Miami: “Willful violators?” (Updated 8:15pm)

There’s enough to this story for ESPN to make “The U: Part II” (with multiple episodes, as my buddy Shawn added).

Yahoo!:

The NCAA informed University of Miami administrators it will consider invoking its “willful violators” clause and make an exception to the traditional four-year statute of limitations in the Nevin Shapiro case, a university source told Yahoo! Sports.

Traditionally, the NCAA’s bylaws would only allow it to sanction the Hurricanes for infractions that occurred during the four years prior to receiving a letter of inquiry from investigators. For example, if Miami received a letter of inquiry for a case on Sept. 1, 2011, the NCAA could only sanction the school for applicable violations dating back to Sept. 1, 2007. But the clause – reserved for “a pattern of willful violations” – can spin a probe back to the earliest applicable infractions.

Applied to the Shapiro allegations, it means the NCAA could reach as far back to early 2002, when the booster said he began funneling benefits to Hurricanes players. And if the probe stretched back to 2002, it would overlap with Miami’s two-year probationary period from the baseball program, which was leveled from February 2003 to February 2005. That could potentially tag the Hurricanes athletic program with a “repeat violator” label and make the school further susceptible to the NCAA’s so-called death penalty.

8:15pm Update

ESPN:

NCAA president Mark Emmert says he’s willing to back up his tough talk on punishing rule-breakers — even using the “death penalty” as a deterrent.

With salacious allegations swirling around Miami’s football program, and one week after Emmert joined with university presidents to discuss toughening sanctions against cheating schools, the NCAA’s leader said he believed the infractions committee should make the harshest penalty an option.

“If, and I say if, we have very unique circumstances where TV bans and death penalties are warranted, then I don’t think they are off the table and I would be OK with putting those in place,” Emmert told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday.

Emmert later said the death penalty, which prohibits a school from competing in a sport, should only be used in rare cases. He was quick to distance his comments from the Miami case.

The NCAA has already spent five months investigating Miami and calls speculation about penalties for an ongoing case premature.

“I will say that the university is being extremely cooperative and that is extremely helpful,” Emmert said. “But if, and I underline the word if, the allegations are true, that’s extremely disappointing.”

This is also being discussed on the SFN Forums. Now go win that Walmart gift card!

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29 Responses to Miami: “Willful violators?” (Updated 8:15pm)

  1. pack76 08/19/2011 at 12:20 PM #

    I think they’ve taken the death penalty off the table. Maybe it needs to be put back on the table. Sounds like a really bad situation for Miami.

  2. wolfpacker 08/19/2011 at 12:26 PM #

    Good thing paul davis left before all this started…he did a good job of cleaning up the program. LOL

  3. MrPlywood 08/19/2011 at 12:29 PM #

    Exactly wolfpacker. This has a real Calimari smell to it – the guy who’s not been directly named but who always seems to leave town when the sh*t hits the fan.

  4. IamGumbyDammit 08/19/2011 at 12:41 PM #

    Good thing paul DEE left before all this started…he did a good job of cleaning up the program. LOL

    FTFY

  5. ncsu1987 08/19/2011 at 12:50 PM #

    Oh, hell yeah. If they waive the statute of limitations, I’d love to hear what was really going on at the U when Davis was “cleaning up the program.”

  6. UnclePen 08/19/2011 at 12:56 PM #

    The NCAA’s four-year statute of limitations wouldn’t apply apply anyway because there is a pattern of willful violations that started earlier but continued into the past four years. The SOL doesn’t apply

  7. cWOhLFrPAiCKs 08/19/2011 at 1:06 PM #

    Joe Ovies tweeted this link earlier:

    http://allabouttheu.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/renegade-reporter-spells-out-litany-of-accusations-while-often-failing-to-substantiate-his-claims/

    It’s basically a breakdown of the allegations and the evidence that Yahoo! has presented to support those allegations. Granted, it’s obviously done from a Miami fan’s perspective, but it does cast at least some shadow of a doubt on some of the accusations.

    Namely, he points out that a lot of the “evidence” Shapiro gave Yahoo! was receipts for things he says he gave players, but no proof that he actually gave it to the players.

    Probably my favorite part of this article is a not so subtle shot at Frank Haith:

    “Frank Haith: Full disclosure…I have 7 years of evidence detailing violations Frank Haith made against the game of basketball. None of these are punishable by the NCAA, and Missouri fans aren’t laughing (to all Missouri fans, I am sorry for what is about to happen to your program).”

    I will be severely disappointed if we lose Purvis to Haith…

  8. JSRy2k 08/19/2011 at 1:07 PM #

    Are there ever repercussions for the players involved? They knew the benefits they were receiving violated rules. The number of young people willing to be paid off should be equally disturbing as the ‘adults’ who drew them into the corruption.

  9. UpstateSCWolfpack 08/19/2011 at 1:19 PM #

    I say the ACC dump Miami as soon as possible from the conference, and go get another school worthy of calling itself a member of the ACC.

