Although the future of the UO football program doesn’t look as gloomy as the 1988 Southern Methodist University football program, residents hope that the miserable summer weather isn’t an indicator of tomorrow’s NCAA announcement of penalties associated with recruiting violations. With tomorrow’s announcement looming, here are some of the other recent NCAA violations that have happened in college football.
In 2009, Florida State University was given the nickname “Free Shoe University,” because agents purchased more than $6,000 worth of shoes for Seminoles players. In addition, cases of academic fraud were uncovered from 2007, which would lead to 10 school teams losing scholarships and vacating wins. While the NCAA did not name the athletes, FSU banned 23 football players from attending the 2007 Music City Bowl. According to the NCAA report, academic fraud is the worst of all NCAA violations.
In early 2011, Ohio State University faced sanctions for a humorously serious violation. Reports show that football players, including former Oregon recruit Terrelle Pryor, were trading Buckeye football memorabilia for tattoos. What made the situation worse was that head coach Jim Tressel reportedly knew about the trades more than eight months before the school was made aware of the situations. On top of the five players having to repay the benefits earned, Tressel’s contract was broken by failing to inform Athletic Director Gene Smith of the university.
Later that year, the NCAA was tipped off by a former University of Miami booster, Nevin Shapiro, who was serving time for a role in a $900 million Ponzi scheme. Shapiro reported giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to Miami players and provided the service of prostitutes to the athletes. In addition, Shapiro admitted to arranging bounties for players like Florida’s Tim Tebow.
In 2012, a former Tennessee assistant football coach knowingly worked with boosters to provide travel and lodging to a prospective recruit, as found by the NCAA. This violation only added to the existing sanctions against the university now ending in August 2015, which includes limited recruiting visits and restrictions on complimentary tickets.
Earlier this month, Mississippi State was given a two years probation and stripped of football scholarships for involving a booster, an assistant coach and a recruit. Although the recruiting violations could have led to major sanctions, the NCAA accepted the school’s self-imposed penalties, including fewer scholarships, visits and off-campus recruiting events. In addition, the team’s receiver coach, Angelo Mirando was found guilty of unethical conduct and was essentially released for a year.