Why NCAA's Proposed Punishments for Rule Breakers Won't Help Clean Up Sports

There is no question that rule violations are a major epidemic in college sports today. Perhaps the only way to put a stop to it is stiffer penalties, and while the NCAA's latest proposal is a step in the right direction, it still isn't nearly enough.

According to Steve Wieberg of USA Today, the NCAA announced potential new punishments internally, and the proposal was obtained by the newspaper.

If the proposal goes through, significant rule violation could be subject to extremely hefty penalties.

Among them would be postseason bans of three or more years, fines of up to five percent of a program's budget, a loss of up to half of a team's scholarships, suspensions of head coaches for entire seasons, show-cause penalties against coaches for as many as 10 years, and probationary periods for as many as 10 years.

That may seem like it should prevent schools from cheating, but there are far too many caveats in the proposed rules, the biggest being that the maximum penalties could only be handed out in the event of a "significant aggravation."

That is far too vague and can be interpreted in a number of different ways. The proposal should be far more specific and spell out precisely which violations receive precisely which penalties.

That would take a lot of time and effort, but the issue of cheating in collegiate sports isn't going to be solved without time and effort.

Furthermore, there is too much of a range when it comes to the punishments. Who's to say what violation is worthy of a one-year postseason ban as opposed to one that might be deserving of a three-year ban.

It seems far too arbitrary to me, and it would benefit greatly from a more transparent layout. At least it can be said that the NCAA is making progress—the premise behind the penalties is correct—but coaches and administrators won't be afraid unless they know that a major punishment will be handed down if they're caught.

That is why, regardless of how outrageous it may seem, minor violations need to start harboring major punishments.

If programs know that even the slightest misstep could get them in major hot water, then there is little chance that they will even think about doing something shifty.

These newly-proposed punishments would be a huge step up from the slaps on the wrist that the NCAA normally hands out, but it still isn't enough. The penalties have to be stiff regardless of the violation and they have to clearly be spelled out, or else nothing is going to change and rule breakers will still run rampant.