NCAA Scandals: Chapter 1 – The Early Years

The NCAA and college athletics have more recently made an argument for play
compensation. As this goes against every rule in college athletics to keep the amateur status of
the athletes, it seems the free ride to an institution of higher learning simply isn't enough for
today's young super stars. Student athletes on football scholarship receive free room and board,
tuition paid, travel expenses, and a $200 a month allowance for personal items. In today's high
pace, high paying society it just simply isn't enough in the world of college sports, mainly
football and basketball, where are superstars that can't wait to be paid, something must be done
to stop the cheating. A payment plan must be put into place to keep the institutions and the
players out of trouble.
Today's college football game is a billion dollar industry. This industry pays millions a
year to coaching staffs, athletic directors, and huge renovations and additions on to campus'
athletic departments. Why can't the players get a shot at this cash? In College athletics you are
recruited to play for the university and in football you cannot go pro right out of high school so
this rule makes you attend college as kind of a try out for the NFL. If you are recruited to a
university you get a few perks especially at the biggest schools you'll get a chance to attend a
great college for free, free room and board, free access to best training facilities, and a promise of
a great coach to help you to be ready for the next level. Somewhere along the way, the college
kids recognized there super star status in the community. A lot of alumni and community big
wigs would pay to get them there. Paying college athletes under the table has been happening
since almost the beginning. People like to have a leg up, and in America a leg up will cost you;
from Auburn in the 1950s, SMU’s death penalty, Miami, USC, and Ohio State all of these and
many more have been accused and most time caught paying players. Sometimes it isn't the
university but the athlete who is greedy and to blame. Reggie Bush, Cam Newton, and most
recent, Johnny football himself, Johnny Manziel, or as they are calling him now Johnny Scandal,
top the list of the nation’s newest high profile cheaters, all of which are Heisman Trophy
winners.
It seems high pressure and high profile players are the first ones to check out for the
cheating, best colleges for athletics didn't get there it seems from hard work and sacrifice but
who got away with transactions to high school students in there recruitment. Something must be
done as strange as it is the NCAA must figure out a compensation program for this epidemic.
Colleges can't be free to spend what they want for players because, the fairness will be gone and
it'll be only the best and biggest colleges that would get every player. It has to be simply even
across the board for scholarship players, if the payment plan is performance based they might as
well go pro right out of high school. A possible solution I have come up with is implementing
student athletes into the work study program that all colleges have already in place as student
athletes cannot hold a job while on campus. Have them get paid the same as current work study
students, call it $9.00 an hour, have the player’s clock in and out for practice, games, and film
study sessions. Have the money comes from the athletic department, and put a weekly hour limit,
so no leaving players clocked in for extra cash. Let them keep their scholarships, room and
board, and travel paid but, eliminate the monthly allowance and implement the payment plan.
This is a very radical change to college sports; however it is a change for the good.
"On May 2, 1956, the NCAA infractions council hit Auburn football with the most severe
sanctions given to any school in short history of rules enforcement committee. An Auburn
assistant coach gave $500.00 each to two twins to entice them to go to Auburn." (Williams)
Auburn would eventually go undefeated 10-0, and be declared the National Champions, however
that would come with an asterisk. Auburn had to forfeit all three wins that season due to the
sanctions. Southern Methodist University, from as early as the mid 70's to 1986 the NCAA
uncovered the slush fund for SMU. This slush fund was set up to pay their players under the
table through donations by their alumni and high society fans. In these years SMU dominated
college football winning 2 National Championships, several winning seasons, and bowl wins.
"Southern Methodist University football program, the most punished in NCAA history, received
the harshest sanctions ever - including suspension for the 1987 season." (McNabb) This was
known as the death penalty they lost their whole season, staff, and football team and to this day
26 years later hasn't recovered from the penalties. "Back in 2010, it took nearly two months for
investigations to determine Georgia star A.J. Green sold his game jersey for $1000.00 to a person classified as an agent." (Mandel)

Chapter 2 – Repeat Offenders .

