(To dumb it down a little bit, OSU will not lose five scholarships each of the three years, just a total of five lost scholarship seasons over the three years.)
To give a short summary for what's after the jump, here's a bullet point list:
- Ohio State will lose 5 scholarships over a period of 3 years, starting in 2012.
- It's still unclear whether or not OSU will receive a bowl ban, and must wait for the NCAA final ruling.
- 5 total lost scholarships over 3 years is not bad at all, in our case. That means we'd have classes of 83, 83, and 84 for the next 3 years.
- These sanctions are given to OSU by OSU, so the NCAA can still add on.
From the release itself:
“Over the past three months, our athletics department staff has continued to work cooperatively with the NCAA to conclude our inquiry into the remaining items related to our football program,” said athletics director Gene Smith. “Throughout the entire process since we discovered possible infractions, the athletics department has consistently worked with the NCAA to investigate any allegation, take responsibility, self-report its findings to the NCAA in a transparent manner, and take necessary remediation steps. That is what we have done on this last open issue, and we accept that we should have done more to oversee Mr. DiGeronimo’s activities.
“We look forward to working with the staff and the Committee on Infractions to reach a timely resolution of the case. On a personal note, I deeply regret that I did not ensure the degree of monitoring our institution deserves and demands,” Smith said."
It was also stated in the release that Bobby DiGeronimo, an Ohio State booster, paid a total of 9 active players $2,405, for no particular reason. It seems that there was no real work involved to receive the pay from DiGeronimo.
While this isn't a big deal as far as punishments go, OSU did receive a failure to monitor charge, so it might push it a bit more towards a LOIC, which is as bad as it could get for Ohio State. While I still think there is a good chance that OSU doesn't receive a lack of institutional control, it is still possible.
If you're wondering on how this affects grabbing Urban Meyer, it doesn't. At least, not yet. If the NCAA rules in favor of Ohio State in the case where they follow suit and maybe a add a few lost scholarships, than landing Urban Meyer is still attainable. If we do get a bowl ban, and our worst fear comes to life (NCAA making an example of OSU, LOIC, etc.) then Urban will most likely not be in scarlet and gray anytime soon.
We will have more updates and news as it progresses.
Documents related to Ohio State’s NCAA investigation can be found at http://www.osu.edu/news/ncaadocs/
