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Title: Penn State sanctions: $60M, bowl ban [Hot off the presses...]
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URL Source: http://espn.go.com/college-football ... year-bowl-ban-wins-dating-1998
Published: Jul 23, 2012
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Post Date: 2012-07-23 12:29:06 by Eric Stratton
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Views: 1424
Comments: 28
The NCAA has hit Penn State with a $60 million sanction, a four-year football postseason ban and a vacation of all wins dating to 1998, the organization said Monday morning. The career record of Joe Paterno will reflect these vacated records, the NCAA said. Penn State also must reduce 10 initial and 20 total scholarships each year for a four-year period. • Big Ten blog: More coverage The NCAA revealed the sanctions as NCAA president Mark Emmert and Ed Ray, the chairman of the NCAA's executive committee and Oregon State's president, spoke at a news conference in Indianapolis at the organization's headquarters. "In the Penn State case, the results were perverse and unconscionable. No price the NCAA can levy will repair the damage inflicted by Jerry Sandusky on his victims," Emmert said, referring to the former Penn State defensive coordinator convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse last month. The NCAA said the $60 million was equivalent to the average annual revenue of the football program. The NCAA ordered Penn State to pay the penalty funds into an endowment for "external programs preventing child sexual abuse or assisting victims and may not be used to fund such programs at the university." With the wins from 1998-2011 vacated, Paterno moves from 409 wins to 298, dropping him from first to 12th on the winningest NCAA football coach list. Penn State also will have six bowl wins and two conference championships erased. The Penn State athletic program also will be put on a five-year probation and must work with an athletic-integrity monitor of NCAA's choosing. Any current or incoming football players are free to immediately transfer and compete at another school. "There is incredible interest in what will happen to Penn State football," Ray said at the news conference. "But the fundamental chapter of this horrific story should focus on the innocent children and the powerful people who let them down." The Big Ten fully supports the NCAA's actions, saying in a news release it is condemning and censuring the school for "egregiously" failing on "many levels -- morally, ethically and potentially criminally." The conference also will place the university on a five-year probation to run concurrently with the NCAA's and has declared the football program ineligible for the Big Ten championship game for the four years in which the NCAA banned the Nittany Lions from postseason play. Penn State's proceeds from Big Ten bowl revenues from the four years, amounting to an estimated $13 million, will be allocated "to established charitable organizations in Big Ten communities dedicated to the protection of children," the conference said. Penn State, in a statement released less than an hour after the NCAA sanctions were revealed, said it will accept them and that the "ruling holds the university accountable for the failure of those in power to protect children and insists that all areas of the university community are held to the same high standards of honesty and integrity." "The tragedy of child sexual abuse that occurred at our university altered the lives of innocent children," school president Rodney Erickson said in the news release. "Today, as every day, our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims of Mr. Sandusky and all other victims of child abuse." The penalties came a day after Penn State removed its Paterno statue outside Beaver Stadium, a decision that came 10 days after a scathing report by former FBI director Louis J. Freeh found that Paterno, with three other top Penn State administrators, had concealed allegations of child sexual abuse made against Sandusky. The Freeh report concluded their motive was to shield the university and its football program from negative publicity. "Today we receive a very harsh penalty from the NCAA and as head coach of the Nittany Lions football program, I will do everything in my power to not only comply, but help guide the university forward to become a national leader in ethics, compliance and operational excellence," Penn State football coach Bill O'Brien said in the statement. "I knew when I accepted the position that there would be tough times ahead. But I am committed for the long term to Penn State and our student athletes." By vacating 112 Penn State victories over a 14-year period, the sanctions cost Paterno 111 wins. Penn State finished last season 1-3 with Tom Bradley as coach after Paterno was fired in November. Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden will now hold the top spot in the NCAA record book with 377. The scholarship reductions mean that Penn State's roster will be capped at 65 scholarship players within a couple of seasons. The normal scholarship limit for major college football programs is 85. Playing with 20 less is crippling to a program that tries to compete at the highest level of the sport. The NCAA took unprecedented measures with the decision to penalize Penn State without the due process of a Committee on Infractions hearing, bypassing a system in which it conducts its own investigations, issues a notice of allegations and then allows the university 90 days to respond before a hearing is scheduled. Following the hearing, the Infractions Committee then usually takes a minimum of six weeks, but it can take upwards of a year to issue its findings. But in the case of Penn State, the NCAA used the Freeh report -- commissioned by the school's board of trustees -- instead of its own investigation. "We cannot look to NCAA history to determine how to handle circumstances so disturbing, shocking and disappointing," Emmert said in the statement. "As the individuals charged with governing college sports, we have a responsibility to act. These events should serve as a call to every single school and athletics department to take an honest look at its campus environment and eradicate the 'sports are king' mindset that can so dramatically cloud the judgment of educators." NCAA Division I Board of Directors