Althouse: "Ohio State officials will argue that the school should be spared, in part because they got rid of Tressel..."

May 31, 2011

"Ohio State officials will argue that the school should be spared, in part because they got rid of Tressel..."

"... the head of the program that has been so tainted by wrongdoing. For years, Ohio State benefited from Tressel's choirboy image. Now, the university is likely to paint him as a huge problem that has been eliminated for the betterment of the athletic department. It is not the noblest of tactics, but it adheres to an axiom of big-time college football, one that Jim Tressel has heeded for years: You do whatever it takes to win."

Sports Illustrated investigates.

58 comments:

Anonymous said...: The NCAA is a terrible, terrible joke. These athletes are producing billions of dollars in revenue and should be paid accordingly in an open market. I won't even go into the fact that the athletes themselves are largely African-American and relatively poor.; 5/31/11, 2:48 PM
Triangle Man said...: These athletes are producing billions of dollars in revenue and should be paid accordingly in an open market.

Like minor league baseball players, or AA hockey players/; 5/31/11, 2:53 PM
Fred4Pres said...: Perhaps they should have Hugh Hewitt act as arbitrator to decide what penalty Ohio State gets.; 5/31/11, 2:55 PM
traditionalguy said...: So this is the application of the Bat's tale in the previous post.; 5/31/11, 2:58 PM
Ron said...: Clearly a panel of Wolverines is needed to sort out this mess...Chaired by our blogeress!; 5/31/11, 2:58 PM
edutcher said...: This has been the culture at Ohio State forever.; 5/31/11, 2:58 PM
Anonymous said...: minor league baseball players, or AA hockey players

Those sports do not produce billions of dollars in revenue. But, yes, a glorified minor league is what college football and basketball are. Athletes should be paid for the revenue they are creating. It's not like some kid on an academic scholarship. These kids are not getting paid for their work. The situation now is pseudo-slavery.; 5/31/11, 2:59 PM
traditionalguy said...: A reputation is a powerful thing...now bow before The Ohio State you NCAA bureaucrats.; 5/31/11, 3:01 PM
Patrick said...: Seven Machos is correct. The NCAA is itself so corrupt it's unbelievable. I don't give two hoots about OSU or Tressel, but they are talking about tattoos and rings. Whereas the NCAA is taking a large group of students, very many of whom are not otherwise eligible, or are barely eligible for college, and basically setting them up to fail. Yeah, they get 4 or five years of school, but they come out with a worthless degree, completely unprepared for anything outside of their sport, for which they will receive no income. The NCAA can't even ditch the corrupt bowls because the money of these "non-profits" is so frickin huge. It is a joke, and it hurts lots of people.; 5/31/11, 3:01 PM
rhhardin said...: Sarah Palin for coach.; 5/31/11, 3:02 PM
Anonymous said...: God, I hate college sports. To follow on what Seven says, why not just consider it a side business for the college and a job like any other for the player? Sports have no more to do with education than than any other leisure activity or side job, and the absurd ways colleges twist them is embarassing to someone like me, who worked hard to be the first in her family to get a University education.

- Lyssa; 5/31/11, 3:07 PM
Anonymous said...: I do think that time spent in college is probably a tremendous benefit to all players, even if they don't graduate. Something rubs off, I think. However, the amount of the scholarships they receive is simply not comparable to the wealth they create. In any other industry, people would look at this situation as horrific.; 5/31/11, 3:07 PM
Martin L. Shoemaker said...: Patrick said...

Whereas the NCAA is taking a large group of students, very many of whom are not otherwise eligible, or are barely eligible for college, and basically setting them up to fail. Yeah, they get 4 or five years of school, but they come out with a worthless degree, completely unprepared for anything outside of their sport, for which they will receive no income.

Of course, many of their classmates these days have equally useless degrees, plus massive student loans.; 5/31/11, 3:07 PM
Triangle Man said...: ut, yes, a glorified minor league is what college football and basketball are

It seems like the value of the players' contributions might be substantially lower without their affiliation with the schools.; 5/31/11, 3:11 PM
Curious George said...: I agree that big time college FB and BB players are making their colleges millions (not billions) and perhaps should get paid...but paid how? What formula? That is the million dollar question. I think a fixed stipend of a thousand o wl would eliminate 99% of the violations...I mean the issue at OSU was tatoo and jewelry money.

