NCAA Needs to Put Teeth in Rules That Make Penalties Clear and Fair

The NCAA has become a laughing-stock among schools, players and fans alike. Miami obviously didn't fear the NCAA or its sanctions. For years they blew them off. Ohio State, North Carolina, Michigan, USC and others have responded by shuffling those who got caught through a "humble pie" eating exercise, while maybe firing a coach or two, and kept going.

The football mentality on the field is too often extended to behavior off the field.

Coaches and players treated the NCAA rules as though a yellow flag would appear on the administration doorsteps, and then the team would be penalized five yards, or 15 yards, and you would simply play on.

No one has thought someone would come and take the ball away. But that is exactly what needs to happen. The NCAA needs to start taking the ball away from players and coaches who violate the rules, and that means for one and all, no matter what school it is or how "storied" the program is.

Teeth in the penalties is what is needed.  

But what would be fair? That is the problem, and it is a subject that would be open to debate for a hundred years. It would be interesting to hear 50 people give their viewpoint on this, but since I have the forum, I am going to venture my own ideas. And here it goes:

1. The basic premise is, whoever commits the offense is penalized, and not the whole team. The whole team didn't commit the foul, so the team, the school, the fans and the alumni shouldn't be penalized. It's time to shift away from the field mentality to a justice and fairness mentality.

2. If coaches violate the rules, then they pay the price, and not the players who were involved. That is of course unless they too knew the rules and violated them. The "accomplice" rule applies here.

3. The administration should pay the price, if they are involved as much as the coaches. This could mean that athletic directors, and even school presidents, would be fair game to go after. Root out the problem, and don't just pass the buck. The NCAA would not allow a school to play collegiate sports if it was headed by Benny the Bookmaker, so it shouldn't let a school participate if the administration allowed, or knew about, violations but did nothing about them.

Penalties need to be clear, concise and non-negotiable. They also must be applied to all equally. 

 The ground rules laid out here are some fair penalties that I think should be assessed. 

1. If a player accepts money that is prohibited, they are to be suspended one game if the value is under $100. This jumps to three games if it is under $1,000, and then the entire season if it is over $1,000. If it is found out that they committed a certain violation for multiple years then they should be declared ineligible to play in that division. If a violation of any kind happens at the next lower-level division, then  they should be banned from the NCAA altogether.

2. It is a violation for a player, coach or administrative official to not report someone who is known to be violating these rules, and they will suffer the same penalty as the offending athlete for failing to report it.

3. A coach with five student athletes who violate the rules will be ineligible to be a part of NCAA football for one year. A second penalty earns them a lifetime ban from the NCAA.

4. An administration that fails to report violations will face the same penalty as coaches.The responsible administrator shall either resign or the school will no longer be eligible to play in the NCAA until they comply.

There needs to be a return to the time honored values. 

Men like Joe Paterno, Knute Rockne, Bud Wilkinson, LaVell Edwards and the many others who have stadiums and buildings named after them received those honors not just for winning games. Honor and integrity need to be not just words, or distant concepts, they need to be part of the game again.

That's it. Pretty simple. You cross the line, you get slapped. But if you cross the line again, you get whacked. You cross it again, and you are out. No questions, no appeals, no crying. Leave the game if you can't play by the rules.

This is the only way college football will gain back a respectful reputation that some schools have tarnished.