The NCAA played the role of judge, jury and
executioner Monday.
Penn State football, a longtime powerhouse that was
once one of the cleanest, most admired programs in college sports, escaped the
so-called death penalty from the NCAA but was dealt a heavy blow that will
cripple it for years to come.
The university agreed to an unprecedented $60
million fine, a four-year ban from postseason play and a cut in the number of
football scholarships it can award - the price it will pay for having looked
the other way while Jerry Sandusky brought boys onto campus and molested them.
The
NCAA also erased 14 years of victories from 1998-2011, wiping out 111 of head
coach Joe Paterno’s wins and stripping him of his standing as the most
successful coach in the history of big-time college football.
I’m stunned, yet I think it was the right thing to
do. The stripping of wins was what really struck me. What that said was, the NCAA
felt that Penn State and Paterno were protecting the legacy of the program and
the coach. The NCAA obviously wanted to make certain it was torn down. The
school did that as well by taking down the statue on Sunday. Curiously, I didn’t
hear anyone from the NCAA say if tearing down the statue was part of the
penalties.
The NCAA needed to send a message to its members
that this type of behavior in order to protect a sports program is not
acceptable. If you commit a crime but don’t break company rules, your boss can
still punish you. This is the worst scandal in the history of college sports.
So what are the ramifications of the scholarship
reductions? Penn State can only offer 15 new scholarships
per year for four years. Schools can usually offer 25. Penn State can only have
65 scholarships for football players each year for four years. Schools can usually
have 85. I have no idea how Penn State ever rebuilds from this.
Penn State is not USC or Texas. The
Trojans and Longhorns can attract talent because they’re in Los Angeles and Texas,
where there is so much talent that kids can be convinced to stay in the state.
Pennsylvania has talent but not that kind of talent. Penn State will not be
able to afford to miss on any player they recruit. Getting Pennsylvania kids to
stay in-state is going to be extremely difficult for the next four years. After
that they’re still going to have problems because the program will have been awful
for four straight years.
The fourth year of punishment is what boggled my mind. I thought they’d get whacked and take a decade to get back to respectability like Oklahoma did.
The fourth year of punishment is what boggled my mind. I thought they’d get whacked and take a decade to get back to respectability like Oklahoma did.
As for removing Paterno’s statue, I don’t
see how it can go up anywhere on campus. His inaction and obstruction have
destroyed Penn State. The entire athletic department is going to be seriously
harmed by this because of the money that the football program won’t be bringing
in for many, many years. They’re going to be bad for a very long time and I
would not be surprised to see fan apathy set in quickly and their attendance
reflect that.
The next question is, what does the Big
10 Conference do? Does it perhaps remove Penn State from the conference? Keep
in mind, the Big 10 champions itself on being “more than just football.” Plus, Penn
State is competitive in other sports and the academic reputation of the
university is still extremely good. This simply means that Penn State will be
at the bottom or near the bottom of the conference in football for several
years. Until relatively recently the conference had Northwestern in that role,
now it’ll be Penn State.
The only time I’ve ever seen a school booted out of a conference is when the Big East did it to Temple. The only reason the Big East booted Temple out of the conference is that the school accepted being bad at football and despite abysmal attendance weren’t willing to spend the money necessary to change that. Penn State will try to be good for the next four years and after that. They’re just not likely to win a whole lot of games despite how hard they try and the resources they spend to win.
When I look at the totality of the punishment levied against Penn State, I’d say it was fair. The only part that I somewhat question is vacating 111 wins. Perhaps the fact that Paterno was chasing the all-time wins record contributed to him and the university powers-that-be turning a blind eye. However, why punish the players for their efforts on the field?
The only time I’ve ever seen a school booted out of a conference is when the Big East did it to Temple. The only reason the Big East booted Temple out of the conference is that the school accepted being bad at football and despite abysmal attendance weren’t willing to spend the money necessary to change that. Penn State will try to be good for the next four years and after that. They’re just not likely to win a whole lot of games despite how hard they try and the resources they spend to win.
When I look at the totality of the punishment levied against Penn State, I’d say it was fair. The only part that I somewhat question is vacating 111 wins. Perhaps the fact that Paterno was chasing the all-time wins record contributed to him and the university powers-that-be turning a blind eye. However, why punish the players for their efforts on the field?
