Big 12 Light

Texas Tech has a problem with skeletons in closets. Last year, the son of ESPN commentator Craig James was literally kept in a closet. Technically a shed but you get the point. Now, the NCAA is accusing the football coaching staff of sending approximately 234 text messages to 45 prospective student-athletes.

These violations may be residual dust bunnies from spring cleaning of the closets in Lubbock last year. The football violations occurred between August 2007 and February 2009, which falls during the Mike Leach coaching era. Nothing released as of yet specifies which coaches sent the text messages and if those coaches were acting of their own volition. But Mike Leach was the head coach at the time. Even if he had no knowledge of it, this was still the staff he hired and trusted to coach and recruit for his team. He also set tone and environment for his team and staff. Don’t get me wrong, Mike Leach is a great coach, who instituted a fearsome passing attack and built up the Texas Tech program to national prominence. But did he or his staff do it in a legitimate and fair way? Apparently not.

Texas Tech isn’t alone. Cam Newton and Auburn came under scrutiny for allegations that Newton’s father sought money in exchange for his son playing for a major-college team. Ohio State landed in the limelight of NCAA rule violators when it was discovered that five players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, sold their Big Ten championship rings and other apparel.

Newton was cleared due to insufficient evidence that he knew of his father’s actions. The Ohio State players are suspended for the first five games of next season. Penalties for Texas Tech could include two years probation, recruiting restrictions and scholarship reductions.

The real losers in this situation are the fans. Seeing a talented, Heisman-winning player like Cam Newton tainted by controversy disillusions fans and kills the magic of watching him play. We’ll never know how much Cam Newton really knew about his father’s deeds. The shady business of all these players and coaches does a disservice to their fan base. It’s hard to have blind love for your team when they are accused of cheating the system.

Ohio State’s situation may reveal a solution. Athletic director Gene Smith and coach Jim Tressel said the players’ education of NCAA bylaws was lacking during the time when players committed the violations. Smith said the rules were made clearer after the players sold their merchandise. The NCAA should have an extensive and standardized education program that all schools must participate in. It’s more difficult to follow the rules if you don’t know what they are, so making sure players and coaches are fully aware of the rules and bylaws is an important step.

It’s not a cure-all though. There will still be coaches and players who knowingly break the rules. So schools should be encouraged to self-report violators. That’s certainly a difficult task when turning in a successful coach or player who contributes to a program that brings in millions of dollars could be extremely detrimental to the team and the school. But it could help to give out personal sanctions versus team sanctions. These issues will never be fully exterminated, but they can be curbed through better education programs and individual sanctions.