and the NCAA Executive Committee granted Emmert the authority to punish through the nontraditional methods. "It was a unanimous act," Ray said. "We needed to act." A trustee said Penn State has hired Gene Marsh, a lawyer for Lightfoot, Franklin & White in Birmingham, Ala., and a former member and chair of the NCAA Infractions Committee. Last week, ESPN contacted Marsh, who also previously represented former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, and he refused to confirm or deny he had been retained by Penn State. A former Committee on Infractions chairman and current Division I Appeals Committee member told ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Sunday the NCAA's penalizing of an institution and program for immoral and criminal behavior also breaks new ground. The former chair, who has been involved with the NCAA for nearly three decades, said he couldn't use his name on the record since the case could come before him and the committee he still serves on in an appeals process. "This is unique and this kind of power has never been tested or tried," the former chair said. "It's unprecedented to have this extensive power. This has nothing to do with the purpose of the infractions process. Nevertheless, somehow (the NCAA president and executive board) have taken it on themselves to be a commissioner and to penalize a school for improper conduct." The chair said that the NCAA was dealing with a case that is outside the traditional rules or violations. He said this case does not fall within the basic fundamental purpose of NCAA regulations. • Blog network: College Football Nation "The purpose of the NCAA is to keep a level playing field among schools and to make sure they use proper methods through scholarships and etcetera," the chair said. "This is not a case that would normally go through the process. It has nothing to do with a level playing field. It has nothing to do with whether Penn State gets advantages over other schools in recruiting or in the number of coaches or things that we normally deal with." The NCAA, the chair said, had never gotten involved in punishing schools for criminal behavior. "The criminal courts are perfectly capable of handling these situations," the former chair said. "This is a new phase and a new thing. They are getting into bad behavior that are somehow connected to those who work in the athletic department. "This is an important precedent. And it should be taken with extreme care." Under NCAA rules covering postseason bans, players are allowed to transfer without sitting out a season as long as their remaining eligibility is shorter than or equal to the length of the ban. The NCAA, heavily criticized for its sometimes-ponderous pace in deciding penalties as scandals mounted at Ohio State, Auburn, USC and elsewhere, acted with unprecedented swiftness in arriving at the sanctions for a team that is trying to start over with a new coach and a new outlook. Emmert had put the Penn State matter on the fast track. Other cases that were strictly about violating the NCAA rulebook have dragged on for months and even years. There was no sign that the infractions committee so familiar to college sports fans was involved this time around as Emmert moved quickly, no doubt aided by the July 12 release of the report by former FBI director Louis Freeh and what it said about Paterno and the rest of the Penn State leadership. The investigation focused partly on university officials' decision not to go to child-welfare authorities in 2001 after a coaching assistant told Paterno that he had seen Sandusky sexually abusing a boy in the locker room showers. Penn State officials already knew about a previous allegation against Sandusky by that time, from 1998. The leaders, the report said, "repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky's child abuse from authorities, the university's board of trustees, the Penn State community and the public at large." Sandusky is awaiting sentencing after being convicted last month of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years. Emmert had warned Penn State last fall that the NCAA would be examining the "exercise of institutional control" within the athletic department, and said it was clear that "deceitful and dishonest behavior" could be considered a violation of ethics rules. So, too, could a failure to exhibit moral values or adhere to ethics guidelines. The Freeh report also said school had "decentralized and uneven" oversight of compliance issues -- laws, regulations, policies and procedures -- as required by the NCAA. Recent major scandals, such as improper payments to the family of Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush while he was at Southern California, and players at Ohio State trading memorabilia for cash and tattoos, have resulted in bowl bans and the loss of scholarships. Poster Comment: Haven't even read this myself yet ... Penn State sanctions: $60M, bowl ban
NCAA Sanctions Against Penn State
• $60 million fine
• Vacation of wins from 1998-2011 (112 wins)*
• Four-year postseason ban
• Four-year scholarship reduction (10 initial; 20 total)
• Players may transfer and play immediately at other schools
• Athletic department on probation for five years
* Joe Paterno record now 298-136-3; fifth on FBS all-time list
• NCAA, Penn St. consent decree (PDF)SN Voices: Penn State Sanctions
Did the NCAA go too far in punishing Penn State? Did it not go far enough? Or did college sports' governing body get it right? Your take
• Your opinion: Appropriate punishment?
• Current, former players reactBiggest Postseason Bans
Penn State was hit with a four-year postseason ban from the NCAA on Monday. The penalties also include a $60 million fine and vacation of wins dating to 1998. Here's a list of the longest postseason bans for FBS programs since 1960. No team has ever received a five-year ban. Other FBS Programs To Receive At Least
a 3-Year Postseason Ban Since 1960School Report year Length
of banIndiana 1960 4 years • Improper recruiting inducements Oklahoma St. 1989 3 years • Improper financial aid, extra benefits Michigan St. 1976 3 years • Extra benefits, improper recruiting entertainment Houston 1966 3 years • Extra benefits, improper recruiting entertainment -- Source: NCAA Major Infractions Database Big Ten Blog
ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg and Brian Bennett write about all things Big Ten in the conference blog.
