Southern Methodist: "Ponygate" |
From the mid 70’s to the early 80’s, the small school of Southern Methodist University (SMU) became a powerhouse in Division I football. With a student population of just over nine thousand, it was a mystery how they had risen to fame so fast. Before the 1980’s, SMU had tallied only 9 winning seasons since 1949, and now they were a powerhouse in College Football. How could a football program jump from complete mediocrity into one of the biggest spotlights in sports? There was only one way that SMU could’ve become so good, so fast: cheating. In the mid 70’s several SMU boosters established a “slush fund,” that would be used to recruit players illegally, and to pay players for their work. When the scandal was uncovered, it showed that hundreds of players had been paid over the decade. In the 1985/86 season alone, 13 players were paid a total of $61,000. In response to the violations committed by SMU, the NCAA imposed the “death penalty” on the football program. This penalty meant cancelling the entire 1987 football season, cancelling all home games for the 1988 season, banning the program from bowl games until 1989, and allowing only five assistant coaches instead of the typical nine. The death penalty destroyed the football program. SMU played in one bowl game between 1989 and 2009 and had only one winning season in the era.
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Michigan: Ed Martin Scandal |
In the Early 90’s, the University of Michigan created the legend of the “Fab Five.” The fab five were five freshman players that started for Michigan in 1991, and led their team to the national championship game in both the 1991 and 92 seasons. Unfortunately, these achievements have been erased from the record books due to the Ed Martin scandal in which players for Michigan were paid during the era. Ed Martin was a booster for the University of Michigan, and he thought the best way to help the players was by giving them loans in college that would surely be paid off once they made it to the NBA. Over the course of three years, four soon to be NBA players for Michigan borrowed a total of $616,000 from Martin. This was a clear violation of NCAA rules against compensating athletes. As a punishment for the misconduct, the NCAA removed all records of the fab five era and put the program on probation for two years. This probation was not a critical blow to the establishment or the players, but it has stained the players that weren’t involved in the scandal for the rest of their lives. |
Reggie Bush: Heisman Scandal |
Reggie Bush was debatably the most successful running back in college football history. His combination of speed and agility made him a headache for opposing defenses, and helped lead the trojans to back to back AP national championships in the 2003/04 seasons. Not only did his team receive honors due to Bush’s talent, but in 2005, Bush was awarded the Heisman trophy. Unfortunately, his success on the college playing field would be overshadowed by controversy off of the field. In 2006, reports started to surface that Bush had received lavish gifts and loans from a pro football agent, Lloyd Lakes. The NCAA probed into Bush’s life at USC and found that the reports were true after Lakes sued Bush and his family for not paying back loans and gifts over the course of Bush’s career. During his tenure at USC, Bush received a grand total of $290,000 in gifts from his agent. This clearly violated the NCAA’s policy against compensation, and athletes having a relationship with an agent. In June 2010 once the report was finished by the NCAA, major sanctions were placed on USC and Bush. USC was forced to forfeit the last two games of its 2004 season (including a BCS bowl game win), all of its 2005 season (including a BCS National Title), were banned from any bowl games in 2010/11, and lost 30 scholarships over the course of 4 years. Bush on the other hand, was forced to permanently disassociate from USC and had to give up the most coveted trophy in college sports: The Heisman. Bush would go on to have a successful career in the NFL, but his glory days at USC will now always be covered by his scandal.
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Florida State: Cheating Scandal |
In 2007, the race for the most victories in college football history was heating up. Pennsylvania State head coach Joe Paterno had tallied 383 wins over the span of his career, and Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden followed shortly behind with 382 victories. Battling to be the most successful coach in college football history, Bowden used less that legal tactics to keep his players on the field. It was discovered that year that as many as 61 FSU athletes, including 23 football players, had been involved in a cheating scandal at the university. The players involved had taken an online class, and it was found that they received answers to tests before taking them. Along with this, the players had all homework assignments and projects completed for them. This was an obvious violation of NCAA rules regarding academics. Of course, the athletes that took part in the scandal probably weren’t at FSU for academics, but NCAA law requires athletes to be students as well. The scandal cost Florida State twelve victories in the 2006/ 07 seasons, put the university on probation for four years, and decreased the scholarship count in ten different sports. This scandal cost Bobby Bowden his victory count, and kept Florida out of the national spotlight for several years.
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University of Miami: Pell Grant Scandal |
In the 1980’s and early 90’s there was one team that ruled college football: The University of Miami. Over the span of eight years, Miami won four national championships, produced two heisman winners, four hall of fame players, 67 NFL players and was without a doubt the meanest team that college football had ever seen. The players at Miami were faster, more skilled, and grittier than any team in college football. Each Saturday, the hurricanes would come out and put on a show. Putting up 30 or more points in almost every game, and often keeping their opponent’s score under 15. It didn’t matter what team it was, the U would destroy anything in its path. Unfortunately, in 1994 a story broke that the university was abusing the Pell Grant system. These allegations turned out to be true, and it was found that over the course of five years players had been using false information to file for federal pell grants. In total, players received over $220,000 in grants over the five years. It only got worse for the U after this. While conducting its investigation, the NCAA found that players were being paid over the last decade as well. They weren’t just being paid per game or per season, they were being paid for touchdowns, big hits, big plays, and injuries caused to other players. Over Miami’s reign of dominance in college football, players were paid over $400,000. Because Miami violated the NCAA’s rules on compensating athletes, the school was penalized 31 scholarships. Miami was knocked off of the throne, and would have to wait ten years until its next national championship.
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