Jerry Sandusky and Related Trials

[DontToewsMeBro]

Considering the school is overpopulated with Jersey kids despite OOS tuition being rediculous, I don't see the scandal really hurting the # of applications the University gets too much.

[MRandall25]

If it comes down to it, and the death penalty is given, would the NCAA give the players a free transfer to another school if they so chose?

[Rylan]

If it comes down to it, and the death penalty is given, would the NCAA give the players a free transfer to another school if they so chose?

They did with SMU. It was apparently a frenzy according to the 30 for 30.

[tifosi77]

Yeah, I would have no issue with bowl and TV bans. But people are really overvaluing the deterrent aspect of this. Do you think this will stop coaches from covering up sweeteners for big prospects? Maybe a recruiting violation here or there? Please.

The death penalty has been issued once in NCAA history. It won't act as a deterrent to other schools. Unless there is the rare case that their coach is a child molester, but I'm pretty sure the lesson has been learned there.

Can people who don't follow college sports even tell you what the 'death penalty' is? Why SMU was issued that sentence? Who was involved?

Flash forward 15, 20 years..... do you think there will be a person who is over 15 years old today who won't remember the name Jerry Sandusky? This story has been front page news around the world. I heard of the verdict on my way home from work on the 405 because the local evening drive radio host devoted show time to live coverage, even having a reporter from the CDT call in for a few minutes. (Ironically, as I was listening to this caller I passed a billboard - this off the 110 freeway - for Penn State's extension learning program....)

The point is this - with the ample and enthusiastic media coverage of this case, the deterrent has (one can only hope) already been achieved. You can't say 'Penn State' in polite company without engendering either rude snickers or fisticuffs, or both. There isn't going to be a time for a very long count of years where mentioning you're an alumni won't be at least a little bit awkward..... particularly for those of us who were there during the time frame when all of this happened. (And, of course, I'm typing all this wearing an old Penn State hockey t-shirt)

It just seems to me that going to the extremes of the NCAA playbook would be more out of bloodlust than for any desire to affect a lasting positive outcome. I don't follow the University's athletic programs, so I don't have anything vested in that, per se. But I think that barring some truly biblical levels of denial from the administration, faculty, and students there's no way the culture that allowed this to happen can ever again flourish at Penn State. And if that be the case............ what is the purpose of the death penalty?

[count2infinity]

The more I think about it, the more inclined I am to think that the death penalty and/or shutting down the program is ridiculous. Punish those that were involved in this criminal wrongdoing and move on. The "we need to change the culture" idea is complete crap. Every large program around the nation has a following like PSU does. If the problem is with Universities being too reliant on football for money, we need to shut them all down. If the problem is that there are too few people with too much power, welcome to America. It's the same not only at some universities, but also in your everyday life. Universities around the country will learn from this and PSU will most certainly learn from this. The Penn State football team is in a new era now, post-Paterno, Post-Sandusky, Post-coverup. It's hard to change how things are done if you just get rid of the program to "fix" the problem.

[pittsoccer33]

The whole program appears to be corrupt, organizationally. From the former head coach, to janitors and graduate assistants who were more afraid of their jobs and careers, the culture there demanded strictly supporting the program and the coaching staff.

I know there is a new head coach in place but how many Paterno holdovers are there? Bradley left, right?

[shafnutz05]

Well yeah, but the culture had a lot to do with protecting the legacy of Paterno, which is now nonexistent. Tif summed up what I was trying to say...are people honestly worried about the culture continuing if there is no death penalty? That university will be under a boatload of scrutiny moving forward.

[KennyTheKangaroo]

Well yeah, but the culture had a lot to do with protecting the legacy of Paterno, which is now nonexistent. Tif summed up what I was trying to say...are people honestly worried about the culture continuing if there is no death penalty? That university will be under a boatload of scrutiny moving forward.

as long as guys like matt millen and franco harris are going in front of the media and spouting their nonsense and trying to protect their hero's legacy, then the rest of the world is going to go ahead and assume that nothing has changed.

[shafnutz05]

Well yeah, but the culture had a lot to do with protecting the legacy of Paterno, which is now nonexistent. Tif summed up what I was trying to say...are people honestly worried about the culture continuing if there is no death penalty? That university will be under a boatload of scrutiny moving forward.

as long as guys like matt millen and franco harris are going in front of the media and spouting their nonsense and trying to protect their hero's legacy, then the rest of the world is going to go ahead and assume that nothing has changed.

Eh, you really think the vast majority of people don't recognize that Matt Millen and Franco Harris are idiots? If you institute the death penalty, that's not going to change their opinion in any way.

The Paterno acolytes are now viewed by most people to be the fringe, fanatical believers that they are. Even most Penn State alumni have come around on that. You're always going to have that segment of the population, regardless of whether or not you ban football.

[shmenguin]

Calling for the punishment to end with the termination of a few people is equally ridiculous as calling for the death penalty - maybe moreso actually

[shafnutz05]

Calling for the punishment to end with the termination of a few people is equally ridiculous as calling for the death penalty - maybe moreso actually

Did anyone say that? I didn't.

