M-Borg vs. THE Flavortown U Thread, Orig. by Buckeye Paul, absconded w/by talent.

[Hannibal]

Does this mean that they aren't investigating back any further than Tat gate and dudes selling their memorabila? If so, then OSU should consider themselves pretty lucky.

I agree there is a ceiling. It appears that from the inquiry, it has been determined that gee and smith didn't know what tressel was doing. I think some emails and phone logs have still not surfaced in the public domain under FOIA but if the Notice of Allegations we have is a complete version, the NCAA Inquiry has already concluded they didn't know and the dreaded Loss of Institutional Control is off the table.

I might be wrong, but I don't think that Gee and Smith have to know what's going on to qualify as "lack of institutional control". I think that all you need for that is repeated violations and evidence that the coach was either complicit or gained a competitive advantage by looking the wrong way. Case in point -- our basketball program was hammered pretty hard, yet our AD was never menioned as being part of the problem.

[Ghengis Jon]

A 13 page indictment, er, "Notice of Allegations"...thats pretty impressive!

[Tony G]

It was done in crayon so the osu folks could understand it

[Jeff Buchanan]

Does this mean that they aren't investigating back any further than Tat gate and dudes selling their memorabilia? If so, then OSU should consider themselves pretty lucky.

If the Notice of Allegations is complete, yes .... for now.

There's a request in the Notice asking osu to provide a list of all the violations they have reported .... EVER ..... that indicates to me that your question might actually "depend" on whether that list matches the list of violations that the NCAA inquirers who conducted the investigation that produced the Notice think ought to have been reported. That could be interesting.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I might be wrong, but I don't think that Gee and Smith have to know what's going on to qualify as "lack of institutional control". I think that all you need for that is repeated violations and evidence that the coach was either complicit or gained a competitive advantage by looking the wrong way. Case in point -- our basketball program was hammered pretty hard, yet our AD was never menioned as being part of the problem.

I'm not sure on that. What you are saying, sounds reasonable though.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Mandel's take:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/stewart_mandel/04/25/ohio-state-tressel-ncaa/index.html?eref=sihp

[geo weidl]

I get the feeling that osu is going to either sink or swim with the vest.

[geo weidl]

This was taken from the columbus dispatch.


The NCAA warned that it could treat Ohio State as a repeat offender stemming from the violations involving former quarterback Troy Smith, who took $500 from a booster and former men's basketball coach Jim O'Brien, who gave $6,000 to a recruit.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/04/25/0425-ohio-state-faces-severe-sanctions.html

[Jeff Buchanan]

The general consensus among reasonable posters I'm reading is that nobody really cares what happens to osu vis-a-vis the 2010 season and the bowls. If the worst thing that happens to osu is that they have to vacate wins, there is nothing in that sort of penalty that hurts enough going forward to dissuade other programs from taking risks like tressel took. That makes sense to me.

Therefore, if the NCAA wants to make a statement, and I think they do given the bad press college sports has gotten since January, they'll hit osu with scholarship reductions and post season play bans that burns osu big time and for an extended period.

In addition they'll deliver a show cause letter to gordon gee putting that slime bag in a position where he'll regret every having said when he was asked about firing tressel for his lying, "I hope coach doesn't fire me."

Some observers have noted that the timing of the Notice is interesting. If there is a pattern, the NCAA will announce their findings in October around the time that tressel will be finishing his 5 game suspension. Does osu risk keeping tressel as the head coach on the bet that they aren't going to get a show cause letter from the NCAA? osu would, IMO, be much better off cutting him lose right now, appointing an interim for the upcoming season and hiring The Legend in early December, 2011.

[geo weidl]

nobody really cares what happens to osu vis-a-vis the 2010 season and the bowls

That statement seems to be in compliance with this survey in the coumbus dispatch.


Do you think Ohio State will be stripped of any victories from the 2010 football season?

69% say yes, 19% say and 12% don't care(yea right)

[WM Wolverine]

Vacated '10 wins, likely... Scholarship reductions, possible... Postseason bans, I wouldn't guess so.

As important as anything imo is any lengthy suspensions (or resign/firing) possible to JT, him going down for this puts a huge stain imo on JT and the ohio brand/reptutation; nationally, regionally and even in that smelly state.

[Hannibal]

Vacated wins + Tressel forced out by NCAA = OSU gets off easy

[Pasadena Blue]

I am unimpressed by this NOA ... and unfortunately it's about what I expected.

O-state's is going to get away relatively unscathed ... vacating a season is not a big deal.

Without scholarship reductions and post-season ban this has no real teeth.

I am not expecting a Show Cause from the infractions committee after reading the NOA.

[lineygoblue]

Agree with Hanni and Pasadena. Vacating wins and even having to part with Tressel is not harsh at all. Pretty much a hand slap.

The only thing that would get their attention is a post season ban and loss of schollys. I don't think that's happening.

In fact, dismissing Tressel may be the way that they avoid all that. The NCAA would likely consider that "enough" punishment, and let it go.

No matter how much the NCAA huffs and puffs, I'm still not buying their indignity over this. There are many higher-ups in the NCAA that absolutely love Tressel and Gee, and that will carry a lot of weight when it comes time to conclude this thing.

O-Lie-O is going to escape the noose again. Bank on it.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I am not expecting a Show Cause from the infractions committee after reading the NOA.

Its has been pointed out that the wording in the osu NOA regarding violations of 10.1 (what usually prompts a firing from the institution of the HC involved or results in a show cause if the institution doesn't fire the HC) is exactly the same wording that appeared in the Bruce Pearl NOA at UTenn.

My bet is that tressel is gone before the start of the season and luke fickel will become interim HC until a replacement is found (don't count on it being Urban Meyer if osu is facing post season bans and schollie reductions like it should be).