The NCAA just came down hard on Penn State: 60 million in fines, 4 year postseason ban, reduction of scholarships per year from 25 to 10, and the vacating of all wins from 1998-2011. Harsh to say the least. The justification was weak in my opinion: lack of institutional control, lack of ethical conduct, and lack of integrity. But the rules concerning those three aspects all refer to the rules set up to govern play, not life. For example, here's the bylaw on institutional control (Bylaw 2.1): "it is the responsibility of each member institution to control its intercollegiate athletics program in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Association."(my emphasis) Penn State wasn't out of compliance; staff and administrators broke several criminal laws.
I just received an email from the NCAA referring to the sanctions. The bottom line: "We could not look to
NCAA history to determine how to handle circumstances so disturbing, shocking
and disappointing. As the individuals charged with governing college sports, we
have a responsibility to act. As President Emmert will say in his remarks at
the press conference, these events should serve as a call to every single
school and athletics department to take an honest look at its campus
environment and eradicate the ‘sports are king’ mindset that can so
dramatically cloud the judgment of educators."
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