Ohio State Buckeyes fans to learn NCAA fate today

We thought this was coming a week or so ago.

It’s finally official—the public will Ohio State University will learn whether the NCAA Committee on Infractions thinks the sacrificial lamb offered by school officials is enough to satisfy the bloodlust of the media.

Late yesterday, Athletic director Gene Smith confirmed that the NCAA would hand down its sentence in a 3:00 pm EST press conference today.

School officials have already been apprised of the sanctions and know what’s coming.

The news comes almost one year after the school held a press conference to announce that it was suspending five football players for receiving improper benefits—including free tattoos and other goodies—from a tattoo parlor owner about to face indictment for drug dealing.

The scandal cost coach Jim Tressel his job. The school self-imposed penalties including two years probation, vacation of all wins from the 2010 season and five scholarship reductions over three years. The public reaction to the school’s offer was swift and indignant.

Officials later learned that they would be charged with failure to monitor—one of the three most dreaded infractions in the NCAA enforcement code—in a rare issuance of a second Notice of Allegations from the enforcement staff. The NCAA almost never issues multiple Notices of Inquiry or Notices of Allegations. It likes all enforcement packages completely wrapped up and placed beneath the tree with a neat and tidy bow.

It will be interesting to see how the league rules today. Regardless of the outcome, expect a fury of stories from all sides, complaining either that the penalties are too light, too harsh, or just right.

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Sources: Ohio State to hear NCAA penalty decision “any day now.”

Two independent corroborating sources tell IBCR that Ohio State University will soon hear from the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions. The committee is expected to announce sanctions stemming from the so-called TattooGate scandal, in which players were found to have received cash and other improper benefits from a local tattoo parlor owner.

“At this point, the Committee on Infractions is just very carefully checking its report. The decisions regarding the sanctions in the case have been made. Consensus was reached some time ago,” said one source. “We should see the ‘day before’ press release from the NCAA any day now. A week. Maybe a bit more. It’s imminent.”

“The unusual step of issuing a second notice [of allegations] and adding the failure to monitor charge complicated the Committee’s work somewhat,”explained the other source, “but they appear to have gotten through it. We’re eager to read the report.”

After a 10-year career, former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was forced out when it became clear that he had knowledge of the improper benefits players received and that he withheld the information from the school’s administration and the NCAA. The school has already imposed a five scholarship reduction and vacated all of the 2010 season’s wins, including the 2011 Sugar Bowl against Arkansas.

The Ohio State case stands out in part because the enforcement process rarely generates more than one notice of allegations and case summary. But it also stands out in that the sequence of events that ended the career of one of college football’s most respected coaches was played before the national media like a Showtime miniseries.

Ohio State hired former Florida head coach Urban Meyer earlier this week to replace Tressel.

It is not known whether the case will result in additional penalties, and it should be noted that the Committee could impose harsher punishment. The additional sanctions could include further scholarship reductions, a post-season ban, fines and show cause orders for Tressel and anyone else found to have been involved in unethical conduct and failure to monitor. However, one of the sources noted that in a cursory review of somewhat similar cases, the schools involved escaped without a post-season ban but that the circumstances in this situation may cause the Committee to… wait for it… abandon that precedent.

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Ohio State officially welcomes Urban Meyer to the Buckeyes

One week after vehemently denying reports that he had reached a deal to become Ohio State’s next football coach, Urban Meyer was officially welcomed by the Buckeyes on Monday afternoon. Meyer could deny those reports all he wanted but let’s be honest—his next coaching gig was set the day Jim Tressel walked out that door.

As also discussed here last week, the romance between Columbus and its Ohio-born paramour has many different plot twists and turns. Not the least of which will be the set of expectations his new bosses have vs. those of the fans. The Associated Press’ Ralph Russo told me that he believes the Ohio State faithful would fit in the SEC perfectly (in terms of expectations and rabid following). In short, Buckeye fans want crystal balls and they want them now.

The NCAA has still not published the Committee on Infractions’ ruling on the Tattoo-trading scandal that rocked the school and cost Tressel his job. The program has offered a five scholarship reduction in its response to the league’s notice of allegations, but many observers expect the Committee to hand down a harsher sentence. I’ve seen estimates of five scholarship a year over three years based on the severity of the offenses.