[shmenguin]

Calling for the punishment to end with the termination of a few people is equally ridiculous as calling for the death penalty - maybe moreso actually

Did anyone say that? I didn't.

you haven't - sorry if it seemed like a direct reply to your post. it was a separate thing

but yes, people have definitely said it over that last few pages.

[shafnutz05]

well yeah, I agree then. TBH, I think the NCAA is going to impose certain sanctions, but I think the death penalty is highly unlikely.

[ulf]

I think if it's an NCAA issue its death penalty or nothing right?

[count2infinity]

I think if it's an NCAA issue its death penalty or nothing right?

not necessarily... there are other sanctions that can take place. loss of scholarships, bowl games, tv bans, etc.

[shmenguin]

I think if it's an NCAA issue its death penalty or nothing right?

not necessarily... there are other sanctions that can take place. loss of scholarships, bowl games, tv bans, etc.

i think the best way to punish the school would be to find a way to hit them where it hurts: in the wallet. while paterno was likely driven by pride and arrogance, the other guys were simply making a business decision, imo. this whole thing ends in 1998 or 2001 if the decision makers weren't so concerned about the profitability of their product. find a way to transcend the filthy greed of these big programs. i don't know what the specific options are, but i hope that's an avenue the NCAA goes down.

[count2infinity]

the only way to get rid of the greed of big programs around the country is to get rid of big programs around the country.

[shmenguin]

the only way to get rid of the greed of big programs around the country is to get rid of big programs around the country.

sure, but just because you can't fix the problem at a high level, it doesn't mean that contributors to the problem like PSU shouldn't be dealt with further. maybe you're not saying that, but i'm sure some people are thinking it.

[columbia]

Athletics are not the hallmark of the California Institute of Technology. Its baseball team has lost 227 games in a row and its women’s volleyball team has lost all 168 of its conference games. In 2011, the men’s water polo team snapped a seven-year winless drought, and the men’s basketball team ended a 310-game conference losing streak.

Its academic reputation, however, is sterling. Caltech alumni and faculty have won a combined 32 Nobel Prizes. So when the N.C.A.A. on Thursday cited Caltech for a lack of institutional control of its Division III athletic program, specifically related to academics, there was a mostly quizzical reaction, as if it must be an error.

“I was definitely pretty surprised,” said the senior basketball player Christophe Kunesh, a computer science major. “It all seemed a little harsh.”

The N.C.A.A. determined that a total of 30 Caltech athletes on 12 teams practiced or played in games while academically ineligible from the 2007-08 to 2010-11 academic years. But most of the infractions, which were discovered and reported by Athletic Director Betsy Mitchell in 2011, were the result of Caltech’s unusual class registration system.

During the first three weeks of each trimester, students at Caltech, the academically rigorous college in Pasadena, take part in a process known as shopping, in which they are allowed to essentially sample classes before being required to register for them. Rod Kiewiet, Caltech’s dean of undergraduate students, said many students stayed in these classes for the entire term, but they, like so many college students, sometimes procrastinated.

“A very large number of them have already picked out their classes, and they’re going to the classes,” Kiewiet said. “They just don’t get registered until the deadline.”

If students are not officially registered for enough classes during this three-week period, they can be considered part-time students, and part-time students are ineligible to compete in N.C.A.A. events.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/sport ... gible.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If they went after Cal Tech for this, what do yinz think that they'll do with Penn State?

[shafnutz05]

I think the two cases are apples and oranges. The Cal Tech case appears to be related to academic ineligibility, which is a primary jurisdictional area for the NCAA.

I understand the Penn State case is MUCH more bad and ugly, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the NCAA is more likely to pursue certain punishments against them, since a lot of that is already being punished in the criminal court system.

[columbia]

I think the two cases are apples and oranges. The Cal Tech case appears to be related to academic ineligibility, which is a primary jurisdictional area for the NCAA.

Is that how you think the NCAA will view this or how you want them to?

EDIT: Just saw your second paragraph. Gotcha.

[viva la ben]

This does not look good.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... penn-state" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[count2infinity]

this made me laugh: http://www.businessinsider.com/penn-sta ... fbi-2012-7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

are there no good people left in the world? or is everyone just a scumbag and no one knows about it?

I am also not saying that his report should be doubted in anyway over this information, but it made me laugh when i read the article.

[since1970]

...after reading the article with NCAA prez can we expect unprecedented penalties up to and including the "death penalty"? Could they instutute something like loss of conference revenue (that revenue going to an established victims group). A fine of a determined amount each year or no tv, maybe 1 game a year, no bowl games for an extended period, say 7yrs, or half the time of the cover up, with no loss of scholarships, just throwing some stuff out there. I think the death penalty is unlikely, but who knows what the NCAA might feel pressured into doing.

[llipgh2]

this made me laugh: http://www.businessinsider.com/penn-sta ... fbi-2012-7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

are there no good people left in the world? or is everyone just a scumbag and no one knows about it?

I am also not saying that his report should be doubted in anyway over this information, but it made me laugh when i read the article.

Well, if anything, it proves he knows a cover up when he sees one...