Post by FUBeAR on Apr 13, 2016 18:32:02 GMT -5
Seems our friends over in Homewood, AL, the Samford Bulldogs, have been sanctioned by our other friends up in Indianapolis, the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Samford Athletics gets probation, fine for academic certification violations
As part of that sanctioning, if I'm reading the sections I bolded in these 2 passages from SAMFORD UNIVERSITY PUBLIC INFRACTIONS DECISION APRIL 12, 2016 correctly, I believe it's possible that Sammy MAY have to forfeit the game where they edged out the Bears 21-18 on October 14th, 2014. IF any of the 5 Football student-athletes cited during the 2010-2015 Academic Years (2010-2014 Football seasons) played in the 2014 game @ Samford, then I think the Bears would get that win.
1.b. During the 2010-11 through 2014-15 academic years, two baseball student-athletes, five football student-athletes and a men's track and field student-athlete competed without satisfactory completion of at least six semester-hours of degree credit toward the students' designated degree program during the preceding regular academic term.
V. 4. PENALTIES - Additional Penalties for Level II-Standard Violations - The institution acknowledged that the student-athletes referenced in Violation No. 1 competed while ineligible and would be subject to NCAA Bylaw 19.9.7-(g) (vacation of records). Therefore, pursuant to NCAA Bylaws 19.9.7-(g) and 31.2.2.3, the institution shall vacate all regular season and conference tournament records and participation in which the ineligible student-athletes detailed in Violation No. 1 participated. Finally, to ensure that all institutional and student-athlete vacations, statistics and records are accurately reflected in official NCAA publications and archives, the sports information director (or other designee as assigned by the director of athletics) must contact the NCAA Media Coordination and Statistics office and appropriate conference officials to identify the specific student-athletes and contests impacted by the penalties. In addition, the institution must provide the NCAA Media Coordination and Statistics office with a written report, detailing those discussions. This document will be maintained in the permanent files of the NCAA Media Coordination and Statistics office. This written report must be delivered to the office no later than 45 days following the release of this decision.
So, if my interpretation is correct, the Bears possibly could have OFFICIALLY finished 7-5 (2-5 SoCon) in 2014 and may have had winning seasons in their 1st 2 years of re-birth; and 2 of the 1st 3 years. That, if it is the case, kinda makes the oh-so-winnable losses of 2015 all-the-more painful. Anyway, picking up a 'win' like this (assuming they do) would, no doubt, feel fairly hollow, but a 'win' is a WIN and, as a new program, I'll take it...IF it comes.
Let me add this - the NCAA rules are unquestionably arcane, extremely difficult to understand & administer, and in so, so many cases adversely affect student-athletes that should NOT be affected.
For example, I know of one Bear; a kid who wanted to be an Engineer from the time he could walk/talk, who transferred to Mercer, and, due to having to miss a semester of school while his 'progress toward degree clock' kept ticking, was forced by NCAA rules to change his major from Engineering OR quit Football. That's it. No other way. No flexibility. No, "...but...but...but's." Probably due to poor parenting, this Bear chose to keep playing Football and changed to earning his degree (in 31 more days) as a Computer Science major while earning minors in Math, Business, and Information Systems. That sure sounds like the kind of lack of Academic Progress the NCAA is bound & determined to stop, huh?
Now, with THAT said...there certainly is or can be a definitive competitive advantage derived by knowingly or unknowingly failing to properly enforce the specific NCAA rules that Samford has admitted violating. Let's say this poorly-parented Bear had decided that his life-long goal of becoming an Engineer was more important to him than playing Football, Mercer, because they properly enforced the NCAA rules, would have been without a 4 year (I include the practice year) starter and All SoCon player, placing them at a potential disadvantage to schools that lacked proper enforcement.
Bottom line - the NCAA rules suck and they way too often penalize good kids and good students, but they ARE still the rules. Failing to enforce them properly definitely can provide an unfair competitive advantage to any school that does so.
Samford Athletics gets probation, fine for academic certification violations
As part of that sanctioning, if I'm reading the sections I bolded in these 2 passages from SAMFORD UNIVERSITY PUBLIC INFRACTIONS DECISION APRIL 12, 2016 correctly, I believe it's possible that Sammy MAY have to forfeit the game where they edged out the Bears 21-18 on October 14th, 2014. IF any of the 5 Football student-athletes cited during the 2010-2015 Academic Years (2010-2014 Football seasons) played in the 2014 game @ Samford, then I think the Bears would get that win.
1.b. During the 2010-11 through 2014-15 academic years, two baseball student-athletes, five football student-athletes and a men's track and field student-athlete competed without satisfactory completion of at least six semester-hours of degree credit toward the students' designated degree program during the preceding regular academic term.
V. 4. PENALTIES - Additional Penalties for Level II-Standard Violations - The institution acknowledged that the student-athletes referenced in Violation No. 1 competed while ineligible and would be subject to NCAA Bylaw 19.9.7-(g) (vacation of records). Therefore, pursuant to NCAA Bylaws 19.9.7-(g) and 31.2.2.3, the institution shall vacate all regular season and conference tournament records and participation in which the ineligible student-athletes detailed in Violation No. 1 participated. Finally, to ensure that all institutional and student-athlete vacations, statistics and records are accurately reflected in official NCAA publications and archives, the sports information director (or other designee as assigned by the director of athletics) must contact the NCAA Media Coordination and Statistics office and appropriate conference officials to identify the specific student-athletes and contests impacted by the penalties. In addition, the institution must provide the NCAA Media Coordination and Statistics office with a written report, detailing those discussions. This document will be maintained in the permanent files of the NCAA Media Coordination and Statistics office. This written report must be delivered to the office no later than 45 days following the release of this decision.
So, if my interpretation is correct, the Bears possibly could have OFFICIALLY finished 7-5 (2-5 SoCon) in 2014 and may have had winning seasons in their 1st 2 years of re-birth; and 2 of the 1st 3 years. That, if it is the case, kinda makes the oh-so-winnable losses of 2015 all-the-more painful. Anyway, picking up a 'win' like this (assuming they do) would, no doubt, feel fairly hollow, but a 'win' is a WIN and, as a new program, I'll take it...IF it comes.
Let me add this - the NCAA rules are unquestionably arcane, extremely difficult to understand & administer, and in so, so many cases adversely affect student-athletes that should NOT be affected.
For example, I know of one Bear; a kid who wanted to be an Engineer from the time he could walk/talk, who transferred to Mercer, and, due to having to miss a semester of school while his 'progress toward degree clock' kept ticking, was forced by NCAA rules to change his major from Engineering OR quit Football. That's it. No other way. No flexibility. No, "...but...but...but's." Probably due to poor parenting, this Bear chose to keep playing Football and changed to earning his degree (in 31 more days) as a Computer Science major while earning minors in Math, Business, and Information Systems. That sure sounds like the kind of lack of Academic Progress the NCAA is bound & determined to stop, huh?
Now, with THAT said...there certainly is or can be a definitive competitive advantage derived by knowingly or unknowingly failing to properly enforce the specific NCAA rules that Samford has admitted violating. Let's say this poorly-parented Bear had decided that his life-long goal of becoming an Engineer was more important to him than playing Football, Mercer, because they properly enforced the NCAA rules, would have been without a 4 year (I include the practice year) starter and All SoCon player, placing them at a potential disadvantage to schools that lacked proper enforcement.
Bottom line - the NCAA rules suck and they way too often penalize good kids and good students, but they ARE still the rules. Failing to enforce them properly definitely can provide an unfair competitive advantage to any school that does so.
