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NCAA Sanctions Penn State
Jul. 23rd, 2012 10:14 amToday, the NCAA announced sanctions against Penn State University for the Sandusky child molestation coverup. No "death penalty" (which in the context of the NCAA, the "death penalty" would mean shutting down the football program full-stop for a designated period of time (1 to 2 years).
Instead they're fined $60 million which is to be placed in a fund for sexually molested children and which cannot be taken from the working budget of any of the other athletic programs at the school, 4 years probation (no bowl games or championships for 4 years), reduced to 15 scholarships (though no one who is in school on a football scholarship can lose their current scholarship, even if they no longer play football. Also players are granted the freedom to transfer to any other university and are immediately approved to play (usually they have to sit out a year if they switch schools (eta: and now they're reporting that the NCAA has also given the go-ahead that if another team takes one of Penn State's players that it will not count against the other team's total number of allowed scholarships... which basically means that the NCAA has paved the way for a mass exodus of the team).
Also, they are vacated of all wins all the way back to 1998 (-113 games), which is a bit of an oddity because while that's the official stat, it's not forgotten that they actually did win. What it does do, however, (and which I think is fair) is that it knocks Joe Paterno out of the top ranks of "all time wins"... which was why Paterno remained at the university and ostensibly is why he most probably hid the Sadusky molestations so that he could remain head coach and pass Florida State University's Bobby Bowden as all-time winningest football coach. By vacating his wins to 1998 (the time when he was first informed of what was happening), Paterno is now dropped to 8th (or therebouts) in the stats, which means that the legacy he was protecting is no longer a record book legacy.
Since Paterno died early this year, that's probably about the only thing they could do regarding him. (That and they removed his statue from the university, but I suspect that is not permanent. The vacated wins are permanent.)
The conference is to issue their sanctions on the school later this morning. (Edit: The conference is not going to share bowl money with Penn State. Explanation: There is a certain monetary reward for a school making it to bowl games and to championship games. This money is pooled for the entire conference and divied up by the conference which is why a school like Vanderbilt is in the SEC because while they may never make a conference championship, they have a share of the proceeds of the conference as a whole, so it profits them to be in the SEC-- and Vandy's high academics profits the SEC. This sanction cuts Penn State from a share of the Big 10 proceeds, which is a big chunk of change. ETA: Estimates of the money involved is $13 million per year for 5 years taken from Penn State and donated to a charity for Child Molestation Survivors. This combined with NCAA is approximately $125 million in fines.)
Instead they're fined $60 million which is to be placed in a fund for sexually molested children and which cannot be taken from the working budget of any of the other athletic programs at the school, 4 years probation (no bowl games or championships for 4 years), reduced to 15 scholarships (though no one who is in school on a football scholarship can lose their current scholarship, even if they no longer play football. Also players are granted the freedom to transfer to any other university and are immediately approved to play (usually they have to sit out a year if they switch schools (eta: and now they're reporting that the NCAA has also given the go-ahead that if another team takes one of Penn State's players that it will not count against the other team's total number of allowed scholarships... which basically means that the NCAA has paved the way for a mass exodus of the team).
Also, they are vacated of all wins all the way back to 1998 (-113 games), which is a bit of an oddity because while that's the official stat, it's not forgotten that they actually did win. What it does do, however, (and which I think is fair) is that it knocks Joe Paterno out of the top ranks of "all time wins"... which was why Paterno remained at the university and ostensibly is why he most probably hid the Sadusky molestations so that he could remain head coach and pass Florida State University's Bobby Bowden as all-time winningest football coach. By vacating his wins to 1998 (the time when he was first informed of what was happening), Paterno is now dropped to 8th (or therebouts) in the stats, which means that the legacy he was protecting is no longer a record book legacy.
Since Paterno died early this year, that's probably about the only thing they could do regarding him. (That and they removed his statue from the university, but I suspect that is not permanent. The vacated wins are permanent.)
The conference is to issue their sanctions on the school later this morning. (Edit: The conference is not going to share bowl money with Penn State. Explanation: There is a certain monetary reward for a school making it to bowl games and to championship games. This money is pooled for the entire conference and divied up by the conference which is why a school like Vanderbilt is in the SEC because while they may never make a conference championship, they have a share of the proceeds of the conference as a whole, so it profits them to be in the SEC-- and Vandy's high academics profits the SEC. This sanction cuts Penn State from a share of the Big 10 proceeds, which is a big chunk of change. ETA: Estimates of the money involved is $13 million per year for 5 years taken from Penn State and donated to a charity for Child Molestation Survivors. This combined with NCAA is approximately $125 million in fines.)