The University of Southern California, The Miami Hurricane, Auburn, Ohio State
University, and the newest Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel are all on top of the cheating lists
today. "The latest scandal in college sports involves Johnny Manzeil of Texas A&M. ESPN has
reported that the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner was paid to autograph hundreds of items." (Berri)
This shows how bad it has gotten in college sports considering his family has a small fortune and
didn't deny him any of it, so even the wealthy players want a piece of the pie for their
performance. "It seems odd that Manzeil could be banned from playing football for earning
thousands of dollars. After all, as Michele Steele of ESPN reported last December, schools can
earn millions of dollars from one of their players winning the Heisman." (Berri) This has really
gotten out of control with these athletes and there under the table activities that are not becoming
of a student athlete, where the term student is supposed to come first. "By contrast, Sunday's
ESPN report on the NCAA investigation whether Manzeil may have collected a "five figure flat
fee" to sign autographs while attending January's BCS championship game has immediate and
potentially drastic implications for the upcoming season." (Mandel) This happens more and more
every year it seems with the high profile programs. "Much like the Cam Newton pay-for-play
scandal three years ago, a great segment of the public has likely already made up its mind that
Manzeil is guilty." (Mandel) The Cam Newton case was especially strange, if not genius, Came
Newton’s Father solicited the institutions for large sums of money and placed cash in his own
account, that way the NCAA had no jurisdiction over the father and could not suspend Cam
Newton for accepting illegal benefits seeming he did not get any of the money directly. Later
that year Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy and a National Championship with the Auburn
Tigers.
In 2002 to 2010 The U "Miami," was back in the public eye with their latest scandal.
"NCAA officials visited Miami this week to investigate allegations made by a former booster,
Nevin Shapiro. Shapiro said he gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to Miami players
and the service of prostitutes and entertainment at his million dollar homes and yachts."
(Thamel) This was covered 72 players, loss of scholarships, 2 bowl banns, and suspensions. Ohio State is one of the most storied programs in college football, a long history of winning and
excellence. "The NCAA hit Ohio State with a one-year bowl ban and other penalties on Tuesday
for a scandal that involving eight players taking a total of $14,000.00 in cash and tattoos in
exchange for jerseys, rings, and other Buckeyes memorabilia. Tipped to the violations, then
coach Jim Tressel failed to speak up." (Carbone) One of the harshest penalties given to anyone
and to an institution is University of Southern Cal. and Reggie Bush. "The NCAA threw the
book at storied Southern California on Thursday with a two-year bowl ban, four years'
probation, loss of scholarships and forfeits of an entire years games for improper benefits to
Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush dating to the Trojans' 2004 National Championship."
(NCAA delivers postseason football ban) Reggie Bush is the first and only player to ever win
the Heisman Trophy and had to return if and forfeit winning the award after NCAA violations 4
years later.
This new system of payment may call into question the integrity of College athletics and
the future of the sports direction. If the NCAA picks up a payment plan the option to go pro right
out of high school and forego their required 3 years of college to be drafted into the NFL should
be implemented. There would be a lot fine tuning of the rules so everything would fall under
proper rules and sanctions. The NCAA will eventually have to do something to change the
current system for the better, it won't stop the under the table money exchanges for superior
athletes but, it will greatly lower them to where multiple programs are not being brought up on
charges every year. This year the players from Mississippi State, Alabama, and Tennessee have
been involved in a huge scandal. “Five Southeastern Conference football stars violated NCAA
rules by receiving extra benefits prior to completing their collegiate careers, a Yahoo Sports
investigation has found. University of Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, University of
Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray and defensive end Maurice Couch, Mississippi State
University defensive end Fletcher Cox and wide receiver Chad Bumphis." (Robinson) The
athletes all received a combined $92,005.00 in illegal benefits in the 2012 season some of them
went pro and escaped the suspension but, two of the players have to deal with the suspensions for this year. (Robinson) Many people around college football say the transition to paying players is wrong which maybe; but, the enviable will happen whether illegal funds or paid by the
institutions themselves payment of student athletes will happen in this day and age. Top 10
reasons why college athletes should not be paid, contract disputes, sends a bad message,
recruiting won't exist, what level or division does to end, it's not what college is about, what
about high school athletes, who's going to pay for it, others won't get paid as well, which athletes
get paid, and they already receive money. These are the concerns that Yahoo Sports Analyst
state. (Salvadore)
Other people have suggested an endorsement plan. This plan would make it to where your
student athlete status stays in the same with no pay. Taking the restrictions off endorsements is
the best way to pay the student athletes for their production. They work hard on the field and
media, clothing, and sports companies could get involved with the student athletes to using in
their advertising much like many NFL stars do. Colleges could hire a student athlete agent to
handle the player’s endorsements. In this plan the colleges are not paying them to play and they
are not being paid to play, just rewarded for exultant performance and would probably drive
players to compete harder for the extra rewards of a super star. These endorsements and harder
play to achieve them only makes games better, helps there draft status go up, and preserves the
amateur status of the players and colleges.

Chapter 3 – Sportsmanship Dead?

