UM Has Few Options For NCAA Conduct
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The University of Miami remains in hurry up and wait mode as the NCAA begins investigating it's investigation into the school. UM fans want the investigation over with, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards just yet.
When NCAA President Mark Emmert announced the problems with the associations investigation, he was specifically asked if the NCAA was going to restart the UM investigation. Emmert said the NCAA wouldn't start from scratch on the Shapiro investigation, and instead will proceed with the evidence that was obtained via NCAA rules.
Emmert said the NCAA had collected a lot of evidence against the U and only a small portion of it was considered tainted by the actions of investigators dealing with Shapiro's attorney.
CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald suggested the NCAA could cut a deal with the Hurricanes due to the self-imposed bowl ban and suspensions of football and basketball players.
"It's in everyone's interest to get the UM investigation behind UM and the NCAA," Nova Southeastern University law professor Robert Jarvis told the Herald.
The success of the NCAA's investigation could hinge on the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine. That doctrine, legally speaking, would dismiss any evidence that was collected through either improper methods or was discovered through an improper lead.
The NCAA may not follow that doctrine like a court of law, which would keep more of the tainted evidence against UM in the case, theoretically. The job of the outside investigation of the NCAA is to determine how much of the UM evidence will be considered tainted.
The NCAA has been under heavy fire ever since they admitted the problems with the UM investigation. The bumbled case has reinforced in most fans eyes that the NCAA is incapable of investigating and managing the "amateur" college sports.
Still, at this point, both UM and the NCAA are essentially on level ground. UM broke the rules and may have had a lack of institutional control, but the NCAA had basically the same problems while trying to investigate the U's problems.
If the NCAA doesn't drop a heavy hammer on the U, it's possible the case could move to summary judgment and end before the coming football season. For that to happen, both sides would have to agree to the facts and findings of the NCAA's investigation.
Given what has transpired this week, it's doubtful any school may ever agree to the facts and findings of an NCAA investigation.
