable, I offer the following.  If any State lacks a professional franchise within its borders for a given State, it may designate any single University's varsity sport as its professional franchise.  The State and its institution will be permitted to offer its athletes whatever the market will bear, and these institutions can form their own association and institute whatever schedules and playoff format, among themselves only, they see fit.

All other institutions will retrench their "revenue sports" into more modest operations consistent with the student-athlete model.  Only these schools may play each other or be eligible for NCAA (or whatever the new organization calls itself to get out from under the tainted label) Championships.  A committee of Division 3 athletic directors and college presidents will resort these instutions into new leagues, with an eye on breaking up historical rivalries that tend to warp everyone's thinking.

Alabama, Oklahoma, Kansas, West Virginia, Arkansas, South Carolina, Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming...you're all clear for big time football.  Make of it what you will.