Baylor Football Becomes Latest College Program To Be Involved In Scandal
By: Josh Clark
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DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The NCAA has had many controversies over the years. It always seems like something is going on within a division one program.
Most incidents get small media exposure, the school gets hit with loss of a scholarship or two and that's the end of it.
Baylor University is one of those exceptions.
The baptist school in Waco is at the forefront of news and sports media coverage after revelations that the Art Briles led football program knowingly allowed sexual predators to play on the team.
According to a statement from the university on Thursday afternoon, Briles "has been suspended indefinitely with intent to terminate according to contractual procedures."
Baylor also announced that Ken Starr will no longer be the president of the school and will transition to a role of chancellor. He will remain a professor at the Baylor University Law School.
Athletic Director Ian McCaw has been sanctioned and placed on probation, while Dr. David Garland has been named interim University President.
The university says that additional members of the administration and athletics program have also been dismissed, but they will not release those names publicly.
"We were horrified by the extent of these acts of sexual violence on our campus. This investigation revealed the University's mishandling of reports in what should have been a supportive, responsive and caring environment for students," said Richard Willis, chair of the Baylor Board of Regents. "The depth to which these acts occurred shocked and outraged us. Our students and their families deserve more, and we have committed our full attention to improving our processes, establishing accountability and ensuring appropriate actions are taken to support former, current and future students."
The Baylor Board of Regents also said they have contacted the NCAA about possible violations related to the sexual assault scandal.
There have simply been way too many scandals over the last ten years in college sports. Unfortunately, Baylor may not have been the worst.
Here are some other notable scandals that have taken place over the last decade:
5. University Of Miami Scandal: The U lost nine football scholarships and three basketball scholarships in 2011 after a report came out implicating former players. A former booster for the school, Nevin Shapiro, allegedly provided money, cars, prostitutes and vacations to players. Shapiro said coaches knew about the gifts at the time.
4. Duke Lacrosse Case: Three players on the Duke University lacrosse team were accused of raping an exotic dancer in 2006. Many people, including Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, called it a hate crime. The three players involved in the incident were all white, while the victim was African-American. The attorney general of North Carolina cleared all three players of wrong doing in 2007 after finding inconsistencies in the victim's testimony. Nifong was later disbarred and jailed for trial misconduct involved with the case.
3. Louisville Escort Scandal: The University of Louisville imposed a one-year postseason ban on its men's basketball team after the program was involved in a recruiting scandal. A book published by a self described escort, Katina Powell, alleged that Andre McGee, the team's former director of basketball operations, arraigned parties for recruits. Powell's book says that McGee hired dancers to strip and have sex with recruits in a dorm on campus.
The incident is still under investigation by the university. The head coach of the team, Rick Pitino, denied having any knowledge of the parties.
2. Bobby Petrino Affair: In April of 2012, University of Arkansas head football coach Bobby Petrino was involved in a motorcycle accident. Not a big deal, accidents happen. What was a big deal was the fact that he lied about the incident at first, saying that he was alone. Petrino later admitted to the university that he was with his mistress, a 25-year-old former volleyball player and current assistant of the football team. Petrino tried to cover up the accident by telling witnesses at the scene not to call police so he wouldn't get caught.
Petrino also lied to athletic director Jeff Long about the incident and had reportedly paid his mistress $20,000.
He was fired after the 2011 season.
1. The Penn State Scandal: No scandal has ever been bigger in my opinion. Granted, I wasn't around for the Pony Express scandal, etc. But, no one will ever forget one of the greatest and most memorable college football coaches ever...being right in the middle of a child abuse scandal.
Jerry Sandusky, one of Joe Paterno's top assistants, was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison after having been convicted of 45 counts of sex abuse on in June, 2012.
To this day, it isn't public knowledge just how much Paterno knew about Sandusky's involvement with young children.
And we'll probably never find out as Paterno passed away less than a year after the allegations came out.
As a result of the investigation, the NCAA delivered harsh punishments to the football program. NCAA President Mark Emmert gave the team a four-year postseason ban, five-years probation, a loss of 40 scholarships from 2013-2017, a $60 million fine and they were forced to vacate all wins from 1998 to 2011.
The NCAA eventually rescinded most of the sanctions against the school.
They announced that they would restore Penn State's scholarships until it reached the normal amount of 85 for the 2016-2017 season. The NCAA also announced a year later that the team's postseason ban had been lifted and they were eligible to play in a bowl game in 2014.
In 2015, the NCAA reinstated all of the schools wins that had been vacated. A total of 112.
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