I wish Paterno was still alive to take his
punishment along with his beloved Penn State. I feel bad for Paterno’s wife to
have to live through all this. It has been hard on her and she has my thoughts
and prayers. Joe Paterno was the rise and fall of Penn St he could’ve taken
care of this the minute he found out. I hate being mean and talking badly about
the nonliving, but his wife is the one that will suffer for her remaining
years.
As a Nebraska fan and alum, I would die if anything like this came out on NU but I also know that if something like this happened Tom Osborne would’ve done the right thing along with Frank Solich or Bo Pelini or Bill Callahan. Yes, Callahan had his flaws as a head coach, too many to list. However, at least by principle, he stood for the right things. They know right from wrong and to fire an assistant coach would be a far less impact of trying to keep it secret for so many years. How did Penn State think they could do this? Did they not realize these kids would grow up and start talking? To me it just put printed STUPID on Paterno’s back along with the whole university.
As a Nebraska fan and alum, I would die if anything like this came out on NU but I also know that if something like this happened Tom Osborne would’ve done the right thing along with Frank Solich or Bo Pelini or Bill Callahan. Yes, Callahan had his flaws as a head coach, too many to list. However, at least by principle, he stood for the right things. They know right from wrong and to fire an assistant coach would be a far less impact of trying to keep it secret for so many years. How did Penn State think they could do this? Did they not realize these kids would grow up and start talking? To me it just put printed STUPID on Paterno’s back along with the whole university.
Vince,
ReplyDeleteWell written as always. However, Tom Osborn? You don't remember when he let Lawrence Phillips play in the National Championship Game. Here's from an article:
"After two games his junior season he was averaging 11 yards per carry. Upon the team's arrival from its game at Michigan State Phillips was arrested for domestic violence against his then-girlfriend. Coach Tom Osborne came under heavy pressure from media to bench Lawrence but stuck with him and started Phillips in the national championship game. Phillips rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns stomping Florida 62-24. As I recall Phillips was arrested after he had dragged his girlfriend by her hair down a flight of steps when he found her in a former Stanford player's room.
Here's the end of the artilce on the Player Osborne showcased in the National Championship Game:
"In 2006 he stood trial for assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. While serving this sentence Lawrence Phillips was convicted for assault on his then-girlfriend and was sentenced to 31 years in prison. He will be 65 when he gets out of prison."
But he had great talent, so Osborne played him. In other words, like Paterno, Tom Osborne put the program ahead of common decency and criminal behavior. Alas, unfortunately there are many coaches who fit that mold.
Jeff, I agree that Osborne should not have re-instated Phillps but I don’t agree with the notion that he was “win at all costs.” Osborne’s critics suggested that he re-instated Phillips to “win the National Championship.” Nothing could be further from the truth because WITHOUT Phillips Nebraska smashed two Top 10 opponents (Colorado 44-21 on the road and Kansas State 49-24 at home). If Osborne was so “win at all costs” then why would he bring Phillips back in those games? I’ll concede that Osborne should have thumbed Phillips’ ass off the team but not because he was a “win at all costs coach.” Nebraska beats Florida in the National title game with or without Phillips because the Huskers were a more complete team.
ReplyDeleteYou also have to understand that Osborne reached out to a lot of at-risk kids and made a huge difference in their lives. Sadly, he didn’t realize that Phillips could not be saved. He thought he could save Phillips but sadly took one too many chances. All I’m saying is, if you are going to criticize him for taking one too many chances on a youngster that it turns out could not be saved, then he also deserves praise for making a difference in many other kids lives who were considered at risk.
So why do I justify Osborne and not Paterno, you ask?
It’s very simple, while I do not condone any type of domestic abuse, an adult partner might be threatened and in some cases might be scared to go to the authorities but at least they know how to do it. Also, in the case of Phillips and his abuse, McEwen was no angel in this matter either. The part that never got reported in the media (which still bothers me to this day) was that had warned both Phillips and McEwen to stay away from each other because their relationship had become toxic. McEwen kept calling Phillips by phone during the team’s road trip to Michigan State.
I don’t disagree that Osborne should not have re-instated Phillips but to compare him to Paterno is off base. No. 1, Osborne didn’t cover anything up. No. 2, while what Phillips did was wrong, it’s not as if McEwen’s life was destroyed like the boys Jerry Sandusky abused.
All I’m saying is, did Osborne hurt himself on how he was perceived? Yes. Was he “win at all costs?” No.