OU Pay for Play

[Mexmustang]

The DMN has a major article concerning OU's players "working" for OU booster's auto agency.

Now they have found that 14 players worked for the dealership, eight from the 2006 roster.

A walk-on was the highest paid player working over 40 hours per week during the school year, during the time spring practice occurred.

The booster, former owner of the Big Red dealership was seperated from the program until 2011.

My thoughts:

OU has found a better way around the scholarship limit. Who cares if your on scholarship or not at a state school, if you get paid more that enough to take care of tuition board and of course a new car?

The cheating was widespread 14 players, eight in one season.

The booster receives a five year slap.

OU will probably have drop one of its non-conference games as its only penalty, probably Tulsa, as they are becoming a real threat to upset them one day!

Let's see SMU receives the DP and our boosters have been perminantly banned? Sounds fair doesn't it?

[ponyte]

I must respectfully disagree. The NCAA will take these allegations serious. Once OU concludes its obligatory investigation, and OU imposes its obligatory wrist slap penalty, then the NCAA will kick it into overdrive. The NCAA will investigate East Lower Middle Montana State University's men’s ball room dancing team that received an illegal Big Mac and will give the entire athlete program a five year death penalty. Someone must be made an example and ELMMSU is this year's example. Fear the NCAA and is arbitrary and capricious penalties.

[Mexmustang]

You are obviously right...I'm sorry to go overboard on OU's penalties.

[EastStang]

This year's NCAA target du jour will be University of North Dakota. They ran afoul of the native american mascot rule. They will be slapped hard because they are suing the NCAA over the arbitrary rules concerning these mascots. OU will get an obligatory wrist slap. The only problem is that their basketball program is currently on probation which means that if any sport violates NCAA rules, that make OU eligible for the death penalty in football. Just because they are eligible won't make it so. Remember, OU was the school that led the revolt which led to the BCS and caused the NCAA to lose control over TV money. The pointy heads are scared of OU, but not of UND.

[Mexmustang]

I heard that they were also after two states for naming them after an Indian tribe (Dakota)...bet they don't go after Delaware!

[peruna81]

Please remember that the issue is not just the infractions of the university, but the REVENUE it generates...SMU in the 70's-80's was not a major revenue maker for the NCAA...recent violators ( Alabama comes to mind ) faced harsh penalties, but not the DP for infractions that were in some degree similar to SMU, though not the dreaded "lack of institutional control" and repeat offender creds we had. OU will be given the DP when pigs fly.

As the rules read, we got what was coming to us in the DP. My only furball is that the rule has not been equally applied to other institutions that have exhibited similar behavior since. It will not be applied again, IMHO.

Meanwhile, we continue to operate as if we are still recovering from the DP. It is time to move aggressively past the low expectations that have been set in football, and have Orsini state a bowl is the MINIMUM expectation for '07. We have let coaches go ( Fry comes to mind ) for much less in the past.

end of rant...

God bless Chuck Hixon...

[Ponymon]

We have let coaches go ( Fry comes to mind ) for much less in the past.

I STILL can't believe we let Fry go my freshman year with a 7-4 record and a fantastic team returning the next year. The school's BLUE BLOODS who forced him out must have been totally insane at the time!

[EastStang]

We committed the unforgiveable sin of losing to Virginia Tech that year. Back in those days, Virginia Tech was little more than a 1-AA team. We were also being investigated by the NCAA that year and I suspect Fry was at the least looking the other way. Lastly, everyone in Texas had fallen in love with the wishbone and felt that we ought to be running it as well, especially with Alvin Maxson and Wayne Morris coming back the next year. Fry said, he would not run that offense. They got Smith who had helped design that offense. I agree it was a huge mistake.

[smuwins]

Just because 14 players work there does not mean they were all taking money they did not earn. Do you all not realize SMU has about 10 to 20 that work every year at Sewell??? Are you all calling for the dp for SMU since they have kids working at Sewell?? These types of work programs go on everywhere.

[Mexmustang]

The big difference is that two OU players have already been proven to be paid for work at that dealership that was not done at all.

[Corp]

Then there are those persistent yet unfounded rumors that it might be

equally worthwhile to consider looking into occurrences in Stillwater.

[Ponymon]

Just because 14 players work there does not mean they were all taking money they did not earn. Do you all not realize SMU has about 10 to 20 that work every year at Sewell??? Are you all calling for the dp for SMU since they have kids working at Sewell?? These types of work programs go on everywhere.

There are also a few players working for Guaranty Bank.