Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/83706
Vacated wins show NCAA's malice O f all the inconceivable and mali- cious sanctions imposed on Penn State by the NCAA, the va- cating of the football team's vic- tories from 1998 through 2011 is the most petty, personal and spiteful. NCAA president Mark Emmert and his sanctimonious colleagues had to reach deep into their bag of animus toward Joe Paterno to come up with that gem. Not even SMU's infamous death penalty of 1987 included the vacating of victories. The NCAA's official reasoning for that penalty is not found in the nine- page consent decree, whose findings, conclusions and sanctions are based on the university's own independent – and highly controversial – investi- gation by Louis Freeh's consulting group. To say that the Freeh report is severely flawed is an understate- ment, but it is clear that the quick acceptance of the report by the board of trustees gave an overeager Emmert all the pretext he needed to penalize Penn State football back to the Stone Age. Whether all or some of the unprece- MOST VACATED VICTORIES FBS TEAMS RK SCHOOL NO YEARS 1. Penn State 2. Alabama 3. North Carolina Florida State 7. Arkansas State 10. California Georgia Tech 112 1998-2011 29 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007 16 2008, 2009 4. Southern California 14 2004, 2005 5. Ohio State 12 2010 12 2006, 2007 10 2005, 2006 8. Michigan State 5 1995 Southern Methodist 5 1998 1 1999 1 2009 dented sanctions were justified, fair or legal under the NCAA's nebulous "institutional control" authority will be a matter of debate for years. Al- though the vacating of the victories is least damaging to the future of Penn State football, it is the most disparag- ing to the proud history of the Nit- tany Lions and to all the great play- ers of the past who made it happen without cheating or breaking the rules. It is also one of the most puz- zling of the penalties – unless Em- mert and the other NCAA officials had something in mind besides San- dusky's victims and the still-un- proven allegations of a 14-year coverup involving Paterno, president Graham Spanier, vice president Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley. On page 5 of the consent decree, item No. 5 of the seven listed under "Punitive Component" states: "Vaca- tion of wins since 1998. The NCAA vacates all wins of the Penn State football team from 1998 to 2011. The career record of Coach 'Joe' Paterno will reflect the vacated records." WINS SCHOOLS In Emmert's short news conference on July 22 announcing the sanctions, there was an audible gasp when he read that part of the consent decree. A few minutes later, reporter Rose- mary Connors of WCAU-TV in Philadelphia asked Emmert why 1998 was chosen for this sanction. "Well, obviously, the 1998 date was selected because that's when the first reported incidence of abuse occurred and the failure to respond appropri- ately began," Emmert said. "And that was the point of time from which one can make an argument, of course, that the failures began inside the in- stitution. So, it seemed to both me and the [NCAA] Executive Committee that this was the appropriate begin- ning date. Again, I'll leave what it says about individuals to others to specu- late on. The university's failure in this case began at that point in time, and that's why that date was selected." Emmert wants to avoid speculating, yet that is precisely what he and Freeh's committee did in unequivocal- ly stating that the 1998 incident was not handled properly and instigated the alleged coverup that followed. The 1998 investigation of Sandusky showering with a boy is the bench- mark for Freeh's many disingenuous and distorted findings, and the NCAA simply mirrored Freeh in using that episode for all the pernicious sanc- tions against Penn State. What doesn't seem to matter to ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACHES ALL DIVISIONS RK COACH 1. John Gagliardi** 2. Eddie Robinson 3. Bobby Bowden* 4. Bear Bryant* 486 John Carroll, St. John's 408 Grambling 377 Samford, West Virginia, Florida State 323 Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama 318 Mt. Union 314 Eastern Kentucky 300 Carson-Newman 298 Penn State 8. Amos Alonzo Stagg 314 Yale, Springfield, Chicago, Pacific 9. Frosty Westering 10. Tubby Raymond 11. Ken Sparks** 12. Joe Paterno* 305 Parsons, Lea, Pacific Lutheran 300 Delaware * Football Bowl Subdivision ** Still active YEARS 1949-2012 1941-1997 1953-2009 1945-82 5. Glenn Scobey Warner* 319 Cornell, Georgia, Carlisle, Pitt, Stanford, Temple 1895-1938 6. Larry Kehres** 7. Roy Kidd 1986-2012 1964-2002 1888-1946 1962-2003 1966-2003 1980-2012 1966-97