College football. The very mention of this sport brings about thoughts of rivalries, legendary stadiums and cinderella stories. Unfortunately, however, an alarming new trend of major violations has threatened to derail this sport and upset its loyal fan base. Just today, disgraced programs Ohio State and West Virginia assigned themselves self imposed punishments to appease the NCAA, but it remains to be seen if these solutions will be accepted. Ohio State has vacated all the wins from its 2010 season, including its win in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Its longtime head coach, Jim Tressel, recently resigned because of his part in the scandal, which saw OSU players selling team memorabilia for tattoos and other benefits, and its starting quarterback has fled to the NFL to avoid his punishment from the NCAA.
This is a tremendous problem, and its growing. These punishments come after a series of violations tied to the USC football program forced them to vacate 30 wins that they gained while having Reggie Bush on their roster. Those wins include the 2004 BCS national championship, as well as the Heisman Trophy Bush won while he was playing there.
Forcing schools to vacate wins that they gained illegally seems like a good solution, but its lead a forever unfilled void in the history of college football, as those wins are not given to the opponent these schools "beat". Thus, college football will never have a 2004 BCS Champion.
College basketball has not been immune either, as several top tier schools have violated NCAA rules on recuiting and benefits. The University of Indiana, the University of Southern California and Memphis University have all been found to have violated the rules, and all have been punished accordingly. All told, between college football and college basketball, over 100 games have been vacated by various teams, including national championships, conference titles and tournament wins.
There will always be people who prefer college football or basketball to its professional counterparts. And there truly is a lot to love about college sports still. However it is time that everyone start paying attention to what their favorite school is doing and paying a bit more attention to what that school considers honest and integrity.
Let me know if you agree or disagree with anything I've said.
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