Charles Robinson, the investigative reporter for Yahoo! Sports who practically turned the University of Miami’s football program upside down with one revealing tell-all, just pushed the knife a little deeper into the hearts of ‘Canes fans everywhere.
The NCAA has been investigating Miami for five months now, and apparently, they’re willing to dig a little deeper into the football program’s connection to former booster Nevin Shapiro.
A source within UM has told Robinson that the NCAA has informed them that they are considering invoking its “willful violators” clause to the case. Under normal circumstances, the NCAA’s statue of limitations would only allow a program to be sanctioned for infractions committed over for a four year period prior to a letter of inquiry.
However, if the NCAA finds a “pattern of willful violations” during their investigation, they have the right to go back to the first applicable infraction in the case.
For Miami, that would mean 2002, when Shapiro allegedly began handing out gifts to players.
It also means it would cross paths with Miami’s two-year probationary period in baseball from 2003-05. If violations were found to have occurred during that time, UM could get the distinct honor of hoisting the “repeat violator” trophy and thus make them a qualifier for the NCAA’s death penalty.
That doesn’t mean, however, that Miami would get the death penalty; the willful violator clause hasn’t even been used yet. But it’s a very real possibility according to NCAA president Mark Emmert.
“We need to make sure that we’ve got, for the committee on infractions, all the tools they need to create those kinds of deterrents,” Emmert told the USA Today yesterday (Aug. 17). “If that includes the death penalty, I’m fine with that.
“If -- and I’m underscoring if -- these allegations are true, this is a case that points to all the fundamental problems we have with booster and third-party engagement and third-party activity going on, swirling around a program.
“We’ll just to have wait and see what the real facts are when it’s finalized, and we’ll go from there. But this is very troubling, and it points out the real need for us to make changes and to make them thoughtfully and aggressively.”
The fact that the death penalty is even in the discussion -- that the door has allegedly been unlocked for such a move -- is an eye-opener for UM, a program which had their eyes closed for the better part of a decade.
“When Shapiro made his allegations nearly a year ago, he and his attorneys refused to provide any facts to the university,” UM associate AD for communications Chris Freet told Yahoo!. “We notified the NCAA enforcement officials of these allegations. We are fully cooperating with the NCAA and are conducting a joint investigation. We take these matters very seriously.”
Of course they do now. Whether it’ll be enough, and whether the NCAA will follow through on Emmert’s words if sufficient evidence is found, is yet to be seen.