The reason Miami won't get the death penalty is spelled S-M-U

In case you are living under a rock, which may not be a bad thing given this Hellish heat, you may have missed the chaos of cheating, strippers and great non-NCAA fun at Miami. This Yahoo Sports report really opens the ball on this.

Basically, here is the story: A jock-sniffer with a lot of money sprayed it on college UM athletes to feel cool, now this guy is busted and he's exposing all of it. By NCAA law, this is ugly stuff. Like Death Penalty stuff. But that is never going to happen.

Called an old friend today, the great Kent Johnson, who now works at West Texas A&M in that athletic department.

He was 25 in 1985 when he was an assistant sports information director at ... SMU, of course. His rationale is spot on why we will never see Miami, or any program ever, receive the death penalty again is because of the unforeseen damages it caused to all of SMU. 

He was there that April day in 1987 the NCAA announced the program was dropped. This is how he recalls some of that experience:

"Up until the day of that ruling was announced we thought the NCAA was going to take away SMU's non-conference schedule, and no post-season games. We were going to just play Southwest Conference games. That would have been pretty radical. When (NCAA chief) David Berst announced no competition in football at all, it was the opposite of thunderstruck, it was deathly silent except the click of cameras. No one knew how to react. It wasn't sadness or anger, it was complete bewilderment that that was the verdict."

Johnson said as a result of SMU losing football about 35 people lost their jobs within the athletic department. His job was eliminated, and he wound up at Tulane with a young football coach named Mack Brown.

Johnson is of a mind that SMU will remain the eternal case study why there will never be a Death Penalty again.

"The NCAA thought that it would serve as a detriment to schools and that it would remind them to toe the line. I don't think the NCAA realized how long it would take for a program to recover," KJ said. "It hit them on the field, but it really hit them in enrollment, which really hurts a school."

The NCAA has had dozens of chances to Death Penalty a program since SMU. Kentucky basketball, Ohio State football, USC football, and on and on. It's not going to happen. Those are the schools that make the cash. That's what Miami does.

Expect scholarship reductions. Expect post season bans. Expect a few people to get fired.
Just never expect another Death Penalty. 

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
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Comments

[BHS_SPORTSGUY]

Good column Mac!

[cyplan]

That may be, but since everyone has assumed that for some time now (there won't ever be another death penalty given), schools are allowing this kind of activity to go on. Perhaps this would send the message that- if it's bad enough- the death penalty lives.

[Doc]

Wrong, Mac. The cases you cite are small fry compared to Miami. 72 players, 6 coaches, complete lack of institutional control over 10 years. Moreover, the piece included tons of corroborating evidence and half a dozen players have also corroborated the story. On the heels of everything that has been happening lately, the NCAA has to kill this program. It's a repeat offender. It will take 3 years. Miami is the straw and college football is the camel.

[Galloway's Horse]

Death penalty was intended for repeat offenders, not degree of offenses.
Also "that April day in 1987" is a factual error. The announcement came on February 25th. Look it up.

[Ron Meyer]

Miami is as innocent as we were at SMU. Let the kids play

[Iron Horse]

My dad played for SMU and my brothers and I dreamed of playing there. He graduated HS in 87 and I in 89. Went to Tech and TCU because SMU had vanished. It still hurts.
Is it ironic that Beebe is now heading up the Bevo 12?
PS drink lots of water Big Mac

[Norton T.]

I agree with Iron Horse. Not many people remember how special SMU Football was. As a kid, I saw SMU football as 'the little school that could'. They struck me as so good, so hard charging. When it was my turn to go to college I considered them heavily and it was their football program that got me to look at the school. I wish they hadn't instituted the death penality their. I agree they had to be punished hard, but I wish they could have done it a different way.

......strangely enough, i hope Miami gets the death penalty (and texas but mostly because of that stupid long horn network)

PS
i drink the Big Mac cool aide as well. Keep blogging baby!

[Jack C.]

Get over it people. Miami NEEDS the death penalty. The program has done far worse then SMU ever even thought about

[Ronnie]

The NCAA is gutless. They'll never give the death penalty again and they will certainly never give it to Miami or any other cash cow.

Miami will get punished but bottom line; they make to much money to put them on the 'outs' for forever

[JJ]

It's sad about SMU. I remember the good ole days when SMU football meant something. It was fun, great for the area, and it was a little school bucking the system. Miami deserves far worse than anything SMU ever got. It's a joke if Miami doesnt get theirs.

[SMU Fan]

Miami deserves the same penalty. It will be tough to recover, however, that is one of the consequences of abhorrent behavior.

[Jane Tristoniste]

I agree with SMU Fan. You behave badly and you should have to pay the price. Miami needs to sleep with the fishes.

[Tony E.]

No death penalty, punish the joker who supplied the opportunity to the athlete to do wrong.

[Jayne]

Insane. How does this type of behavior continue. Miami NEEDS the death penalty. College Football needs the death penalty. Craziness. Stop the madness

[Lynne C.]

The system has to change. You probably have to hold Chancellors, AD's, and coaches responsible. I don't see any other way to correct the problem

[FrogFan]

I heard the NCAA was going to punish Miami by telling a few players that they would be suspended for a few games next year...kind of like Ohio State.