What will the NCAA do to Penn State?

[JBuck]

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/48126484/ns/sports-college_football/

Interesting read on how the NCAA could find its way into this sordid mess.

[ReVOLver]

I didn't read the whole article but I don't think the NCAA should be involved. The SEC doesn't investigate banks whose VPs commit non-financial crimes and the CEOs that cover up their non-financial crimes, so the NCAA should stay out of situations where schools commit non-athletic crimes and cover them up. I think it's a job for the courts, both criminal and civil.

[MIAUTIGER]

I didn't read the whole article but I don't think the NCAA should be involved. The SEC doesn't investigate banks whose VPs commit non-financial crimes and the CEOs that cover up their non-financial crimes, so the NCAA should stay out of situations where schools commit non-athletic crimes and cover them up. I think it's a job for the courts, both criminal and civil.

I agree completely.  Though, for some reason, it wouldn't surprise me to get involved with this in some degree.  This really should be handled in the courts.  Personally, after reading some of the report, I hope PSU gets sued into bankruptcy. Pathetic how they knew this was going on and seemingly did nothing about this.

[ReVOLver]

I agree completely.  Though, for some reason, it wouldn't surprise me to get involved with this in some degree.  This really should be handled in the courts.  Personally, after reading some of the report, I hope PSU gets sued into bankruptcy. Pathetic how they knew this was going on and seemingly did nothing about this.

Exactly. I think that if they are meant to quit football, they will, because it will be because their endowment gets spent in paying out millions to victims and their families. I just think the NCAA shouldn't muddle up the legal process. It is out of their jurisdiction.

Completely unrelated but any time I use the word "jurisdiction" I laugh because of the guy in the Matrix who tells the agents "Don't give me that juris-my-diction crap." /nerd

[BigOrange Maniac]

I didn't read the whole article but I don't think the NCAA should be involved. The SEC doesn't investigate banks whose VPs commit non-financial crimes and the CEOs that cover up their non-financial crimes, so the NCAA should stay out of situations where schools commit non-athletic crimes and cover them up. I think it's a job for the courts, both criminal and civil.

I tend to agree, primarily because of the precedent it sets. OTOH, this scandal is probably the most egregious college athletics has ever known, and it was able to escalate and continue because university officials covered it up in order to protect the integrity of their football program. So I think the argument could be made that while the crime may have been strictly non-athletic in nature, the legal nature of this crime and its athletics nature are hopelessly intertwined. Since PSU officials covered it up — in the process allowing an untold number of kids to be raped who otherwise wouldn't have been — because they placed their football program above the safety and welfare of children (who, let's not forget, were oftentimes inside PSU athletic facilities), the football program deserves to pay a severe price. The courts can't make that happen; the NCAA can. If the NCAA is just going to charge PSU with LOIC and jerk a few scholarships away, it's a waste of time. If, OTOH, the NCAA is prepared to levy unprecedented penalties at the program, I'm all for it.

[LouisVOL]

I hope all the living involved parties are fired, and/or prosecuted.  I hope donors revolt and endowments dry up.  I hope the football team goes winless for the next century.  I hope PSU will be the ultimate example of moral and ethical turpitude. 

But I do not hope the NCAA gets involved, unless there are NCAA violations consistent with what have always been defined as an NCAA violations.  If the NCAA claims authority over all things legal, moral, and ethical, they have gone far beyond their mandate to monitor competitive advantage.  I realize the argument can be made that Penn State gained competitive advantage by avoiding scandal, thus not affecting recruiting, etc, etc., but that slope is far too slippery. 

[droner]

The NCAA probably shouldn't be involved but if they do, it should be after all of the criminal and civil matters have been completed. Neither the NCAA nor anyone else should muddy the waters and possibly influence the outcomes either way.

[ReVOLver]

but that slope is far too slippery. 

Slippery slope. Great way to put it.

[murfvol]

I think the NCAA should act. Here's why. There was a lack of institutional control in order to gain a competitive advantage.

No cover-up takes place if there's no perceived competitive advantage for PSU. Therefore it seems fair to present them with the death penalty. Some say that's not fair because the parties in question have been removed. Umm, that's the way it always is. Besides, athletes can transfer and coaches can move. I don't think it will happen, but it should.

Even if the incidents are deemed to be beyond the purview of the NCAA they should still go on a treasure hunt under the guise of, oh, whatever. Let them dig around for awhile and see what is unearthed. The albatross of an investigation will harm recruiting for a couple of years and then whatever turns up won't help either. 

[BigOrange Maniac]

I think the NCAA should act. Here's why. There was a lack of institutional control in order to gain a competitive advantage.