The pending sanctions, the negative recruiting being used by competitors and at least a one- to two-year period of adjustment to Meyer’s leadership and philosophy mean that Michigan’s win Saturday might be the first of several before Meyer gets the program's feet beneath it.

When Meyer left Florida, he cited a combination of health concerns and family/personal issues as the reason for his departure. The pressure cooker at tOSU is as bad as it is in any school in the SEC, so it’ll be interesting to see how his physical, mental and emotional well-being endures the next two years.

At the end of the day, Ohio State still got the guy they wanted. Without a doubt, they had to hire the best coach available and the guy who knocked down two BCS titles at Florida was, without a doubt, that guy.

Exit question: Should the Columbus Police Department open a new precinct on campus? Or, can we get some odds on the Buckeyes’ chances of winning the EDSBS Fulmer Cup?

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The Urban Meyer – Ohio State romance has many story lines and plot twists

It’s like a dime-store romance novel. It’s on again. It’s off again.

It’s on again?

Earlier this week, former Florida Gators’ coach and current ESPN analyst told the Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley that he hadn’t visited Columbus and hadn’t interviewed for the Buckeye’s head coaching job.

But last night, news reports surfaced that he and the Ohio State powers-that-be agreed in principle to seven-year, $40 million nuptials. It’s a story that WE or Oxygen would drool over, isn’t it? After all, look at the story lines and plot twists, here.

Consider the jilted former lover in Gainesville, left behind by a coach who suddenly resigned, reversed himself, and then resigned for good. That page-turning chain of events was, according to Meyer, brought about first by health and then by family issues. Gator fans were saddened by his departure, but understanding and forgiving. That is, until reports surfaced that Meyer was the leading candidate for the job once held by the disgraced Jim Tressel at Ohio State.

It will be interesting to see how the Gator Nation handles the news if, as so many expect, Meyer and Ohio State finally consummate the relationship and join each other at the altar podium. Parting is indeed sweet sorrow, but it’s only sweet if your paramour isn’t jumping in the sack with the next pretty face.

And, as long as Florida was winning, Gator fans didn’t mind being in contention for the EDSBS Fulmer Cup. (for those of you who think college football coverage should be left up to professionals, the Fulmer Cup is awarded at the end of each offseason to the program with the collectively worst criminal record.)

Somebody should alert Columbus Police Department Chief Walter Distelzweig to let him know that his job may be about to get really interesting, and seeing how Ohio State fans deal with annual Fulmer Cup contention should be a storyline producing free blogging all offseason long.

Consider also the mean, hateful Alabama Crimson Tide. All Nick Saban and his 2009 National Championship squad did was show Meyer that competing in the SEC was a big boy’s job. They made his ass quit and made his quarterback cry. Does he really think the job of winning championships gets easier at Ohio State, where it took gaming the system to keep ineligible players on the field to get its first ever win over an SEC team?

This is another fascinating storyline to be played out--how does Meyer see his upcoming affair with the battling Brutuses? What would the ultimate goal of the relationship be? When he was introduced as the Florida head coach in December 2004, the stated goal was to compete at the highest level and contest for national championships. Meyer did just that—winning two national titles in 2006 and 2008. The goals at Ohio State are just as lofty.

But as Yahoo! Sports columnist (and BCS Anarchist) Dan Wetzel illustrates in a column yesterday, B1G commissioner Jim Delany isn’t thinking on such a scale anymore. In fact, Delany’s decision-making will likely make it difficult for even the B1G’s best to make beaucoup bucks in the BCS, much less compete for all the Tostitos and win a BCS title. A nine game season in the league makes it hard for even Ohio State and Michigan to emerge from the conference unbeaten, a task they are almost certainly required to complete before getting into the big dance. A one-loss Ohio State isn’t getting to the championship game like a one-loss 2006 Florida team did, because Ohio State is in the B1G, not the SEC.

The only way Ohio State gets into a title match is if some sort of plus-one or multi-round playoff is installed. Delany wants none of it and remains the most powerful conference commissioner to oppose it. When the SEC’s Mike Slive and the ACC’s Jim Swofford proposed a weaksauce plus-one system last January, Delany shot it down. This January, Delany will propose that the BCS sponsor only a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. While that would be awful for college football in general, it would be disastrous for an incoming coach who expects his team to win it all and coaches that way.