The NCAA investigated if Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel was paid for signing
hundreds of autographs on photos and sports memorabilia in January. Reports surfaced that the
Texas A&M quarterback agreed to sign memorabilia in exchange for a five-figure flat fee during
his trip to Florida for the National Championship. “Sources said they witnessed the signing,
though neither saw the actual exchange of money. Three sources said Manziel signed
photographs, footballs, mini football helmets and other items at the request of an autograph
broker named Drew Tieman. Two sources, who are aware of the signing arrangement, told
"Outside the Lines" that Tieman approached Manziel on Jan. 6, when he landed at Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to attend the game between Alabama and Notre
Dame the next day.” (Rovell and Gubar) It was stated that before Manziel left Florida, after
taking in the title game, he signed hundreds of autographs more. If the NCAA investigation
found that Manziel has violated (NCAA Bylaw for accepting money for promoting or
advertising the commercial sale of a product or service) (NCAA.com) he would be ineligible.
“A&M has responded to questions about Manziel and autographs before. On March 6, when
ESPN.com contacted the school's compliance director, David Batson, to address a slew of
Manziel-signed items that had flooded the memorabilia market, Batson provided a statement:
Johnny has indicated on numerous occasions and, once again earlier today, that he has never
been compensated through cash or other benefits or promises of deferred compensation for
providing his autograph," (Rovell and Gubar)

College athletes are asked all the time to sign autographs in public places, and those
autographs often end up for sale, the amount of Manziel product that flooded the memorabilia
market overall following the BCS title game was overwhelming, according to memorabilia
dealers. “While Manziel's father, Paul, had alleged that many of the items were fake, two of the
leading autograph authentication companies, PSA/DNA and JSA, have authenticated many of
the items. Officials with both companies have told ESPN in recent months that they stand by
their guarantee that they believe the signatures, some with inscriptions like "Gig 'Em" and
"Heisman '12" are genuine. Online verification databases show a single lot of 999 signed
Manziel photos numbered sequentially. JSA authenticated 248 items and 376 items that came in
in two batches that also are numbered sequentially. Industry insiders say this indicates the
signings were done in large quantities intended for wholesale.” (Rovell and Gubar) The first year
in the SEC, Manziel led the Aggies to an 11-2 record and a top-five finish in the AP poll for the
first time since 1956. Manziel's offseason antics drew heavy media scrutiny. He was spotted in
the front row at NBA games, hanging out with rappers at bars, and has written various headline
starting tweets, including one in which he said he couldn't wait to leave College Station, and He
also was sent home early from the Manning Passing Academy.
One of the biggest offenders to hit the college football landscape is Jameis Winston. The
woman who accused Jameis Winston of raping her in 2012 filed a civil lawsuit Thursday against
the former Florida State quarterback and projected top NFL draft prospect. “Kinsman's attorneys,
David King, Baine Kerr and John Clune, are seeking damages greater than $15,000, as well as
any "further relief as the Court may deem just and proper," according to the lawsuit.” Jameis
Winston ... has proven time and time again to be an entitled athlete who believes he can take
what he wants," Clune said in a statement, via The Times. "He took something here that he was
not entitled to and he hurt someone. There are consequences for that behavior and since others
have refused to hold him accountable, our client will." (Butt) The girl he assaulted said that
during a cab ride back to Winston's apartment in 2012 that she was raped by Winston in his
bedroom. In the lawsuit, she claims that a teammate of Winston's at Florida State, interrupted the
alleged incident and stopped it from happening. Jameis Winston has said he has done nothing
wrong and has said they had consensual sex. The girl also filed a federal lawsuit against Florida
State alleging the university violated the laws in regards to how it handled her case. Florida State
investigated the matter following the state attorney's decision to not press charges against Jameis
in violation of the school's code of conduct. The suit also says a second woman alleged she was
also sexually assaulted by Winston. Winston declared for the NFL draft following his redshirt
sophomore season in 2014, which ended in a semifinal loss to Oregon in the first College
Football Playoff. Many analysts have projected him to go first overall to the Buccaneers in this
year's NFL draft. Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston was issued a citation Tuesday for
shoplifting crab legs from Publix, according to multiple sources.
Winston, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, is a red-shirt sophomore for the Seminoles.
"He got an adult civil citation," a trusted source inside Tallahassee Police told Tomahawk
Nation. "If he completes the sanctions it will never show up on his record. They commonly give
them to juveniles on first criminal offenses. They are now doing it for minor misdemeanors for
adults to lower crime rate." (Elliott) Jameis Winston threw the winning touchdown against
Auburn in the National Championship in the closing seconds. “In November, the associated
press reported that Winston was questioned about his involvement in a long-running BB gun
battle, and that a Burger King reported Winston was stealing soda in a ketchup cup, he has also
been in trouble for standing up on tables at the cafeteria and shouting swear words that were
derogatory towards women.” (Elliott)
Some people say to pay the players but the problem of paying players and horrible
behavior of players will not go away. With all the rules violations and scandals going on
throughout college football is getting worse and worse as the years go on. Many solutions are
being proposed but, nothing has been put on the table that satisfies the NCAA or the University.
In the billion dollar industry that is college football, how much will be spent on the students
since so much goes to the coaches, programs, and TV stations. So many infractions have been
handed out over the years to so many institutions that the problem has escalated out of control.
The high profile player’s integrity has gone down the drain the heroes of college football might
be behind us. It seems even college football’s most coveted awards and championships are in
jeopardy of being an asterisk and forfeited due to cheating. A plan must be put into place to save
the integrity of the sport of college football for everyone.

