MDOcane
here we go again...
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2013
- Messages
- 1,513
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/s...is-the-ncaa-intentionally-delaying-hur/nZZXb/
It’s not unheard of that the NCAA would make Miami or any school twist in the wind for what seems like forever while waiting on the results of a Committee on Infractions hearing.
Given the circumstances, however, with the Hurricanes’ season-opening game against Florida Atlantic just one week from tonight, the delay seems unnecessarily tortuous and possibly deliberate.
Today marks exactly 10 weeks since Miami President Donna Shalala and other school officials completed their hearing before the infractions committee in the Nevin Shapiro booster-gone-wild case.
Enough already with the manufactured drama.
If a bowl ban or worse is coming, then spill it. Knowing that the spread and the scope of this investigation have finally reached the limits of toxicity will come as a relief to coach Al Golden, no matter what the NCAA’s final sanctions letter has to say.
Look at the timing, however, and ask yourself if a bonus swipe at Miami is being worked into the schedule.
The NCAA could, say, hand down a 2013 postseason ban next week, mere days or even hours prior to the Hurricanes’ opening game against the Owls. Or, for greater impact, Miami could be forced to take its medicine on the week of the Sept. 7 Florida game.
While it’s true that these infrequent meetings with the Gators exist in a motivational universe of their own, the Hurricanes clearly don’t need that kind of emotional backwash.
Staying within the NCAA’s rules, of course, would have prevented all of these problems for the Hurricanes. Shapiro, a convicted Ponzi schemer, served up an unbelievably lurid menu of alleged major violations involving former Miami players and coaches.
February’s admission of “a very serious issue of improper conduct” on the part of NCAA investigators is what changed the game, however. Shalala, sensing a rare opportunity, fired back at the NCAA for being “unethical and unprofessional” and requested, without success, that the case be dropped altogether.
Given the secrecy of the process, every day that passes now without the announcement of sanctions could reasonably be perceived as a counterpunch delivered by the NCAA.
How long should it take for the Committee on Infractions to agree on a list of punishments and then get it all typed up and released in the appropriately cloudy legalese? The Associated Press has consistently listed six-to-eight weeks as the average wait time for a decision, and that range is also suggested on a University of Miami website devoted to the investigation.
The NCAA, on the other hand, writes on its own website that “it typically takes from eight to 12 weeks to write the report and announce penalties.” By that count, Miami is in the middle of the expected range at 10 weeks and counting.
Naturally, there’s always some leeway in the middle of the limbo. Priorities can be changed. Paperwork can be rushed or shuffled.
Ohio State went before the Committee of Infractions in August of 2011 for improper-benefits violations. The sanctions, including a one-year bowl ban, were released in December, more than four months later, but the Buckeyes were allowed to play in the Jan. 2 Gator Bowl all the same. In this case, the postseason ban was applied to 2012, when a 12-0 Ohio State team was frozen out of the national title chase.
North Carolina also waited more than four months for sanctions in 2012, but with the benefit of getting smacked after national signing day for high school recruits had already passed. Oregon, on the other hand, received its sanctions this summer after a wait of nine-plus weeks, and a full two months prior to the start of football season.
That’s what Miami wants, a break from this dirty business that is quick and clean. If the NCAA really practiced what it preaches about cooperation, it already would have happened.
It’s not unheard of that the NCAA would make Miami or any school twist in the wind for what seems like forever while waiting on the results of a Committee on Infractions hearing.
Given the circumstances, however, with the Hurricanes’ season-opening game against Florida Atlantic just one week from tonight, the delay seems unnecessarily tortuous and possibly deliberate.
Today marks exactly 10 weeks since Miami President Donna Shalala and other school officials completed their hearing before the infractions committee in the Nevin Shapiro booster-gone-wild case.
Enough already with the manufactured drama.
If a bowl ban or worse is coming, then spill it. Knowing that the spread and the scope of this investigation have finally reached the limits of toxicity will come as a relief to coach Al Golden, no matter what the NCAA’s final sanctions letter has to say.
Look at the timing, however, and ask yourself if a bonus swipe at Miami is being worked into the schedule.
The NCAA could, say, hand down a 2013 postseason ban next week, mere days or even hours prior to the Hurricanes’ opening game against the Owls. Or, for greater impact, Miami could be forced to take its medicine on the week of the Sept. 7 Florida game.
While it’s true that these infrequent meetings with the Gators exist in a motivational universe of their own, the Hurricanes clearly don’t need that kind of emotional backwash.
Staying within the NCAA’s rules, of course, would have prevented all of these problems for the Hurricanes. Shapiro, a convicted Ponzi schemer, served up an unbelievably lurid menu of alleged major violations involving former Miami players and coaches.
February’s admission of “a very serious issue of improper conduct” on the part of NCAA investigators is what changed the game, however. Shalala, sensing a rare opportunity, fired back at the NCAA for being “unethical and unprofessional” and requested, without success, that the case be dropped altogether.
Given the secrecy of the process, every day that passes now without the announcement of sanctions could reasonably be perceived as a counterpunch delivered by the NCAA.
How long should it take for the Committee on Infractions to agree on a list of punishments and then get it all typed up and released in the appropriately cloudy legalese? The Associated Press has consistently listed six-to-eight weeks as the average wait time for a decision, and that range is also suggested on a University of Miami website devoted to the investigation.
The NCAA, on the other hand, writes on its own website that “it typically takes from eight to 12 weeks to write the report and announce penalties.” By that count, Miami is in the middle of the expected range at 10 weeks and counting.
Naturally, there’s always some leeway in the middle of the limbo. Priorities can be changed. Paperwork can be rushed or shuffled.
Ohio State went before the Committee of Infractions in August of 2011 for improper-benefits violations. The sanctions, including a one-year bowl ban, were released in December, more than four months later, but the Buckeyes were allowed to play in the Jan. 2 Gator Bowl all the same. In this case, the postseason ban was applied to 2012, when a 12-0 Ohio State team was frozen out of the national title chase.
North Carolina also waited more than four months for sanctions in 2012, but with the benefit of getting smacked after national signing day for high school recruits had already passed. Oregon, on the other hand, received its sanctions this summer after a wait of nine-plus weeks, and a full two months prior to the start of football season.
That’s what Miami wants, a break from this dirty business that is quick and clean. If the NCAA really practiced what it preaches about cooperation, it already would have happened.
