And, yes, we’re aware of the even larger issue of whether the NCAA had the “right” to step into such a situation, or if one man should be granted de facto commissioner powers to bypass both standard association procedures and due process.
That said, and if you have no doubt heard by now, NCAA president Mark Emmert announced Monday morning historic and unprecedented sanctions on the Penn State football program. A $60 million fine, with the funds to be used to establish an endowment to benefit the victims of child sex abuse. Four-year postseason ban. The loss of dozens of scholarships over the next four years and the capping of their roster at 65 scholarship players for the same time frame, losses which in essence will turn Penn State into an FCS program for the foreseeable future.
Additionally, the fact that the NCAA also announced it will allow any current player to transfer out of Penn State and play immediately at any other school -- Div. 1-A or otherwise -- when combined with the scholarship reductions is a devastating blow for the near-future of the program, particularly if myriad players take advantage of no restrictions on a transfer. Oh, and the NCAA’s release also confirmed that any member of Penn State’s 2012 recruiting class, which signed this past February, will be released from their Letters of Intent if they so desire.
Add it all together, and these sanctions handed down by Emmert and the NCAA are easily the most punitive since SMU football received the death penalty in the late ‘80s. Since that sentence and restarting its football program, the Mustangs have produced just three .500-plus seasons.
Happy Valley, welcome to the future.
The question in regard to this post, though, is did the governing body of collegiate athletics get it right? Did they go far enough or too far?
Sound off below and, even as I know I’m urinating into a stiff breeze with this request, please attempt to keep it relatively civil.
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