Chapter 4 – Still Hope

It seems like these days there are no hope for our amateur athletes, however some people
still look to the past icons of the sport for inspiration to keep on believing. Somewhere they will
find a solution to bad attitudes, scandals, and trying to cheat the system and get ahead before
they even reach the professional ranks. Wither it be Time Tebow, the Christian with a mission to
show God is in all of us and be at the top of his game, Bo Jackson, the Auburn tiger who can win
at anything and probably the best athlete the world has ever known, Doug Flutie, who showed no
matter what your size you can do anything, or Archie Griffin, who won an award twice that most
couldn't dream of even holding once, all of the heroes that inspire us fans need to turn away from
the superstar that has no respect for his abilities but the guy who works hard and still goes out of
his way for others, not focused on future pay checks.
Bo Jackson is a larger-than-life figure, especially for Auburn Tiger fans. A former three
sport star at Auburn and the first professional athlete to become an all-star in two major
American sports, Bo Jackson's legacy and character is a living, breathing, real man, and lastly an
athlete. “One of the better stories relating to Jackson was told several years ago, well after
midnight, in a seedy Birmingham bar. The individual telling the story his name is forgotten; it
was a late night in a bar, after all had the appearance of a man who often found himself in dark
watering holes long after nine-to-five types were in bed, and to be honest, conversation with him
was a little depressing. This was a man whose claim to fame was a few summers in the early 80's
spent serving as bat boy for the Birmingham Barons. He was an Alabama fan, and like many
Alabama fans, he hated Bo Jackson. But, the highlight of his time as a bat boy at least, the way
he liked to remember it came thanks to Bo Jackson. Bo gave him a story that he loved to tell, and
judging by the theatrics that night, he had told it many times before.” (Fuhrmeister) Bo is one of
those athletes who is irreplaceable to a generation of young people and his legacy will fade but
never be replaced.
Tim Tebow is a man more than football with almost St. Hood type character and wanting
to be the best and the best role model, not the biggest Tebow football fan but as a person he is a
role model to us all. Tebow is known for his outspoken Christian faith, the Philippines is where
Tebow preached to schools and villages, and assisted in medical care. At home he has shared his Christian faith in prisons and schools, to church and youth groups, and at meetings and
conferences. Tebow holds a firm stance in favor of faith-based abstinence, and has maintained
his virginity until marriage. An Easter Sunday crowd of thousands in Florida listened to Tebow
in 2012. After being traded Tebow said. "Regardless of what happens, I still honor my Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, because at the end of the day, that's what's important, win or lose. We need
to get back to one nation under God, and be role models for kids," Tebow added. He embodies
what should be the persona of an athlete good person, never in trouble, and great role model
while not sacrificing any skill in the game showing life and football can be the same with the
same reward. At the end of his college career, Tebow held 5 NCAA, 14 Southeastern
Conference, and 28 University of Florida statistical records. He was the SEC's all-time leader in
career passing efficiency (170.8), completion percentage (67.1%), passing touchdown to
interception ratio (5.5 to 1), rushing yards by a quarterback (2947), rushing touchdowns (any
position) (57), and total touchdowns responsible for (145). Among many mentions in the NCAA
Division-I record book, Tebow is ranked second in career passing efficiency, third in career
yards per attempt (9.33), 8th in career rushing touchdowns, and also owns the record for most
consecutive games in which he both threw at least one touchdown pass and scored at least one
rushing touchdown.
Doug Flutie played football for Boston College, the only Division I-A school to recruit
him, and won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and the Davey O'Brien National
Quarterback Award in his senior year 1984, 2007, Flutie was elected to Canada's Sports Hall of
Fame, becoming the first non-Canadian inductee 2007, Flutie was elected to the College Football
Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, 2008, Flutie was elected to the Canadian Football
Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and in 2009, Flutie was elected to the Ontario Sports
