Hide Your Trophies
The University of Alabama Athletic Department self-reported nineteen violations to the NCAA. Five of those violations were recruiting violations by the illustrious Crimson Tide football staff – the proud owners of sixteen national championship trophies. Which brings us to one of the self-reported violations, displaying a trophy in a location a recruit might see it during a visit. This came as a shock that this would be a rule.
Does the rule-making board of the NCAA think a recruit might visit the University of Alabama to consider playing on their football team without knowing that the Alabama has all those trophies whether they see them or not? Should Nick Saban also be forbidden from wearing any championship rings or having any pictures from championship wins displayed in his office? Really NCAA? Isn’t this a bit much? But rules are rules, so the University dutifully reported their mistake. The program received education on the rules and the prospects who had been exposed to the improperly displayed trophies were declared ineligible until the NCAA reinstated them.
The Violations List is Getting Bigger
There was also a violation because a former player, presumably a current NFL player, returned to the school and provided personal training to a current Alabama player. The former player provided that service without charge. It seems that a player would be allowed to give back to his Alma Mater. Alabama once again received rules education. They also had to make a donation to a charity comparable to the sum the player would have received for providing his services.
There were violations involving telephone calls and texts from coaches to prospects. One prospect received a text during a time texting was not allowed. That prospect could not be contacted for a month after the inappropriate text. The coach was counseled on the rules and he suspended from calling for two weeks. Another coach called the same recruit twice in one week. It resulted in more education and the coach not being allowed to make calls for two weeks and the recruit not getting phone calls for two weeks.
The biggest problem for the 2015-2016 season was related to Bo Davis. The violations revolved around visiting out-of-state prospects during a no-contact time period. These violations resulted in Davis resigning from his position as a defensive line coach for Alabama. Davis resignation appears to have resulted in the NCAA not taking any further action against the program for his violations. This penalty came at a high price, as Davis was the driving force in developing Alabama’s strong defensive line.
One of last year’s violations also included a texting issue. Last year’s other violations were not recruiting in nature, but two were related to player behavior – not the actions of the coaching staff or the school. One of the big terms bandied about when discussing NCAA violations is “institutional control.”
Taking a deeper look at the rules violation problem, it is not just a football problem and it is definitely not just an Alabama problem. The news we hear tends to be about the football and basketball programs because they are the big draws. Football and basketball fill seats. Alabama is the big name in college football with its 16 National Championships so we are apt to hear more about them. In spite of what the media focuses on, the NCAA violations cross the boards in the schools’ athletic programs.
What Does this Mean for Alabama Football?
These violations are all minor in nature, but are Alabama and college athletics as a whole on a slippery slope? If the Alabama football team had no violations, would they have won the National Championship? Probably so. Did the violations in question have any real impact? Other than losing Bo Davis, probably not. Is the lack of institutional control a problem? Clearly. Coaching staff should not have to be repeatedly told about when it is appropriate to be contacting players.
We do not need to go in to Alabama’s other fourteen violations, but they crossed eleven other sports so it is not a football problem. It is evidence of the lack of institutional control. The problem is not just an Alabama problem. If you raise the issue of NCAA violations, the response you are likely to receive is “well, everybody does it.” That is a very accurate claim.
A review earlier this year revealed that from January 2006 to December 2015, the NCAA found major rule violations in 43% of Division I schools. Narrowing down those results to the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) Schools, the percentage is on par with the entirety of Division I schools with 43.75% of the schools having major violations.
“The association punished 56 of the current 128 FBS institutions during the 10-year span, including eight of the 10 members of the Big 12 Conference (yes, there are only 10 universities in the Big 12, and 14 in the Big Ten Conference, after the latest conference realignment) and at least half of the members of the American Athletic, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conferences.”
Don’t Forget About Johnny Football
The above referenced punishments were for major violations. One would be hard pressed to find a program without at least minor violations. Rules are rules, they are in place for a reason and they are meant to be followed. Is the continued allowance of minor infractions with minimal results a slippery slope leading to more major infractions?
And what are we teaching our student athletes? That rules are made to be broken. Prime example, Johnny Manziel. Manziel violated NCAA regulations regarding the sale of autographs. After threatening to revoke Manziel’s playing eligibility completely, the NCAA and Texas A&M reached an agreement that resulted in a half-game suspension to start the season. It appears that the lesson Manziel took from the incident was that rules do not apply when you are “Johnny Football.” Would it have made a difference if someone had made Manziel more accountable for his actions before he moved on to the NFL?
The report out of Alabama is indicative of a much bigger problem in college athletics. It appears that rules are there, but no one seems to care. The attitude seems to be: “What difference does it make where we leave our trophies? Everybody else bends the rules too!” Are we teaching our student athletes that rules do not matter? Not just Alabama, but college athletics seems to be on a very slippery slope.