I think colleges should have "sports" degrees that cater to these players. Give them the skillsets that professional athletes need.

This "degrees that don't help them after graduation" is crap. There are many college degrees that really are a waste of time in the "real world" and allow only a profession in teaching the same thing to future idiots. Music, acting et al.; 5/31/11, 3:14 PM
Curious George said...: Oh, and GO Bucks!; 5/31/11, 3:14 PM
Fred4Pres said...: SI and NCAA's comin'. Buckeyes're finally on their own.This summer I hear the drummin'. Tressel's dead in Ohio.Gotta get down to it. NCAA is cutting us down.Should have been done long ago.What if you knew him and found him dead on the ground?How can you run when you know?Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.Gotta get down to it. NCAA is cutting us down. Should have been done long ago. What if you knew him and found him dead on the ground?How can you run when you know?
SI and NCAA's comin'. We're finally on our own.This summer I hear the drummin'. Tressel's dead in Ohio. Tressel's dead in Ohio. in Ohio.Tressel's dead in Ohio. Tressel's dead in Ohio. Tressel's dead in Ohio. Tressel's dead in Ohio. Tressel's dead in Ohio. Tressel's dead in Ohio.; 5/31/11, 3:16 PM
Automatic_Wing said...: My feeling is that blaming all this on Tressel isn't going to work, there was obviously no institutional control over the football program. Gene Smith and Gordon Gee also have to fall on their swords. At a minimum.

Could a few rough years ahead for THE Ohio State University. They've inadvertently exposed big time college athletics as a big, fat hypocritical fraud, which is really the worst crime of all in the NCAA's eyes.; 5/31/11, 3:16 PM
Anonymous said...: The college president's value would also be lower without the brand name of the school. All the employees at any well known corporation would also have diminished value. Should we therefore pay everyone about five percent of their current wages? You first.; 5/31/11, 3:16 PM
Triangle Man said...: Should we therefore pay everyone about five percent of their current wages? You first.

I think I'm already paid about 5% of what I am worth.; 5/31/11, 3:20 PM
Anonymous said...: According to Ohio State's website, out-of-state football players on full scholarship are compensated to the tune of about $33,768 per year to play football, on average.; 5/31/11, 3:25 PM
deborah said...: I heard on PTI a couple weeks ago there's talk of paying players, something like 2-5k per year, in the Big Ten.; 5/31/11, 3:29 PM
traditionalguy said...: Assumed favoritism from the NCAA seems to have been Ohio State's birthright. Will that end now? They had 22 players doing it and they all got to play in the Sugar Bowl anyway. At Georgia one guy did the signed jersey for sale trick and had to sit out the next 4 games. He is now in Cincinnati and waiting to show Ohio folks why his signed jersey actually had value.; 5/31/11, 3:30 PM
Anonymous said...: How much revenue does each player produce on average? The. Horseshoe is large. Then there's tv. Apparrel. Brand awareness.; 5/31/11, 3:31 PM
MadisonMan said...: Shamateur athletics in College.

I suspect little will change. tOSU playing in the Fiesta Bowl at the end of this next coming season would be perfect.; 5/31/11, 3:32 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: Tressel's most recent troubles began in December, when the Department of Justice, passing along information it had gathered in a raid while investigating the owner of a Columbus tattoo parlor for drug trafficking, informed Ohio State that at least six current players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, had traded team memorabilia for tattoos or cash at the parlor.

At least we can all take pride in the fact that our tax dollars were instrumental in uncovering these heinous crimes.

It's unfortunate that colleges graduate large numbers of people who con play football but can't read or write. But it's even more unfortunate that they graduate even larger numbers of people who can't read or write and can't play football either.; 5/31/11, 3:32 PM
Steven said...: The NCAA: We Muzzle The Kine That Tread The Grain.; 5/31/11, 3:34 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: I'm an Illini, so I'm luxuriating in OSU's pain.