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 22.
#22. To: Eric Stratton (#0)
Not sure how many of you follow college football. I tend to live and breathe it come Fall and Winter. Schools like Penn State, Alabama can have 85 scholarship players on the roster for the year. They can sign up to 25 scholarship athletes for each year (incoming freshman, transfers). Smaller schools like Appalachian State, Sam Houston State, Georgia Southern, Montana can only have 63. They can bring in a maximum of 15 in any given year. Penn State by 2013 has be down to 75 total. By 2014, 65 total and stay at that number until 2018. With transfers, Penn State will likely lose 100+ scholarship players from now until 2018. They will effectively be down to a scholarship level less than Montana, Appalachian, etc., competing in a major Division 1 conference. With the bowl ban in place for a number of years, Penn State will be bringing in marginal talent to play at this level. Expect several 3/4 win seasons for a while. It is quite possible they may never recover from this as a football program. By comparison, SMU lost 55 scholarships. Received a TV ban and was shut down for one season by the NCAA and self-sacrificed a second for all intents and purposes. The fines Penn State is facing may well approach $120 million when all is said and done. $60 million from the NCCA and a number approaching that in lost bowl revenue from the Big 10's sharing plan for the next four years. The vacating wins is nothing but a stab at Paterno to remove his name and this tragedy from the top of the record books. Having said all of that, the NCAA has opened a huge can of worms here by citing "ethics" as the reason for their involvement. Emmert stepped out of the NCAA's normal process of inquiry > investigation > notice of allegations > hearings > penalties. Emmert approached and received permission from the NCAA Board of Directors to tackle this on his own. If Penn State so desired, they could well sue the NCAA for denial of due process. The NCAA already has a history of uneven treatment with member schools about what it will or will not investigate and punishments for seemingly similar infractions carry wildly different penalties. The biggest issue for the NCAA with their ruling on Penn State is where does it stop. If another school has run-ins with DWI's, barfights, is that a breech of ethics? The University of Florida under the last two seasons of Urban Myer had near 30 arrests including multiple sexual and physical assault cases, DWI's, etc. The NCAA considered that a legal matter. Urban Myer was starting to take some serious media scrutiny over his program before going into retirement. The NCAA admitted Cam Newton's father shopped him around for $180,000+ to various schools but said since Cam "didn't know", they couldn't touch Auburn. The NCAA had a hearsay confession regarding Reggie Bush at USC that would have been tossed in any courtroom in the US, but nailed them for several scholarships and postseason bans. As for hurting the players, any Penn State player currently on scholarship can transfer at any time. This year, next year, etc. They may stop playing football and have their scholarship honored. They may transfer at any point during their college career without penalty and the school they transfer to will not have that kid count against the scholarship total for one year. Even at SMU, not every kid who went there was paid, yet had their collegiate career thrown in disarray. Some stayed, some moved on. Others were recruited and committed to play there under strict sanctions. The NCAA has given these kids an out. If they decide to stay, they now know full well what they are getting into. My hat is off to them, because many of them will stay and want to be a part of rebuilding Penn State back into something much better than it is today. About the money. The NCAA's major cash cow is not football. It's basketball and most of that money comes from March Madness. The Bowls and the Conferences are the major cash cows. Football at most schools is usually successful enough to sustain itself and most of the athletic department along with it. Right or wrong, it is one of the reasons the NCAA will be reluctant to issue a death penalty. I don't know enough about the Freeh Report and the hows and whys he was brought in. So far, six high ranking folks have taken the fall for this. Rest assured any others in any positions of power, prestige that had knowledge of this not yet named to save their own hides will pin this all on Paterno since dead men can't talk and Sandusky since no one will take him seriously even if he happened to tell the truth about something. None of us should be surprised by this.
#23. To: scooter (#22)
There is one thing we have to remember, like the Nixon adage, what did they know and when did they know it. Something of this magnitude and long years in sway on any University Campus, does not go unnoticed by a permanent staff of THOUSANDS. From the groundskeeper to the U President knowledge of such does exist. Freeh is there to ensure that this fact of "knowledge" is as limited as possible, hang all those visible with alacrity, but stop the widening of the circle of those who knew, suspected or heard rumors. I suspect it has long been a deep seated cancer, known by many.
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excellent summation, Scooter. thank you for taking the time. here are two articles about the scandal written by Victor Thorn that i think might interest you. americanfreepress.net/?p=5116 ( Victim Claims Sandusky Sex Scandal Connected to Philadelphia Pedophile Network) americanfreepress.net/?p=5131 ( PSU Cover-up…Connecting the Dots)
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#24. To: scooter (#22)
#26. To: scooter (#22)
End Trace Mode for Comment # 22.