The plot will only get thicker as the story plays out. Chick flicks are fantasies but this is real, or something.

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NCAA still investigating Ohio State?

Sources tell ESPN’s Pat Forde that the NCAA is still investigating Ohio State University for “other issues” involving its football program.

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Although Ohio State is heading into its meeting with the NCAA Committee on Infractions on Friday, the school's dealings with the NCAA over problems within its football program will not end there.

According to multiple sources, the NCAA notified Ohio State by letter last week that it is still investigating other issues involving the football program. The result could be a second notice of allegations and a second trip through the NCAA justice system.

Ohio State has not publicly disclosed the existence of the letter.

On July 14, the NCAA notified the school that it would not face a more serious "failure to monitor" charge at its hearing Friday, and that there would be no additional allegations beyond what the school was faced with last April. That news was greeted with exultation from Ohio State fans who believed that the worst of the investigation by the NCAA's enforcement staff was over.

But that could prove to be a premature reaction. The NCAA's enforcement department is still at work.

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Forde cites “multiple sources,” meaning he believes he’s done his homework and that the information is solid. If it is, then this would represent a fairly radical departure from standard NCAA enforcement procedure. This is not how that organization typically conducts business.

Enforcement likes a single investigation to be a complete, all-encompassing examination of the school’s athletic programs for potential violations. To my knowledge, they have never worked under the auspices of multiple letters of inquiry or multiple notices of allegations. It creates all sorts of problems, and bureaucrats hate problems. For example, the NOA always references the Notice of Inquiry that launched the investigation and it specifically addresses the matters believed to be potential violations. New violations can always be uncovered between the issuance of the NOI and the NOA, but that too is rare, especially if enforcement did its “due diligence” in the review phase prior to issuance of the NOI and identified all of the issues it wanted to investigate.

The legislation allows them the latitude to issue a second NOA, but the bureaucratic nightmare of differing timelines mean that they’d only do so in extraordinary situations. The fact that they never have (again, to my knowledge) says plenty.

Another angle worth watching is how the university addresses today’s news. Ohio (unlike Alabama), has some fairly strict open records laws and most of the documents you’ve seen in the various news stories were produced by the school after specific requests were made. Forde says the school has not yet released the latest letter. However, in recent months the school has bowed up and refused to provide records requested by ESPN, prompting a lawsuit against the school.

Stay tuned. This one ain’t done yet.

UPDATE: Cecil Hurt tweeted me (in response to my question) to note that the Michigan Fab 5 case was closed in 1997, then reopened in 2002 on new evidence. So while a similar chain of events does have historical precedent, I also note that the Fab 5 case was one of the most notorious.

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TresselPalooza Bombshell: Now it looks like the school lied to NCAA, too (Updated with tOSU statement)

Folks, this is the kind of stuff that gets a school duck-taped to the wall and left as an example of how not to conduct your affairs. According to a report from WBNS TV in Ohio, Former Ohio State Buckeyes Coach Jim Tressel had informed school officials—including the athletic director and university president—that he was aware of the improper benefits scandal that cost him his career in December.

School officials had told the NCAA that it wasn’t aware of Tressel’s attempted coverup until January, and put that in a written response to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations.

The school wasn’t cited for lack of institutional control or failure to monitor, two violations that typically carry harsh penalties. Ohio State wanted the NCAA to believe that the five game suspension already imposed, a vacation of the entire 2010 season and the hari kiri of Tressel would be enough to satisfy the NCAA gods.

But now you’ve got failure to monitor possibly in the mix, and counts of unethical behavior thrown in for good measure. Most reasonable analysts thought Ohio State’s measly offering of voluntary sanctions would be laughed out of the Committee on Infractions hearing next month. That appears a near certainty now, and Buckeye fans can look forward to a long, painful period of wandering through the wilderness.

From the WBNS story:

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Multiple sources told 10 Investigates' Paul Aker that Tressel claimed he verbally disclosed the tip he received about his players' involvement with tattoo shop owner Ed Rife around Dec. 16 to compliance director Doug Archie, Julie Vannatta, Ohio State's senior assistant general counsel, and perhaps others.

