(06-12-2013 02:17 PM)bullet Wrote: (06-12-2013 11:32 AM)JRsec Wrote: Cut the conference ya ya garbage. The issue here is whether Emmert will have the intestinal fortitude to take on one of the conference bell cows. It could have been Alabama, Texas, USC, or Ohio State all of which have committed far worse infractions than those for which they have ever been punished.
An English teacher was dismissed at Alabama two decades ago for protesting similar problems with academics for athletes. A similar situation happened at Georgia. Texas has faced its share of academic arrangements allegations some of which had teeth but "nothing was done" by the NCAA. USC gets hit with furnishing R Bush's parents with amenities but on campus issues were overlooked. Ohio State gets nailed for tattoos but no follow up happened with the allegations of providing coeds and other women for sex. Miami's case has been botched in so many ways so as too lose the most sordid of the allegations in the details. So, do you really think U.N.C. will get hit with a very dangerous and damning academic fraud case? I don't.
The culture of corruption surrounding college athletics has, is, and will be ignored by our dualistic cultural standards. If you are super rich and a thief you are too big to fail. If you are a stud athlete allowances must be made, criminal activity managed or overlooked, and illegal and unethical perks provided. If you are not wealthy or a prodigious athlete then you are just a criminal for engaging in the same behaviors.
I've seen the recruiters in action and it isn't pretty. It's been going on for at least the 40 years I've observed it, and I know probably longer, but the depth and depravity of it has grown disturbingly worse in the last 15 years. But, the same may be said for our institutions of business and government. In fact I dare say the athletic situation is merely a symptom of the greater illness.
North Carolina will skate through with minor penalties and promises made to clean up internally. Why? Because if one conference leading school gets whacked for academic fraud then beans will be spilled, past beneficiaries of bogus diplomas will come forth with stories about how they couldn't succeed without the education they were promised, and wealthy boosters, corporate sponsors, and academic leaders will all have to admit to their involvement in a sheer hypocrisy that is grand enough in scope to shatter even their well crafted public images and that sure as Hades is not going to happen.
Georgia lost big in the Jan Kemp lawsuit.
I don't recall any Texas allegations of academic "arrangements." So I will call you on that unless you can provide specifics (doesn't mean you can't, but I would think I would remember it).
I'm relying on memory Bullet, so I could be mistaken. The things I had first hand knowledge and dealings with will only remain generalized in my comments. But I was reading a good deal on ShaggyBevo last year when the stuff about the fired women's coach (I think it was the track coach) came out along with some other stuff pertaining to the sexcapades of one of the assistant football coaches and I think one of the assistant AD's broke. There was also an email that Mack apparently sent out to everyone by mistake. Included in that mix was some discussion about the North Carolina allegations and comments about similar alleged practices at UT that the former coach might have knowledge of.
The stuff on OSU was in an ESPN special edition that included Auburn, Ohio State, and a couple of other schools and their former recruits and players.
If I'm wrong about the Texas issues due apologies. I wasn't trying to be anything but illustrative of the point that the NCAA doesn't want to find anything too substantial or controversial out about its top schools in each conference. I followed recruiting closely from a first hand basis throughout the 80's and into the early 90's as I traveled throughout the Southeast. I still follow it but now my information is second hand. During that time grade fixing, ringers to take ACT & SAT tests, tutors who actually helped during exams which were mostly take home essays, even some grade fixing all were fairly common according to the athletes (the schools and coaches would never admit it). Also, none of that deals with grades fixed at the High School level to get them eligible. The conferences recruiting the area at that time that were involved were the SWC, SEC, and ACC. The schools involved were high percentages from each conference. The reason I wrote what I did is because the problem was, is, and probably will continue to be, pervasive. During the time period that I had first hand knowledge I always turned the violations over to the University President's office for the schools involved. 90% of the time the result was that they dropped the kid in question from their recruitment. Then that was the end of story as far as I was concerned. Only 2 schools persisted and were turned over to the NCAA.
The average fan and alumni has no idea of what goes on behind the scenes in recruitment. Inducements (monetary, sexual, possessions, ego games, etc.,) have all ramped up since my time on the road. Back in the 80's there were monetary inducements, very, very few sexual inducements other than a pretty young woman to have your picture taken with and to escort you around campus, there were cars and stereos, and no video's of game winning scores and Heisman trophies and all of that ridiculous stuff. It has gotten way out of hand.
Considering the money made at the top schools for football it is not inconceivable that vulnerable faculty could be recruited to help athletes remain eligible. That pressure exists at every school where football is a top revenue producer. That is true for your school, my school, and many many more. It is simply the reality of the situation. Unfortunately, things will likely have to degrade further before a correction is forthcoming.
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more reports on UNC academic scandal