  10. lupus occidit arietem 08/19/2011 at 3:19 PM #

    So when Frank Haith left left for Missouri everyone though it was a bit of a crazy lateral move to a weaker conf.

    Any chance he knew this could be coming?

  11. El Scrotcho 08/19/2011 at 3:31 PM #

    Had to know it was coming. Hired in April – somewhere in the reports it said the investigation has been going at least 5 months. Also had to be fully aware of Shapiro’s situation and that nothing good would come of that.

  12. packhammer 08/19/2011 at 3:36 PM #

    I just listened to the Robinson interview on DG Show. Indeed, Frank Haith has a lot of questions to answer. I don’t see how he survives in coaching at the Division I level.

  13. lupus occidit arietem 08/19/2011 at 3:37 PM #

    Wonder what his contract looks like at Mizzou? They may have to pay him to fire him since he was clean while he was there…..smart and slimy on his part.

  14. Lunatic Fringe 08/19/2011 at 6:02 PM #

    It will be interesting with Haith, because if Haith is gone then the Mizzou AD will be sure to follow him. The Mizzou AD went all in with the Haith hire.

  15. wolfonthehill 08/19/2011 at 6:10 PM #

    You guys catch that Emmert specifically said yesterday that the death penalty remains on the table? Wow…

  16. john of sparta 08/19/2011 at 6:28 PM #

    +1. agreed. Swofford’s negotiating a Miami-less ACC right now.
    maybe this means we will go back to the original 7, because
    GaT is still in limbo, and the Seminoles want the SEC.
    BC will up their tuition to 50 bazillion and go ND.
    the Gamecocks? consideration after Swofford dies.
    VaT is the best-looking at the dance.
    whatever Gobblers want, Gobblers get.

  17. pack76 08/19/2011 at 7:01 PM #

    Sparta, yeah, S.C. will never happen as long as Swof. is the A.D. Maybe it’s well past time for the ACC to seek a new A.D.

  18. Wulfpack 08/19/2011 at 8:01 PM #

    Those are some strong words. I wish the same tone would be applied to UNC.

    And I’m getting a little tired of this “they (insert school) are cooperating fully”. Really? As if that is such a devine quality AFTER you’ve been busted severely breaking a bunch of rules. I could do without it. Kind of like handing out trophies to every kid that figured out a way to put on a uniform.

  19. Hungwolf 08/19/2011 at 8:23 PM #

    Notice the wording “extremely” cooperate! Haven’t seen that used in the UNC-CHeat case. I guess Miami didn’t run out and hire an attorney to deal with the NCAA. You know a crook that cooperates usually gets more mercy before the court!

  20. pack76 08/19/2011 at 8:46 PM #

    The cheater’s at UNX would never cooperate. That would seem to be admitting guilt. So they hire their own attorney’s to deal with the NCAA and the attorney’s education shows when they get in the courtroom. The one that represented McAdoon’t was pathetic! If he is typical of the UNX graduated attorney’s, their degrees are suspect.

  21. JeremyH 08/20/2011 at 1:39 AM #

    There are a few dozens school, sitting back, laughing, at how sloppy UNC and Miami, and several others, are, at working around the rules.

  22. tuckerdorm1983 08/20/2011 at 8:42 AM #

    the NCAA finds itself at a crossroads. Its house is in a mess.
    They need to take a page from the IRS

    1.Audit players at random (their whole life, income records and lifestyle). For example: why is are you driving a $50,000 automobile?
    2.Audit players for cause
    3.Set up a tip hotline and pay money for tips that pan out. Any accusation must be verified.
    4.Tax the programs to hire an army of enforcement agents

    Set strict penalties for certain offenses.
    1. Knowingly taking pay or gratuities in excess of $100 or having money or gratuities paid on the athletes behalf to others.
    PENALTY -player permanently banned from playing college sports
    2.Knowingly working with agents.
    PENALTY player permanently banned from playing college sports

    That would be a start to stem the tide. You are never really going to get the schools or coaches. They are usually too smart to get involved. This institutional control bullsh** is a hellavu mountain to climb. Take it out on the players.

    All the other offenses like cheating or parking ticket etc be less draconian.

  23. blpack 08/20/2011 at 10:05 AM #

    With Blake knowing the rules, but not caring. Is he a willful violator?

  24. highstick 08/20/2011 at 11:52 AM #

    South Carolina has absolutely no desire to rejoin the ACC…Take it to the bank..and I mean Fort Knox, not BOA.

  25. Cincinnati Wolf 08/20/2011 at 2:34 PM #

    What Miami did is really bad, but unfortunately every barrel of ink and megabit of bandwidth used to discuss the U is that much less available to rail on Carolina.

    As long as this doesn’t reduce the level of justice that the Holes get it is a riveting story. The second it looks like the U has stolen all the oxygen and the will to hammer Carolina then this was bad timing.

    The U case could cause the NCAA to make examples out of all of these schools.

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