…

10 Investigates asked Vannatta about the claim. She said that she is aware Tressel made such a statement, but that it is not true.

The university has always claimed that it did not learn about what Tressel knew until Jan. 13, after discovering e-mails on the topic during an "unrelated legal matter."

Based on interviews with multiple sources who had access to transcripts of Tressel's statement during a Feb. 8 NCAA investigation, Tressel claimed to have told athletic director Gene Smith, Vannatta and Archie of his tip, Aker reported.

The revelation came during an "informal" investigative meeting held by the school following a letter the university received from the U.S. Department of Justice on Dec. 9.  The letter alerted the university that some players had traded their Big Ten championship rings, football jerseys and gold pants, a pendant that players receive from the University for beating Michigan for tattoos.

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The school is vigorously denying the charges in this new story and will likely take that stance to the Committee meeting, citing a lack of proof that Tressel’s superiors knew about problems a month before they “discovered” emails on January 13.

But Enforcement doesn’t need proof. All it needs to do is convince the Committee that Tressel and the school administration were all aware of rules violations, and all participated in a ruse to cover them up.

The black hole in Columbus is growing.

UPDATE: via @BryanDFischer on Twitter, here is the school’s official statement in response to the WBNS story:

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"The university’s filings to the NCAA; Coach Tressel’s formal, written response to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations on July 8; and the NCAA’s own Case Summary received yesterday on July 21 all make clear that when Coach Tressel was interviewed by a number of people within the institution on December 9 and December 16, he did not share his knowledge about the NCAA violation.

As we have previously stated to the public and the NCAA in our filings, Coach Tressel only sought advice from the University in January 2011 -- after the university had discovered e-mails that showed that he had knowledge of the matter and in contradiction to his statements to the University the previous December. That sequence of events is summarized clearly by the NCAA in its Case Summary.

The University categorically denies anything to the contrary, and such allegations are inconsistent with the conclusions of the NCAA and the University.

Any attempt to characterize events differently would be unnecessarily damaging, inaccurate and entirely misleading."

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Ohio State would like to get off lightly—Vacates 2010 wins, no scholarship reductions

Maybe you saw my quasi-prescient tweet this morning. 

Ohio State University, according to sources cited by the Columbus Dispatch, will volunteer to vacate the entire 2010 season—including the 2011 Sugar Bowl—but does not think it deserves to lose any scholarships, nor does it think the school should suffer the indignity of a post-season ban.

Hate to say I told ya so, but. TOLD YA SO!

Truth be told, in the April 25 letter and Notice of Allegations transmitted to the school, there are only two major infractions cited—improper benefits solicited and received by student-athletes, and the dreaded unethical behavior citation of Jim Tressel, who resigned in disgrace in the wake of the scandal.

The school wasn’t cited for lack of institutional control or failure to monitor, two violations that typically carry harsh penalties. Ohio State would like to think that the five game suspension already imposed and the hari kiri of Tressel will be enough to satisfy the NCAA gods.

From the Dispatch:

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Ohio State University is wiping its stellar 2010 football season from the record books as self-imposed punishment for major NCAA violations, sources told The Dispatch.

But it is not suggesting that the team lose scholarships or be banned from postseason play.

The university submitted its response to the NCAA today, addressing allegations that then-coach Jim Tressel lied and allowed ineligible players to compete by failing to report that they had sold OSU-issued memorabilia to a tattoo-parlor owner.

Sources familiar with the university's response also told The Dispatch that Ohio State is admitting major violations of NCAA regulations, but says it should not face harsh punishment because no OSU official other than Tressel was aware of player violations.

In addition to vacating the wins from its 12-1 season along with its Big Ten and Sugar Bowl championships, the university has placed its football program on probation for two years, sources said.

The university also acknowledges that it sought the resignation of Tressel, who departed on May 30.

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Ohio State is scheduled to appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions during its August 12, 2011 meeting. The Committee can levy additional sanctions—including scholarship reductions, post season bans and other appropriate penalties. The Committee may do exactly that—the school admits that it is a repeat offender and that the violations it's copping to occurred during the repeat violator window.

Such status typically results in harsher penalties than those imposed on first-time offenders.

What’s next? I expect a fairly endless parade of mainstream media sportswriters, talk show hosts and bloggers to bring the wood on the arrogance of the Ohio State University. No scholarship bans?  Seriously?

