Miami Football Scandal: Nevin Shapiro Controversy Nothing New for the U

Those familiar with the history of the University of Miami's football program know that it's not unfamiliar to controversy.

If you're not familiar with them, watch "The U," which was released in 2009 as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series.

Frankly, It's a very one-sided account of Miami's program during the 1980s and early 1990s. Still, even they don’t hide from the fact that they were polarizing and controversial.

Now we have Nevin Shapiro, who is a convicted Ponzi scheme felon. Shapiro has alleged that over the last few years, he has given gifts to more than a dozen Miami players, including players on the current roster.

One of the gifts that Shapiro alleged he provided the player is that he allowed them use of his yacht.

In response to the allegations, Miami said:

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"The university notified the NCAA enforcement officials of these allegations. We are fully cooperating with the NCAA and are conducting a joint investigation. The University of Miami takes these matters very seriously."

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It's hard to tell how serious these allegations are at this point. Generally when these allegations occur, there is a lot of truth to them.

So let's say they're true. How much should we care?

In the 1980s, people really cared about Miami's controversy because they were perennial National Championship contenders. It's not that we should only care about what happens to good teams, but it's natural.

If you were a fan of a rival of Miami's during one of their National Championship seasons, you probably thought that they cheated and had they not cheated, that your team would have won that championship.

What's unsaid in that is that you feel that your team (whoever it is) did so completely fairly. That may or may not be true.

In 2011, we have scandals at USC and Ohio St. fresh on our minds. Those teams were either National Champions, or at least contenders for the title. Frustrations that fans feel towards those two teams are pretty reasonable.

But what has Miami done in recent years? Their last National Championship came following the 2001 season. Their last appearance in the National Championship game was the following year. The year after that gave us Miami's last BCS Bowl appearance (and win).

That was 2003. Since then, Miami has been quite average. They've lost their last three bowl games. Basically, even if they have been cheating, they haven't been doing enough on the field to make us care.

What should be done about the allegations, assuming they’re true? Well, the coach and athletic director that oversaw the program during these years are both gone. By the time an NCAA investigation is complete, any of those players will be gone.

Realistically, the punishment for these crimes would be inflicted on people that had nothing to do with the problems. That's what's happening at USC right now.

There is nothing more that the NCAA can really do, but it's an unfortunate part of being an NCAA athlete or coach. You end up being left to pick up the mess left by the people who were there before you.

What needs to be done in the future to curtail these problems at Miami?

Realize that Miami, like USC and to a lesser extent Ohio State, play in big, metropolitan cities. There are a lot of people who are fans of the programs and players who aren't worried about NCAA rules. Actually, they aren't even aware of them.

Those are the innocent people; the people who break rules without even knowing it. There are also plenty of people around these schools that are more aware of the rules and still break them.

It's not a problem exclusive to big-city teams by any means, but it's something they need to look out for more than the more rural schools.

So Nevin Shapiro is just one in a long line, both at Miami and in the NCAA. These allegations are nothing new.

Because Miami didn't enjoy success during these years doesn't mean that we shouldn't care. Truthfully, we should care whenever this happens.

But caring and overreacting are two different things. Assuming Miami really does cooperate, it's on the NCAA to not overreact and over punish people who had nothing to do with what they're investigating.