Latest F$U scandal

by platnumkid on Dec 18, 2007 2:42 PM EST

reports have it that 20 F$U football players (and other athletes as well) were fed answer for an online based class dating back to 2006.

The 20 players haven't been named but they could miss the upcoming bowl game and first 3 games next season. This year the first 3 games included Clemson and Colorado. That could translate to loses next year, not just underpowered wins. Check out the story at ESPN here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3159534

0 recs | Comment 15 comments

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FSU scandal

This is way worse than wrestlemania in the HUB!

by PSU86 on Dec 19, 2007 12:24 PM EST 0 recs

This is why

I always scoff when people put Joe and Bobby on the same pedastal. Joe had a few bad apples here and there that get themselves in trouble in spur of the moment decisions like every program, but he never had widespread organized calculated cheating.

I'm glad Joe waited a year to go into the hall of fame and didn't have to share the podium with Bowden.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Dec 19, 2007 2:00 PM EST 0 recs

I always worry about

the "tutoring" programs players receive. You have academic coordinators whose job it is to keep the kids academically eligible, often by steering them to easy majors, and classes. I guess it's pretty easy to overlook cheating when you job depends on it.

It's strange but true that in a "academic" setting like college football cheating in class is one of the worst things you can get caught doing (behind taking money from a booster). At the same time people overlook overtly criminal acts so long as they don't happen too often.

Also, isn't playing with academically ineligible players usually a forfeiture of wins situation, especially if it's twenty guys.

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Dec 19, 2007 2:24 PM EST 0 recs

Cheating

I don't know if they are technically considered "ineligible". They cheated, yes, but ineligible is playing even though your grades aren't good enough. Their grades were ok even though they cheated. So they were never considered "ineligible".

As we found with Oklahoma it takes a lot to get games wiped off the board. They went on probation first. Then they violated that probation. At worst I think this will put FSU on probation unless they find out FSU tried to cover it up.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Dec 19, 2007 2:37 PM EST up 0 recs

I'm not so sure....

At OU the players were ruled ineligible after they took money from a booster, i.e. they were ineligible from the point of the infraction forward, not merely from the discovery of the infraction. Bomar et al were kicked off the team immediately after the infractions were discovered, but the NCAA still ordered games forfeited.

This seems similar. From what I have read, it looks like the test was earlier in the semester, and this has been festering for a while. So the players (most of which are walk-ons and reserves I understand) would have been playing while under investigation for cheating. If my understanding is correct. All I really know is what the ESPN article said and what was on the FSU Blog though.

Also, the suspensions are only what Florida State is doing about the problem. I don't believe that the NCAA has even looked at this yet.

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Dec 19, 2007 2:50 PM EST up 0 recs

From ESPN.com

Bowden said the NCAA has determined the suspensions. Many of the suspended players will miss the first three games of next season, too.

Also said that a couple of the players already had been punished for their involvement by Bowden earlier in the season. One sat out the whole year and one was suspended for the first few games, so it sounds like they have known about this all along.

I, however, am not going to run all over Bobby Bowden. It seems that Paterno has a lot of respect for him. After watching the stuff Penn State has had happen over the last 5 years, I am certainly not going to throw any other program under the bus. If you read the headlines closely, you'll see that a LOT of the BCS programs have issues. It isn't just FSU, and it isn't just PSU.

What is Bowden supposed to do ? If kids want to keep something from someone, they'll do it. Its easy to say he should have known this and known that, but just think of all the stuff your parents didn't know you were doing and they only had to worry about a few kids in a small house.

Just sayin.

Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.

by ech2os on Dec 20, 2007 10:41 AM EST up 0 recs

The thing is

These kids all have access to academic advisors and tutors. The coaches work with these people very closely to make sure the kids are making the grade. They can't just turn them loose and hope they get good grades. So I believe the coaching staff had some knowledge that these kids were taking internet courses and exams. You have to realize there is potential there for cheating and do your best to prevent it. 20 players is nearly one-fourth of the entire team. Yet only two served suspensions during the season? Why weren't the other 18 punished as well? So yeah, I hold the coaches partially responsible and I'm interested to see how the NCAA handles this.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Dec 20, 2007 10:50 AM EST up 0 recs

Bowden/NY Times

I don't think I said anything about Bobby Bowden or Florida State that was designed to throw them under the bus. If I did, I did it unintentionally. I like Bobby Bowden. I thought his coming up to Joe Paterno after the Orange Bowl and telling him, "that I don't think our (FSU's) guys could have played any better" was just about the classiest thing I have ever seen a coach do. I still wonder if Paterno would have been so magnanimous had the game gone the other way. I was really impressed.

What do I expect him to do? I expect him to suspend the kids that cheated, he did that. He did that before they played Tennessee for National Championship too, which almost certainly cost him another ring. He also sent AJ Nicholson home from the Orange Bowl, over an accusation which I believe turned out to be bullshit.

My point was that the nature of the violations was such that it could lead to forfeiture of games, I did not intentionally advocate that remedy. There is a nice article in the New York Times on this today;

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/sports/ncaafootball/20fsu.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Dec 20, 2007 10:56 AM EST up 0 recs

Right........

I didn't mean to insinuate that you were throwing him under the bus. I was just talking out loud since its very popular to bag on FSU and Bowden.

Trust me......I know all to well about the AJ Nicholson deal.....I was in a suite at The Georgia Dome for the Peach Bowl between Miami and LSU.....you remember that one, the brawl in the tunnel......and some FSU hottie (redundant I know) sees my PSU hat and tells me they are going to kick our ass or something like that so I told her thanks. And she said for what.....and I said making sure that the Bowl tradition of FSU having somebody suspended was kept in tact in 2005. I have since decided it wasn't very becoming to make comments like that, especially when your own house is arguably in similar disrepair.

Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.

by ech2os on Dec 20, 2007 11:08 AM EST up 0 recs

Forfeiting wins

I hope they do have to forfeit wins, I saw on ESPN that that is a real possibility. I say good, seeing as BB has how many wins from I-AA games counting towards his overall record? 30-40? Please let it be true.

Angelo

by nittanyroar on Dec 20, 2007 2:50 PM EST 0 recs

I can see it now

The take away five or six of Bowden's wins. JoePa gets the record. Then Joe is the one who ends up with an asterisk next to his name.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Dec 20, 2007 3:47 PM EST up 0 recs

Interesting Forfeit Story

In 1972 Penn State played in the Sugar Bowl against 10-1, second ranked, Oklahoma. Heisman trophy winner John Cappelletti was unable to play due to a 102 degree fever, and despite forcing five turnovers, Penn State lost 14-0. A few weeks later it was discovered that the Sooners had played with two ineligible players, and Oklahoma was required by the NCAA to forfeit the win. Joe Paterno refused to accept it, and score stands to this day.

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Dec 20, 2007 4:23 PM EST up 0 recs