Hall of Fame. Flutie became the first quarterback to win the Heisman since Pat Sullivan in 1971.
Flutie left school as the NCAA’s all-time passing yardage leader with 10,579 yards and was a
consensus All-American as a senior. He earned Player of the Year awards from UPI, Kodak, The
Sporting News, and the Maxwell Football Club. The subsequent rise in applications for
admission to Boston College after Flutie's "Hail Mary" gave rise to the admissions phenomenon
known as the "Flutie Effect". This idea essentially states that a winning sports team can increase
the recognition value of a university enough to make it a more elite school. In addition to his
athletic achievement, Flutie maintained a great academic record at Boston College. Upon
graduating, Flutie won a National Football Foundation post-graduate scholarship. In 2008, Doug
Flutie was honored by Boston College with a statue of him throwing his famous "Hail Mary"
pass outside of Alumni Stadium. His number, 22, has been retired by the Boston College football
program.
Archie Griffin, the man every boy wanted to be, the only two time Heisman winner more
than sports he was a man first, his coach once said he's twice the young man than he is an athlete and would take the young man any day. “Griffin is currently the President and CEO of The Ohio State University Alumni Association. He is also the current spokesman for the Wendy's High
School Heisman award program. Formerly, he served as Assistant Athletic Director for The Ohio
State University and still speaks to the football team before every game.” (ESPN.com/30for30)
Griffin finished fifth in the Heisman vote in his sophomore year and won the award as a junior
and senior. He has been the only NCAA football player to date to win the award twice, a feat that
will be difficult for current players to match. In addition to his two Heisman Trophies, Griffin
won many other college awards. He is one of two players to win The Big 10 Most Valuable
Player Award twice (1973–1974). United Press International named him Player of the Year twice
(1974–1975), the Walter Camp Foundation named him top player twice (1974–1975), he won
the Maxwell Award (1975), and Sporting News named him Man of the Year (1975). Griffin is
also one of two players in NCAA history to start in four Rose Bowl games in a single career.
The College Football Hall of Fame enshrined Griffin in 1986. Ohio State enshrined him their
own Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1981 and officially retired his number, #45, in 1999. He was
inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2007, he was ranked #21 on ESPN's Top
25 Players in College Football History list. On January 1, 2014, Griffin was named the All
Century Player of the Rose Bowl Game during the celebration of the 100th Rose Bowl Game.
These are the guys needed in the sport of college football the heroes not the money hungry
cheat the system rules breakers. You can never completely purify a game the way it should be
there will always be good guys and bad guys but whether it's a payment plan, harsher low
tolerance rules enforcement, or splitting from the NCAA all together a solution needs to be found
to keep college athlete the term not athlete who has to attended college first, people today forget
football is not a degree it's a privilege that can easily be taken away. Athletes like Johnny
Manzeil or Jameis Winston need to be under stricter rules so they don't act on their desire to
break the rules, remembering sportsmanship triumphs and that they will get paid soon enough,
football should be fun before it’s their job.

Works Cited
News Services ESPN.com. “NCAA delivers postseason ban.”
Berri, David. “One More Reason to Pay College Athletes.”
McNabb, David. “Flashback: SMU gets NCAA ‘death penalty’; Worse than Penn State?”
Mandel, Stewart. “Autograph Scandal will follow Manziel regardless of NCAA’s findings.”
SI.com
Thamel, Pete. “Hurricane Players and recruits Accused of NCAA Violations.” NYTimes.com.
Getlin, Rand and Robinson, Charles. “Documents, text messages reveal impermissible benefits
to five SEC players.”
Salvadore, Damon. “Top 10 Reasons Why College Athletes Should Not Be Paid.” Yahoo
Voices.
Butt, Jason. “Sexual assault accuser files lawsuit against Jameis Winston” CBSSports.com
Elliott, Bud. “Jameis Winston cited for shoplifting crab legs at Publix” @SBNRecruiting on Apr.
30, 2014
Darren Rovell and Justine Gubar, “COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEXAS A&M AGGIES” NCAA
investigating Manziel 8/6/2013
Chris Fuhrmeister, Interviewing Bo Jackson, athletic legend and modern hero, @ccfuhr on Apr
26, 2013