Big time college coaches putting programs in jeopardy
The culture of division I coaching in the NCAA seems to be so competitive that the leaders of these high profile schools are willing to win by any means necessary. The latest coaches to have serious ramifications for poor actions are Bruce Pearl who was recently fired as The University of Tennessee Head basketball Coach, and Ohio State Universities Head football coach Jim Tressel. Both men have experienced great success in their respective sports but have come under much scrutiny lately for less than stellar judgment. Is this the culture of big time college athletics, meaning acts like this occur often and are not being uncovered or is it just a few men that just can’t obey the rules?
Bruce Pearl was ousted as The University of Tennessee head coach on Monday March 21st 2011. This was after his team was defeated by the Michigan Wolverines 75-45 in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The decision was almost eminent amid allegations of NCAA violations as Tennessee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton hinted at the coaching staff’s fate prior to the tip of the Vols tournament game. In September it was reported that Pearl had illegal contact with a high school recruit, better known as “bumping”. He later admitted he ‘misled’ NCAA investigators during their 17 month investigation of the Tennessee athletic program.
The final blow came in March when members of the Tennessee staff attempted to cover up a violation of the team’s substance abuse policy by one its players. The player missed the last two games of the season when the team reported the player had a bad back. Prior to this Pearl was suspended for the first eight SEC games of this past season by the commissioner of the conference Mike Silva. This was done as a preventative measure to spare Pearl’s job but now it is obvious if failed to work.
Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel along with five of his players will be out for the first five games of the 2011 football season. Tressel was originally suspended for the first two games of the season for acknowledging he was aware his players had received free tattoos from a local parlor and had sold their personal memorabilia for money. Tressel denied he knew his players committed such acts to the NCAA in their initial probe of the situation. Ohio State University submitted a seven page appeal to the NCAA in an attempt to lessen the penalty of their players.
The NCAA made their decision on Thursday March 17th 2011 to deny the appeal. At that point Tressel requested to sit out five games to match the penalty of his players. “Like my players, I am very sorry for the mistakes I made,” Tressel stated. “I request of the university that my sanctions now include five games so that the players and I can handle this adversity together.” In addition to the five game penalty, Tressel must pay a $250,000 fine to the school, attend a compliance seminar, receive a public reprimand, and must apologize publicly.
Recently there have been several other major college programs to be involved in wrong doing. The USC Trojans football was handed down a two postseason ban regardless of regular season performance in addition to losing a total of ten scholarships for last season and the upcoming two seasons. The basketball program issued a self-imposed one year postseason ban and a reduction in scholarships as well. All of this stems from improper benefits reportedly given to former players Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo.
The University of Michigan and former Head Coach Rich Rodriguez had been found in violation of not properly monitoring the program. The University issued self-imposed sanctions of two years’ probation that was raised to three years by the NCAA, practice hours were limited and the amount of team aids were reduced. The Tennessee football program is similarly under investigation from the Lane Kiffen tenure of one season. The University of Memphis’s basketball program was also accused of serious NCAA violations during John Calipari’s time as Head Coach when it was reported former player Derrick Rose may have cheated on his SAT’s. These issues do not seem to be wide spread but some of the country’s top programs do go through great lengths to win, sometimes breaking the rules.
