Well, today Ohio State coach Jim Tressel got official word. He has been ordered to appear at the “Principal’s Office”, aka, NCAA HQ in Indianapolis on August 12. He has been charged with lying to NCAA officials in a Notice of Allegations documents. Lucky for Buckeye nation, the charges are restricted to just the Tressel situation with the tattoo parlor and 5 players. The bad news is multiplying. First, the violation is a 10.1 infraction of ethical conduct, and of the 13 coaches who have faced such a charge, only one coach retained their job, albeit with the school facing a more severe punishment. Second, now that Ohio State is considered to be a repeat offender (thank you Heisman winner Troy Smith and former basketball coach Jim O’ Brien), the punishment is more likely to be worse than just for first time offenders. Also, the Tressel situation allows the NCAA to scrutinize Ohio State more closely for additional problems, which, if additional problems have occurred, could worsen the situation even further.
Based on the punishment USC got for Reggie Bush (2 year bowl ban, loss of wins during Reggie’s tenure minus the 2004 National Title Game, return of the Heisman trophy), Ohio State’s punishment will be at minimum a 2-year bowl ban, a loss of some scholarships for many years and the erasing of the 2010 season minus the Sugar Bowl. If Ohio State ends up with just that, they will consider themselves lucky, and Tressel will likely stay on as head coach. If it’s worse, Ohio State will face a tough decision. Do they want to keep the second most successful coach in school history and face a 3+-year bowl ban, loss of significant scholarships, and forfeiture of more than just one season of records, as well as a loss of integrity as being a school of higher standards? Or do they want to reduce their time in the NCAA doghouse, maintain the punishment to USC levels, and fire the second coming of Woody Hayes? The AD and University President have already made their intentions clearly known: if they don’t have to fire Tressel, they won’t fire him. The Sweater Vest is 9-1 against Michigan, won multiple Big Ten Titles, a National Championship, with appearances in two other Title games. You don’t find coaches like that everyday, so they are unwilling to part with such a great coach. If this were John Cooper, they would sell tickets to see how many boosters would like to beat up Cooper before they dragged Cooper into the Ohio River, gave him cement shoes, and tossed him in as they announced he was fired. Of course, Urban Meyer is sitting out there right now available to come in and save Buckeye nation if E. Gordon Gee and Gene Smith say the word.
Whatever the outcome, this is another headache for Jim Delaney and the Big Ten. Yes, the SEC has a shaky reputation, but the SEC is in the business of winning National Titles more than winning academic honors. Auburn is still not clear from their 2010 issues with Cam Newton. Still the fact that the Big Ten’s top program is in serious trouble cannot bode well for a conference trying to compete athletically with the likes of the SEC, Big 12, and Pac 12.
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