Excellent article by Rittenberg on O$U problems!

[ColumbusHawk]

Systems failure? OSU keeps saying no - Big Ten Blog - ESPN

It is becoming clear here in town that the Bucks will be hit with the dreaded "failure to monitor" charge. The it's all "Tressel's fault" defense isn't going to work.

I listened to a sports call-in show this afternoon, the hosts just stiched Tressel a new one for encouraging & promoting this culture. Suprisingly, the majority of callers agreed with the hosts.

Also, the general feeling is that Gene "open mouth, insert foot" Smith is a dead man walking. Once the penalties are announced by the NCAA, he's out the door. He is even more disliked in Columbus than Pryor. But, Tressel is moving up the leader board.

 

[AFAcademyHawk]

I was at the Michigan State game on Saturday ... definitely an unsettled mood among Buckeye fans right now. Here's a great article by the Columbus Dispatch's Bob Hunter, who places the blame for the team's tumultuous season exactly where it belongs: with Tressel and the five suspended players.

Bob Hunter commentary: Culprits weren?t on the field | Buckeye Xtra Sports

Unfortunately Luke Fickel's future as head coach at Ohio State is rapidly vanishing ... which is a shame, because I feel like he has a lot of potential as a head coach and inherited the worst possible circumstances.

Of all the years the Hawks don't play OSU ...

 

[ColumbusHawk]

I was at the Michigan State game on Saturday ... definitely an unsettled mood among Buckeye fans right now. Here's a great article by the Columbus Dispatch's Bob Hunter, who places the blame for the team's tumultuous season exactly where it belongs: with Tressel and the five suspended players.

Bob Hunter commentary: Culprits weren?t on the field | Buckeye Xtra Sports

Unfortunately Luke Fickel's future as head coach at Ohio State is rapidly vanishing ... which is a shame, because I feel like he has a lot of potential as a head coach and inherited the worst possible circumstances.

Of all the years the Hawks don't play OSU ...

Thanks for posting the article, I should have included it in my post.

One thing the hosts pointed out in their show this afternoon is the Rhett Bomer situation at Oklahoma. They wanted to know when Smith will get some gonads. Oklahoma immediately booted Bomer from the team. Oklahoma's penalties were relatively minor because of the the quick, prompt response.

Their feeling is that Smith is a wimp. The "tatto five" should have been booted from the team & not allowed to play in Sugar Bowl. Take quick, tough measures like Oklahoma did & it will solve the problem. But Smith keeps saying everything is an "isolated incident." If Smith kept booting players off the team as the violations become known, there would be no issues at this time. The Bucks would not be facing possible "failure to monitor" charges.

 

[NewMexHawk]

I certainly hope the NCAA comes down hard on osu and with penalities that really hurt their football program.

One can say that these players don't deserve it but who else is the NCAA going to punish? The program is what gets punished. And some players are still cheating even when being punished for a previous misdeed...unbelievable. The amounts of money don't matter...it is the fact that Herron and others were being punished for one thing and they continued to break rules. These guys should be kicked off the team yet Smith pulls a one game suspension and then requests they get to play again.

Anyone think there might be a little thought of entitlement for OSU players and Gene Smith?

The hammer really needs to come down on this program.

 

[BALDIES7980]

I certainly hope the NCAA comes down hard on osu and with penalities that really hurt their football program.

One can say that these players don't deserve it but who else is the NCAA going to punish? The program is what gets punished. And some players are still cheating even when being punished for a previous misdeed...unbelievable. The amounts of money don't matter...it is the fact that Herron and others were being punished for one thing and they continued to break rules. These guys should be kicked off the team yet Smith pulls a one game suspension and then requests they get to play again.

Anyone think there might be a little thought of entitlement for OSU players and Gene Smith?

The hammer really needs to come down on this program.

I don't harbor specific dislike for any programs but the NCAA really has no choice but to make a point with someone and OSU looks to be the likely candidate.
The NCAA scared themselves with the ban hammer dropped on SMU but human beings will always push the limits so they have to be pushed back sometimes.

 

[CAARHawk]

If they do go the failure to monitor route, then Delaney better either change up the divisions, ramp up expansion quick, or hope PSU's administration gets the guts to move on.

With PSU suffering through JoePa's failure to the put the program ahead of himself and OSU's precipitous fall, it is a serious laughing stock division.

 

[ColumbusHawk]

Another good article by Hunter in today's Dispatch.

Bob Hunter commentary: Sorry, Ohio State, but things have gotten out of hand | Buckeye Xtra Sports

 

[hawkeyescott]

If they do go the failure to monitor route, then Delaney better either change up the divisions, ramp up expansion quick, or hope PSU's administration gets the guts to move on.

With PSU suffering through JoePa's failure to the put the program ahead of himself and OSU's precipitous fall, it is a serious laughing stock division.

You don't change up divisions or expand just because a couple of schools from the same division are down at the same time. Do you honestly believe 5 years from now that PSU and OSU will still be struggling to get to 6 or 7 wins a year?

 

[silvanthalas]

Another good article by Hunter in today's Dispatch.