No cover-up takes place if there's no perceived competitive advantage for PSU. Therefore it seems fair to present them with the death penalty. Some say that's not fair because the parties in question have been removed. Umm, that's the way it always is. Besides, athletes can transfer and coaches can move. I don't think it will happen, but it should.

Even if the incidents are deemed to be beyond the purview of the NCAA they should still go on a treasure hunt under the guise of, oh, whatever. Let them dig around for awhile and see what is unearthed. The albatross of an investigation will harm recruiting for a couple of years and then whatever turns up won't help either. 

Agree.

I'm usually one of the first to gripe about the NCAA overstepping its bounds. I still think Bruce Pearl (and other coaches who've been show-caused) got a raw deal because the NCAA shouldn't be able to force a school to fire a coach it doesn't like by threatening additional penalties.

But sometimes the end justifies the means.

[73Volgrad]

As much as Penn State may deserve punishment and will pay through civil law, I do not think the NCAA can hand down the death penalty the way it is written in the by-laws. My understanding is the death penalty cannot be enforced on a first offense, but can be declared after several repeated incidents and only after one or two incidents of NCAA penalties. You get caught, convicted in NCAA kangaroo court, penalized, and placed on probation. You then commit the same act or another egregious act before probation is over. Only then is a school eligible for the death penalty. Penn State is not on probation and has not committed any rules violations other than stupid and cowardly acts by low-life scum not wanted to sully the reputation or image of the school. Hey fellows, how did that work out for you?

The NCAA can only call Penn State in, read them the riot act, and put them on heavily supervised probation. If the NCAA knows what is good for the organization (I must be drinking to think something like that), they will stay away from this until all the civil suits are settled. Penn State will attempt to settle all their upcoming suits out-of-court with the details remaining private. The public relations hit Penn State has suffered and the sports recruits, students, and endowments they will lose will impact their school more than NCAA sanctions. But this is such a good object lesson and training tool for all parents and coaches that you cannot place idol worship and pursuit of fame over honor and doing what is right. It also proves that if you are a public hypocrite long enough the truth about your real personality and values will be exposed.

[Black Diamond Vol]

I still think the program should be shut down for a couple years- but by the school, not the NCAA.

[Black Diamond Vol]

Beyond football, I'm wondering what affect (if any) this will have on their academic credentials- things like their AAU status, or even their accreditation.  I don't claim to know how those things are determined, but when you have a conspiracy of this magnitude that implicates pretty much all the school's senior leadership (even the board of trustees, according to the Freeh Report), I would think that would have to factor into it.  If that happens, PSU could have a lot bigger things to worry about than just the football team.

[BigOrange Maniac]

If that happens, PSU could have a lot bigger things to worry about than just the football team.

It's probably no more likely to happen than the football program getting the death penalty, but PSU deserves whatever fallout is the result of this scandal. There's nothing that can equal justice for the kids whose lives were forever changed by an out-of-control pervert who was free to molest and assault children due to the fact that a university president, vice president, athletic director, football coach, assistant coach, university police force director, and the list goes on and on, were unwilling to put the kids ahead of football.

The more I read about the Freeh report's finding, the more I believe the NCAA absolutely should be involved in this matter. No, they won't be able to hand down the death penalty to PSU, but they can go a long way towards setting the program back to about 1998, when news of Sandusky's favorite pastime first came to light and the coverup ensued. And although it's not gonna happen, I'd like to see the NCAA — assuming it finds LOIC — force the school to vacate some of its wins so that Paterno is no longer the winningest coach. It would be deserved. Freeh's report indicates that university officials were going to report Sandusky and Paterno talked them out of it.

I always thought Paterno's exit from football would be a sad, sad day for the college game. Who knew...  

[Black Diamond Vol]

It's probably no more likely to happen than the football program getting the death penalty, but PSU deserves whatever fallout is the result of this scandal. There's nothing that can equal justice for the kids whose lives were forever changed by an out-of-control pervert who was free to molest and assault children due to the fact that a university president, vice president, athletic director, football coach, assistant coach, university police force director, and the list goes on and on, were unwilling to put the kids ahead of football.

The more I read about the Freeh report's finding, the more I believe the NCAA absolutely should be involved in this matter. No, they won't be able to hand down the death penalty to PSU, but they go a long way towards setting the program back to about 1998, when news of Sandusky's favorite pastime first came to light and the coverup ensued. And although it's not gonna happen, I'd like to see the NCAA — assuming it finds LOIC — force the school to vacate some of its wins so that Paterno is no longer the winningest coach. It would be deserved. Freeh's report indicates that university officials were going to report Sandusky and Paterno talked them out of it.

I always thought Paterno's exit from football would be a sad, sad day for the college game. Who knew... 

And when they finish setting PSU back to 1998, I wouldn't mind them coming to Knoxville and doing the same to UT.