The NCAA is looking to make schools pay for major violations, and pay hard.
A new proposal, backed by NCAA president Mark Emmert would see much stricter penalties for athletic programs found to be guilty of major violations. It is believed that these harsher punishments would serve as a deterrent for schools who are either past violators or schools who simply haven’t been caught.
Here’s an excerpt on the matter from TheBigLead.com…
Schools would face far sterner sanctions for serious issues such as illicit benefits, academic fraud and a lack of institutional control. Punishments for such acts would start with losing one quarter of all scholarships and receiving a one to two year postseason ban and escalate potentially to half of all scholarships and a three or more year postseason ban.
The NCAA would also fine schools by as much as five percent of their operating budget, which could run into the seven-figures. Individuals would be held personally responsible, with suspensions lasting as long as a season and show-cause penalties lasting ten years or more. The new regulations would also let the NCAA place a program on probation for up to a decade.
Now furthermore Ty Duffy of TheBigLead.com points out that it could be hard for the NCAA to be given the opportunity to inflict such punishments since the associated get’s its authority from the schools it governs. It is because of these harsher sanctions that schools may be more prone to hide violations.
Bottom line is it’s still going to take an outpouring of public pressure in order for schools and even the NCAA to come clean. I guess I’m still not convinced that the NCAA will go that extra mile in punishing a major program.
Ref: TheBigLead.com, USA Today