Holy crap! Is the story about OSU, or about the writer, seeing as there's a giant head shot of him at the top of the story!?

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Thanks for posting the article, I should have included it in my post.

One thing the hosts pointed out in their show this afternoon is the Rhett Bomer situation at Oklahoma. They wanted to know when Smith will get some gonads. Oklahoma immediately booted Bomer from the team. Oklahoma's penalties were relatively minor because of the the quick, prompt response.

Their feeling is that Smith is a wimp. The "tatto five" should have been booted from the team & not allowed to play in Sugar Bowl. Take quick, tough measures like Oklahoma did & it will solve the problem. But Smith keeps saying everything is an "isolated incident." If Smith kept booting players off the team as the violations become known, there would be no issues at this time. The Bucks would not be facing possible "failure to monitor" charges.

The problem, though, continues to be the NCAA as much as it does the cheat-happy schools. The NCAA ALLOWED the Tattoo Five to play in the Sugar Bowl, don't forget. And it took the NCAA exactly how many years to resolve the USC situation? And just how much time is/was missed by some of the Miami/FL players? And let's not get started with Cam Newton or Oregon.

I'm NOT saying O$U should get a "break", but their penalties should be consistent with those of other programs. It sounds like it won't be.

Yes, Delaney better bring the hammer. To O$U AND the NCAA. After all, via the NCAA...GENE SMITH HEADED THE MARCH MADNESS SELECTION COMMITTEE!!

 

[Billso]

"I am confident in our compliance program," Smith said. "We do not have a systemic problem. Most people don't understand that."

You got that right, Gene. We don't.

I'm disappointed it's been 6 weeks since OSU's hearing without NCAA action. OTOH, there may be a good reason, like investigating additional issues. I've made a number of posts praising the NCAA's new pres Mark Emmert as a smart and stand-up guy based on observing him at UW, but his handling of OSU will be a true test.

 

[MisterLucky]

Yes, the NCAA did give the Tattoo Five the ability to play in the bowl game, but if Ohio St. had any intention of truly punishing those guys for their wrong doings, they could have withheld them anyway. This crap has been going on at Ohio St. for years. No one was willing to stop it. Now it is just like an onion. You keep peeling away a layer, and lo and behold, there's another. Can't believe that Gee's not firing Smith to save his rear end.

 

[ChosenChildren]

I was calling for the death penalty on this board several months ago. Although they won't get it, they sure as heck deserve it.

This is one of the great outlaw programs in the history of college football. I really think most people fail to comprehend the corruption that is Ohio State athletics. It puts a stain on the entire conference.

I truly hope that the NCAA comes down hard on this school. This "crap" cannot go on.

 

[ColumbusHawk]

I was calling for the death penalty on this board several months ago. Although they won't get it, they sure as heck deserve it.

This is one of the great outlaw programs in the history of college football. I really think most people fail to comprehend the corruption that is Ohio State athletics. It puts a stain on the entire conference.

I truly hope that the NCAA comes down hard on this school. This "crap" cannot go on.

Just a ludicrous and absurd statement. There is absolutely no evidence that O$U is one of the great outlaw programs in the history of college football.

While the Bucks have severe problems, they don't deserve the death penalty. I think the penalties should be similar to those USC received. The situation doesn't come close to SMU or Illinois back in the 60's.

SMU football had already been placed on three years' probation in 1985 for recruiting violations. At the time, it had been on probation seven times (including five times since 1974), more than any other school in Division I-A.

However, in 1986, SMU faced allegations by whistleblowing player Sean Stopperich that players were still being paid. An investigation found that 21 players received approximately $61,000 in cash payments, with the assistance of athletic department staff members, from a slush fund provided by a booster. Payments ranged from $50 to $725 per month, and started only a month after SMU went on its original probation (though it later emerged that a slush fund had been maintained in one form or another since the mid-1970s). Also, SMU officials lied to NCAA officials about when the payments stopped.

While the school had assured the NCAA that players were no longer being paid, the school's board of governors, led by chairman Bill Clements, decided that the school had to honor previous commitments made to the players. However, under a secret plan adopted by the board, the school would phase out the slush once all players that were still being paid had graduated.

The infractions committee cited the need to "eliminate a program that was built on a legacy of wrongdoing, deceit and rule violations" as a factor in what is still the harshest penalty ever meted out to any major collegiate program. It also cited SMU's past history of violations and the "great competitive advantage" the Mustangs had gained as a result of cheating.

I think O$U has problems with "failure to monitor" and with "lack of institutional control." However, none of the evidence directly points to the University like the SMU matter. SMU's board of governers & its chairman where involved in the payments.

Your statement is comical & unintelligant.

Here's a couple of article's on the Illinois slush fund.

Beset on the one hand by its own admissions of guilt and - 03.06.67 - SI Vault

Coaches: Slipping in Slush - TIME

Now, those are "death penalty" violations.

 

[kuhntz]

Thank you ColumbusHawk...finally a voice of reason on the type of penalty which should be given out. Yes OSU deserves something more than what they have volunteered. But they are not even as dirty as half the sec...and to act like they deserve the death penalty is absurd.