On Collegiate Athletics

I'm not exactly nonpartisan when it comes to college sports. I can be as biased as they come. And so my fanhood/borderline obsession with all things Michigan Wolverines may be clouding my reaction to the recent discovery that Coach Jim Tressel, of The Ohio State Buckeyes, not only knew his players were selling memorabilia to a shady local tattoo artist, a violation of NCAA policy, but then lied about this knowledge to NCAA investigators. For someone who recently put out a book entitled "Life Promises for Success: Promises From God on Achieving Your Best” and cultivates an image so squeaky clean and distinguished he's nicknamed 'the Senator' to be caught in a lie as serious as this is astounding. And believe me, this is serious, more serious than the noise emanating from Columbus would let on. The self-imposed punishment (2 games suspension, vs. Akron and Toledo, big whoop!, and $250K, sadly pocket change for a $4 million/year earner) is nowhere near stringent enough; in fact, of the 11 coaches since 2006 found to be in violation of the clause in question, basically lying to NCAA investigators, all 11 were subsequently relieved of their coaching duties.

I don't know if Tressel will be canned; this story is far from over. But I do know, and am heartened by, the knowledge that that shady program down south is finally receiving a long-deserved comeuppance for a preponderance of rule-skirting (See: Maurice Clarett, and 375 self-reported minor rule violations since 2000, by far the most in college football.) Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Michigan's own well-documented, recent rules violations. Anyone who lumps these two instances together in the same breath, however, is mistaken. Having a coaching staff member monitor stretching on an average of 30 extra minutes per week is not the equivalent of a pre-meditated cover up by your head coach of an NCAA violation by your star quarterback. That's not apples to apples - that's watermelons to blueberries.

(Steps off soapbox...)

Also this week was a fabulous documentary telling the story of Michigan's 'Fab Five'. Infamous and entertaining, provocative and scandal-inducing, the most famous recruiting class in college basketball history did more than nearly win two national championships, then have all their records wiped from the history books: they changed the culture, not only of college hoops but of America, and I'd say for the better. And they popularized baggy shorts, so I didn't have to wear short shorts growing up. Thank God.