I'm in favor of returning to the old, even more corrupt system, prior to the advent of special admissions for black players.

In other words, make four years of college mandatory and make the players play the role of student... like back before 1950.

Only a very few black athletes make it to the pros. Don't encourage more black males to focus on athletics. Paying will make the situation even worse. Too many black males are already focusing on athletics as if it were really going to pay their bills. It doesn't.

If they can't perform as students, don't let them in school.

Go back to the pre-1960s era. Don't let blacks play unless they qualify academically. Forget about being a minor league system for the pros. If the pros really want a minor league system, let them develop it.

The corruption isn't that the NCAA is ripping off blacks. The corruption is that blacks should be forced to do precisely what whites have to do... perform academically or not be admitted to school.; 5/31/11, 3:38 PM
traditionalguy said...: If Wisconsin had not beaten them, Ohio State would have played in the BCS Championship Game. Maybe the OSU will hire Bielema next. But nevermind, he could not beat TCU. Incidentally, the Bengals will showcase the TCU quarterback Dalton throwing to the UGA wide reciever Greene this fall. It's a small world.; 5/31/11, 3:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Racist Thomas -- why do you focus on blacks? You don't think there's a bunch of dumb ass whites like you playing football?; 5/31/11, 3:41 PM
Shanna said...: I think a fixed stipend of a thousand o wl would eliminate 99% of the violations...I mean the issue at OSU was tatoo and jewelry money.

This is what my dad has been saying. Scholarship students often get stipends for "living expenses". I think something like that would be completely reasonable for players.; 5/31/11, 3:42 PM
mariner said...: Seven Machos,
Something rubs off, I think.

Yes, but how much college is rubbing off on the "student", and how much student is rubbing off on the college?; 5/31/11, 3:55 PM
Patrick said...: Martin Shoemaker: Touche.; 5/31/11, 4:00 PM
RuyDiaz said...: The NCAA is a terrible, terrible joke. These athletes are producing billions of dollars in revenue and should be paid accordingly in an open market. I won't even go into the fact that the athletes themselves are largely African-American and relatively poor.

College athletics are a net loss for Universities. For it to be profitable, it would have to shed some sports, and trim the leagues to make them smaller. Revenue doesn't matter without looking at costs.; 5/31/11, 4:01 PM
Anonymous said...: College athletes are already paid exactly what they're worth, which - just like you and me - is established by what they're willing to take to do a given job. Fact is, they VOLUNTARILY play in exchange for a scholarship.

I've heard all of the overwrought claims of "pseudo-slavery" and clamoring that they be "paid for the revenue they generate" for decades now. I'm no more sympathetic to the arguments now than I was when I first heard them.; 5/31/11, 4:14 PM
John said...: College athletics are a net loss for Universities.

Yes because of title IX. These guys are playing to produce millions to support women's sports no one cares about. But hey, modern feminism is about creating a priviledged class of middle and upper class women. If a few male jocks have to be exploited so a bunch of women can go to school for free and play sports no one watches, so be it.; 5/31/11, 4:16 PM
ndspinelli said...: There are virtually no scandals in NCAA baseball for the simple reason that players have a choice. If they are academic, they can go to great colleges and play great baseball[UW being an exception!]. If they're not students, they go to the minors. NCAA football and basketball will NEVER get clean until the NFL and NBA provide that option.; 5/31/11, 4:23 PM
AllenS said...: If you can't read or write, or you can barely read or wrie, you don't belong in college. Period.; 5/31/11, 4:58 PM
Humperdink said...: It's not just tattoos.

http://larrybrownsports.com/college-football/mark-titus-thought-ohio-state-football-players-cars-were-sketchy/69755

As a Nittany Lion, I am lovin' it.; 5/31/11, 5:05 PM
mccullough said...: Tressel was 9-1 against Michigan. He won one national championship and played in two other national championship games. Ohio State has played in 8 BCS bowl games.

Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, and Jim Tressel are the top 3 college coaches of the last decade.

