It’s been a rough week for college sports fans.
With USC’s appeal and the Cam Newton saga still lingering, a new wave of disturbing allegations surfaced over the past couple of days.
Last Thursday, Oregon’s football program was hit by stories from a variety of media outlets alleging the Ducks’ purchase of two online recruiting services may have indirectly violated NCAA rules. A $25,000 payment to Texas street agent/personal trainer/shady guy Will Lyles is of particular concern. Lyles has connections to Oregon running backs LaMichael James and Lache Seastrunk, and if it’s determined he helped guide either prospect to Oregon, it would be a violation of booster rules. There are plenty of scummy details in this story that I’ll let you pursue in your own time, but the bottom line is that Oregon may have pushed the limits of NCAA law, and may have to face the consequences in due time.
Then, earlier this week, Ohio State’s beloved “Sweater Vest” (i.e. head football coach Jim Tressel) found himself in a joint press conference with the school’s president and athletic director trying to defend his decision to withhold information about five Ohio State football players selling school memorabilia — an NCAA violation. Tressel and Ohio State originally claimed they only found out about the allegations in December and immediately reported them (the five players involved are suspended for the first five games of next season as a result). However, recent e-mails surfaced saying Tressel actually became aware of the allegations against a few of the players last April and didn’t report them to the compliance office, the athletic department or anyone in a position of authority.
Who knows why Tressel withheld the information, though the popular theory is he figured the five players would be declared ineligible if the NCAA found out. Any way you figure, it’s tough to justify a coach sitting on such volatile information for so long. Tressel, who had long been considered one of the “golden boys” in college football’s coaching fraternity (although I’m not sure why — he has one of the worst records of NCAA violations of any coach I’ve seen), and Ohio State, are now in serious trouble.
USC, Auburn, Ohio State and Oregon. That’s three of the top-five teams in the final Associated Press football poll, as well as one of the sport’s blue bloods, in murky water. I’m no fan of many of the NCAA’s policies, but the drama and potential improprieties among some of the elite, most successful football programs is getting ridiculous.
Fortunately, the year’s best sporting spectacle is here to clear the air, filter the water in “Cammy Cam Juice” (yes, Cam Newton really had his bottle labeled as such in the SEC Title game) and clean up the college sports landscape: March Madness!
Sure, the 68-team field is excessive, and the multitude of different post-season tournaments (National Invitational Tournament, College Basketball Invitational, etc) slightly diminishes the post-season experience, but every year without fail, the NCAA Tournament delivers a heartwarming story or two.
This season, one of those stories is Northern Colorado’s breakthrough. Northern Colorado moved from Division II to Division I before the 2006-2007 season. That first year playing better competition didn’t go so well. The Bears finished 4-24 and were the lowest rated team by RPI in all of Division I — 336 out of 336 teams.
But, they slowly improved. Last season, Northern Colorado actually went 25-8 but fell to Montana in the Big Sky Tournament and was forced to settle for a bid in the third-tier CIT (bonus point if you knew that was an acronym for the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.)
Despite losing the architect of its recent success, coach Tad Boyle, to the University of Colorado before this season, the Bears again compiled a winning record this year and found themselves in the Big Sky Championship game on Wednesday against old nemesis Montana.
Except this time, playing in front of its home fans, Northern Colorado beat Montana 65-60 to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
That’s pretty remarkable stuff for a team that was literally the worst in all of college basketball a few years ago. It’s unlikely that the Bears, as a probable 13 or 14 seed, will make any noise in the tournament. But count me as one college sports fan who will be keeping tabs and wishing the best for an impressive basketball program. It’s a welcome distraction from the controversy and scandal that has become part of college sports today.
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Drukarev: March Madness a welcome distraction from Football Foolishness February
Daily Emerald
March 10, 2011
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