UPDATE: Remember that “hefty” $250,000 fine that the school levied and “intended to collect” from Jim Tressel? Oh, never mind.

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Around the web: What they’re saying about the Jim Tressel resignation

Monday’s sudden resignation of former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel literally rocked the college football world. Here’s a sampling of the shock waves that rippled through the national media and sports blogs.

ESPN’s Ivan Maisel wonders, “Can something be inevitable and surprising at the same time?”

Indyposted.com’s Paul O’Connor explains that When you are the target of an investigative reporter who happens to be the most recent sports journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize and his nickname is ‘the pitbull,’ you are in trouble.

Gregg Doyel says getting rid of Tressel was just a good start, but that it won’t be enough to save them from the mighty hammer of the NCAA.

Paul Newberry of Associated Press thinks a “death penalty” for rogue coaches is a good idea.

Ralph Russo puts it in a business perspective—keeping Tressel would have been too costly.

ESPN’s Pat Forde notes that Tressel and Ohio State only told the truth when damage control was the only option left.

CBSSports.com’s Adam Jacobi asks if the Tressel tenure was ‘worth it?’

To add my own two cents to the kitty: This Sports Illustrated piece from George Dohrmann and David Epstein reveals that Jim Tressel has a long, sordid history of playing ignorant while his players routinely broke NCAA rules against improper benefits.  As long as he was winning and as long as everything stayed under the radar, no one said a word.

It’s hard to imagine that the NCAA Enforcement staff won’t amend the Notice of Allegations it delivered to the school in March to include allegations that the program is/was guilty of the dreaded “lack of institutional control,” which brings a whole new fabric of sanctions into play.

Such a high profile case against such a significant football program doesn’t leave the NCAA much wiggle room on deciding sanctions and if the USC case is any indication, the penalties will have effects that will continue being felt for the better part of a decade. Sanctions are designed to hurt and punish the offenders.

Tressel’s resignation or eventual dismissal was widely expected. Few coaches have survived the Bylaw 10 breach of ethical conduct. But Buckeye fans need to brace for an even harder blow, a blow that will take a decade or more to recover from.

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Tressel hires Lightfoot Franklin mega-lawyer

Give embattled Ohio State Head Football Coach Jim Tressel credit for knowing when to call in the really big guns. Tressel has hired Gene Marsh, the former Faculty Athletics Representative for the University of Alabama. Marsh has also chaired the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions.

He is currently a senior partner at the juggernaut law firm Lightfoot Franklin & White, the same Birmingham firm that represents Auburn Universty, Auburn grad and accused conspirator Robert Geddie and Colonial Bank’s former CEO, Bobby Lowder.

So why did Tressel go to Marsh?

Marsh is a 1978 graduate of Ohio State and has a longstanding relationship with the Buckeyes’ AD, Gene Smith.

Last Friday, Marsh laid down the first gauntlet by telling the Cleveland Plains Dealer that Tressel would not consider resigning.  Should the Buckeyes bad news get any worse—and some media types speculate that it will—they may be in the uncomfortably expensive position of having to fire him.

Of course, if the NCAA issues a show cause order on The Vest, Ohio State gets out of the contract without having to pay a buyout (Tressel would be separated for cause).

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Ohio State receives Notice of Allegations – That was quick…

From BuckeyeExtra.com.

Apparently, the school has not yet released the document, but from from the Dispatch story linked above, it looks like the two most serious lines of jeopardy have been avoided. The Buckeyes were not cited for either “failure to monitor” or “lack of institutional control,” which can bring highly punitive sanctions.

The NCAA alleges that:

Tressel was guilty of unethical behavior by knowingly providing false information to NCAA  staff in in certifying that he knew of no violations by his players and failed to inform school officials.

Ohio State knowingly fielded ineligible players in the 2010 season when starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor and others competed, and Tressel had direct knowledge of their misconduct.

However, It appears to be a near certainty that Ohio State will be forced to vacate every win involving the players who were alleged to have received improper benefits.

Exit Question: How is the fact that Tressel’s superiors were unaware of his knowledge of improper benefits received by four top players not at least a failure to monitor? Did they “know, or should have known” that he was was hiding something?

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