I'm not an Ohio State fan, but this is an impressive run. Ohio State knew Tressel was not a choir boy when it hired him (there were issues at Youngstown state). Also, with Clarett and Troy Smith (who got suspended for a few games for getting $500 from a booster), it was obvious that Ohio State and Tressel were looking the other way.

Tressel knew he had to fall on his sword at this point. He had a great run and made a lot of money for himself and the school.

I wish our politicians were only as corrupt and half as competent as Jim Tressel.; 5/31/11, 5:07 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Racist Thomas -- why do you focus on blacks? You don't think there's a bunch of dumb ass whites like you playing football?

Jesus, another fucking knucklehead who thinks he's some kind of god damned saint. There's so many and they're so stupid.

Have you look at the racial composition of the OSU football team? How about the Illini?

Both teams are about 80% black among the starters. Whites are there mainly as punching bags for practice. And the black starters on both teams couldn't get into those schools if not for phony courses and lower entrance requirements.

I'm focusing on blacks, you lowlife fucking piece of shit asshole, because this is all about black athletes who don't belong in college. Hit yourself up side the head with a hammer and see if there's anything inside that thick skull.; 5/31/11, 5:09 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: By the way, I'm now in favor of summary execution for assholes who start screaming about racism.

They've got it coming.; 5/31/11, 5:11 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Cynical John hits the nail on the head. But there is a precedent for paying players. When I was on tennis scholarship at LSU 62-66 we got $15/mo (was a big deal then, beer was 25 cents/$2.75per case) "laundry money" as part of the deal under NCAA rules then extant.; 5/31/11, 5:28 PM
Anonymous said...: The NCAA is ridiculously inept. It's directed by university presidents and other ridiculous people. Div I athletes are not inept. Some are criminal, some are corrupt, but almost all are very very good at what they do. And they are kids. Their "supervisors" are adults, supposedly.

I admire and cherish the notion of the student athlete. I admire and cherish the notion of the professional athlete. The ideas don't mix.

Div I sports are a business. They generate huge revenue streams and attract the requisite buzzards and whores. Most university staff are incompetent to navigate in that environment, and so the powers that be gild the lily and sacrifice the requisite tainted virgins (like Tressell) to preserve the revenue stream.

Div I major sports should be privatized as semi-pro affiliates of major universities. Euro soccer has been doing that for years. Div. I athletes should be paid by the franchise, and they should pay their own college bills. If they flunk out or quit or fail to meet any academic standard of the franchise, they get fired. The market, then, will produce an independent farm league for the bigs--about time.; 5/31/11, 5:52 PM
Big Mike said...: Part of the problem is the NCAA itself -- my younger son was a interested in Division I athletics (in a minor sport) and the NCAA rule book was both lengthy and picayune. I don't think any college program can supervise every athlete every second of every day to monitor all of the possible ways that a young person can violate the rules that detailed.

Like Shouting Thomas I'm also an Illini alum, and any pain felt by the Ohio State or Michigan football programs is pleasant to contemplate. But IMAO the point of the NCAA rule book has become one of full employment for NCAA investigators, and concepts such as fairness and reasonableness died a long time ago.; 5/31/11, 5:54 PM
Known Unknown said...: I live in Columbus. I'm an OSU season ticket holder. My wife works at the university in a lab. I became more of an OSU fan due to Tressel.

He certainly deserves his fate. It's funny, but I believe a friend buying another lunch because he forgot his wallet or something could constitute an "infraction." Now, the NCAA is prone to look the other way on trivial matters, but not when you lie to them in the manner Tressel did.

The SI article is a sloppy piece of journalism for sure. The article names players involved in the past (and alludes to marijuana trafficking) without any shred of corroborating evidence from any source — other than a tattoo shop employee with a lengthy criminal record. It relies on anonymous sources as well.

I don't doubt that there were multiple instances of violation, but the article isn't a slam dunk.; 5/31/11, 6:23 PM
rhhardin said...: The penalty ought to be decided by a series of coin flips, one for each bit of the amount of the fine and the suspension.; 5/31/11, 6:23 PM
Anonymous said...: Racist Thomas -- I could write a lot here. I'll only point out:

1. Your gilded age of the 1950s was a time when no black Americans were allowed to play college sports because of ingrained, institutional racism in American society.

