Article Courtesy of: Scott Lockett

The recent problems at Ohio State, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, University of Michigan and a number of other schools has brought the problems of college athletics into the forefront. Scandals like these have been taken place on a regular basis for well over 30 years. One school in particular, Southern Methodist University, its football program was given the “death penalty” by the NCAA in 1987 (a one year ban from competition) for its repeated violations during the early 1980s.

This article will point out who can really hurt an athletic program and how they can do some serious damage to it.

Who: Boosters

These folks are either graduates of the college/university or has strong ties to the school. They donate their time and/or money to their Alma mater so that the school can do well academically and in athletics as well. For the most part, they make sure that the athletes perform well not only in the classroom, but also on the field or court. Plus, they are a second family to the athletes because they provide support for the players by giving advice and help them out once the athlete’s playing eligibility days are over.

How they mess up a program:

However, there is a certain element of folks that give boosters a bad name because they are really shady. These guys are not graduates or do not have any real ties to the college/university at all. As a matter of fact, they are just a fan of the school, just like you and me. These guys like to maintain a close relationship with an athlete, First, they meet the athlete by giving dollar handshakes. Here’s the setup: Once shaking hands with the booster, the athlete notices either a $10, $20, $50, or $100 bill in the palm of their hand. Then, they give the athlete their business card and say these cryptic words to them: “If you need anything at all, just let me know and I will give it to you.” Anything means everything you can possible think of, such as money, cars, clothing, jewelery, picking up the tabs for lunch/dinner along with some extreme items like trips and paid escorts (yes, if does happen!)

In the old days, these “boosters” would get away with this type of action because everyone kept this a secret. Well, we are living in the digital age now, which means that anything can get post online at anytime. So, it’s no surprise that an athlete would spill the beans to confess what took place between them and the “booster.”

WHO: Family and Friends

Family and friends are an athlete’s biggest and strongest support system. They have been there in the beginning ever since the athlete started playing sports either as a kid or teen. The family and friends provide support when the athlete performs well and as words of encouragement when the athlete has a bad game.

How they can mess up a program:

Somehow, there’s always one person that can break through the inner circle “That Guy” Yes, “that guy” is someone who is a friend of a friend of a friend of someone in the inner circle. The goal of this outsider is to provide favors to the athlete (money, cars, clothing, jewelry,etc.) at anytime. However, the outsider expects payback once the athlete turns pro and signs a contract worth millions of dollars. Unfortunately, the athlete turns pro and pays back the outsider, but what they don’t know is that the NCAA already knows what was going on and punish not only the outsider but the college as well. However, the athlete doesn’t receive any punishment at all.

Who: Local Businesses and Corporations

Local businesses and corporations has a strong partnership with college and universities sports teams for many years. The businesses would encourage their customers to attend the school’s home games and support the team and in turn, the school would provide ad space around the stadium and have both their flagship radio station and television station promote the business. It’s a win-win situation for both parties involved because each one can make money and build its own brand at the same time.

How they can mess up a program:

Apparently, having their business being promoted around the stadium, on the radio, television and in newspapers are not enough for some corporations. They want to have a close relationship with the athlete(s) and one way to do that is doing special favors for them, such as give them free gifts under the table. The feeling is that no one is going to know because it’s between the business and the athlete.

Who: Athletes

There are two goals that a student athlete must accomplish while in school: 1) Graduate and 2) Win a championship, or at least, have a very competitive team. An athlete must work hard in the classroom and on the field/court. There are a number of student athlete who end up on the Dean’s List and become Academic All-Americans for their work in both areas. Athletes would not even think about messing up they eligibility by doing some dumb stuff to jeopardize the athletic program.

How they can mess up a program:

An athlete can bring down the sports program quick by breaking any violation you can possibly think off. These violations include such as: accepting gifts or money, talking with an agent; talking to any associate with a professional team while as a student athlete; pay other students to either take tests, write papers, or do class projects for them; persuade instructors or teacher assistant to give them credit for attending class; or point shaving, where they perform badly on purpose to take part in a bet. In many cases, the athletes keep this a secret, but sooner than later someone (students, teachers, paid informants, etc.) tells the media about what’s going on and the next thing you know, a scandal has been born.

Who: Coaches

A coach is the leader of the team. Also, they are a second father to an athlete (or a reality in today’s world, the father that an athlete never had.) Plus, A coach is also plays the role of the team’s therapist, counselor, judge, jury and executor when it comes to the team rules. Their goal is to see that their players graduate from school and hopefully turn into professional athletes. They would always be there to help a player out with whatever the problem is either on the field/court or on a personal level.

How they can mess up a program:

Now, you would think that a coach who not put themselves in a spot where the athletic problem goes on probation or worse, but it does happen. One way is lying to officials about any recent violations or problems that took place in the program. It is best for a coach to come clean and tell the truth about what happened because the cover up is always worse than the lie.

Another way is cheating. Coaches must always run a clean program. But then, you have coaches who engage in gambling where they exhibit questionable coaching decisions and lose their games on purpose so that can cover a bet. Lose one or two games, fine. But when you look like you are taking a dive every single game, a red flag should go up and the investigation will begin immediately.

A third and final way is the recruiting policy. Colleges and universities set a timetable when coaches can talk to recruits and when they cannot contact them at all. Once the schools set up the date, coaches cannot contact any new recruits by telephone (phone call or text message); by mail; by e-mail; by the use of social media (Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Skype, etc.); video conferencing or even by a face-to-face meeting. Normally, coaches follow the policy and wait until the ban is lifted. However, there are some coaches that just can’t wait to talk with the new recruits and they might invite them to a social gathering (Ex. birthday party, a cookout, a get together at the coach’s house, etc) for a meet-and-greet. Look, if the school tells you not to talk to any of the new recruits, don’t do it. Just wait it out and once the school says that it is okay, go ahead.
Final Word

Everyone that follows college sports should always show their support for the team. But as a fan, don’t go too far to the point where the obsession is so strong that you’re willing to do anything for the team to win. Don’t do it!