2. Your gilded age of the 1950s was a time when cheating was rampant, and precisely why the NCAA developed its asinine structure of rules.

3. Your idea that only blacks should be held to some litmus test fails any basic constitutional test.

But tell us the one about how whites have higher IQs than blacks do. I know you are itching to bring that clap trap out. Wail with it.; 5/31/11, 6:25 PM
Synova said...: Isn't this partially related to the notion that grad students can work for next to nothing and students can be expected to do unpaid or underpaid internships and somehow this is all different from anyone else because the University is *special*?

Any other labor situation and it would be academia howling because of exploitation.

And "people are willing, therefore it is okay" only works as an argument right up until someone tries to apply it to the private sector.

Schools can even require mandatory unpaid child labor in the form of "volunteer hours" for graduation and rather than a minimum wage violation it's... virtue.; 5/31/11, 6:31 PM
Anonymous said...: It's symbiotic. Who would pay to see these players perform if they were not linked to a school and its fan base? Minor league and also ran teams, especially football, are a joke athletically and financially. If the players tend to their studies they get an expensive education for free. If they don't, they're still getting room, board, training and exposure to potential professional opportunities not to mention hotties on campus. I'd elimination all college sports other than intramural if I were king but until then don't weep for the athletes.; 5/31/11, 6:31 PM
Known Unknown said...: Cam Newton could not be reached for comment.; 5/31/11, 6:37 PM
Big Mike said...: @Seven Machos, you seem to be strikingly unaware that the natural inferiority of Blacks is a central doctrine of liberalism.

How else do you explain the strange notion that it is somehow "racist" for a president or an AG to actually do their jobs in a competent manner?

Most of us who live in the real world and who have worked side by side with African-Americans for decades are perfectly all right with the notion that there are African-Americans who do their jobs and do them well, and that there are African-Americans who have deftly played the race card to wind up several levels above their Peter Principle level.

I have no intention, now or ever, of ceasing to demand that the current incumbent in the Oval Office put down his golf clubs and get to work.; 5/31/11, 6:57 PM
Anonymous said...: Tattoos?

Seriously?; 5/31/11, 7:05 PM
Rabel said...: Most of the African-American athletes I know of who complete their degrees at D1 universities go on to solid middle class lives.
Their high school peers who weren't quite big enough, fast enough, dedicated enough - not so much.
I've never heard of a high schooler turning down a D1 offer. Maybe it's not such a bad deal after all.; 5/31/11, 7:19 PM
Phil 314 said...: Thomas;
I'm focusing on blacks, you lowlife fucking piece of shit asshole, because this is all about black athletes who don't belong in college. Hit yourself up side the head with a hammer and see if there's anything inside that thick skull.

A few threads back I suggested that NevadaBob might be taking your crown as lead curmudgeon here at Althouse. With this series of wittisms you have forcefully e-established your claim to that crown.; 5/31/11, 7:37 PM
Patrick said...: I first lost confidence that the NCAA was at all worthwhile when one of Bobby Knight's players was busted for the offense of appearing (clothed) in a calendar for a charity fundraiser. Whatever ridiculous rule that violated could have had some exception for that. And they still have the Fiesta bowl, as corrupt as any Washington administration.; 5/31/11, 8:30 PM
The Dude said...: The OSU killed its parents and now wants mercy because it's an orphan. Nice.; 6/1/11, 7:25 AM
Anonymous said...: We can talk about changing the system all we want (and it does need changing.)

But what is at issue here is a University, and it's coach, who said they were playing by the rules when in fact they were not, and what is to be done to them now that the truth has become obvious.

Lac of institutional controls is clearly the applicable term to what has been going on at OSU football under Tressel. The NCAA needs to punish accordingly.

If OSU didn't like the rules I can't blame them. If they didn't intend to honor them they should have said so. Anything else is dishonest and hypocritical.; 6/1/11, 10:51 AM