Alabama Ineligible for MNC?

by Displaced Longhorn on Dec 15, 2009 10:13 AM CST

From reader Steve via e-mail, rock solid research and based in fact, but I fear this will likely go the way of the “Barack Obama was not born in the USA so he cannot be President” campaign. But let’s see if we can break down this BC-Mess, shall we? Please forward to your favorite blogs, websites and writers:

It appears that either the USA Today Coaches poll members must re-vote in order to recalculate the final BCS standings, OR The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc. should move up the University Cincinnati’s football team to play the University of Texas football team in the BCS Championship game.

At the bottom of the AFCA page with the Coaches Votes it specifically states:

“The AFCA prohibits coaches from voting for schools on major NCAA probation.”
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/usatpoll.htm

And I think it is very clear they are on “major” probation due to a textbook scandal.
http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/061109aaa.html

Even though they appealed, the infractions are not set aside per below NCAA Bylaw:

32.10.2 – Determinations of fact and violations arrived at by the Committee on Infractions shall not be set aside on appeal.
http://www.ncaapublications.com/Uploads/PDF/2007-08_d1_manual8716ea01-9388-4d68-bb93-2b6ff5ba2e36.pdf

Based on these circumstances, the University of Alabama football team is required receive 0 (zero) points from the USA Today Coaches poll, giving them a recalculated BCS average of 0.6656, thus moving them down to number 8 on the BCS final standings:

http://msn.foxsports.com/id/10485922_37_1.pdf

I know there's no way in hell Alabama isn't going to be facing Texas in the MNC game... but pretty funny to think they shouldn't be allowed there. I wonder if this'll catch on on SEC's new sports network, ESPN?

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we are not on major probation.

nice work posting the equivalent of tabloid trash.

What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.

-Hank Hill

by Zoltar on Dec 15, 2009 10:27 AM CST reply actions

to elaborate “The AFCA prohibits coaches from voting for schools on major NCAA probation” means schools that are banned from the post-season aren’t allowed to receive votes. Obviously Alabama is not banned from the post-season.

What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.

-Hank Hill

by Zoltar on Dec 15, 2009 10:31 AM CST up reply actions

Yep. Alabama only mildly cheated. Wasn't major cheating.

by Hopkins Horn on Dec 15, 2009 10:51 AM CST up reply actions

cheating implies gaining a competitive advantage by breaking or skirting the rules. I wouldn’t even call what happened cheating.

What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.

-Hank Hill

by Zoltar on Dec 15, 2009 11:08 AM CST up reply actions

Gotta agree here.

Now if Bama was telling recruits “hey, you can also buy books for other kids and get $$$” then that would be cheating. As is, just sounds like a few kids found an easy way to make some extra cash.

by ctex80 on Dec 15, 2009 11:13 AM CST up reply actions

Not even extra cash

They said they did not make any money, just helped out their friends to get their books.

by Wells on Dec 15, 2009 8:42 PM CST up reply actions

a likely story

by Displaced Longhorn on Dec 15, 2009 10:36 PM CST up reply actions

What would you call it then?

Just curious. Things like that don’t seem to happen too terribly often in Austin, so we’re not too familiar with the vocabulary nuances. :)

by Hopkins Horn on Dec 15, 2009 11:18 AM CST up reply actions

I’d call it an isolated and unwitting violation of rules which, because of previous incidents, lead to minor penalties.

Juxtapose that with the situation at Auburn a few years back where athletes of questionable academic prowess were given free grades in high level sociology classes for doing nothing. Despite the unusually large number of athletes taking these “independent study” classes, the fact that non-athletes were enrolled was enough to prevent Auburn from getting punished by the NCAA.

This is why I have a problem with people using NCAA sanctions as a litmus test for deciding who is “cheating”.

What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.

-Hank Hill

by Zoltar on Dec 15, 2009 11:46 AM CST up reply actions

I don't think the textbooks thing was a huge issue

Definitely against the rules, and the players deserved to be suspended (and should have been required to pay back for all materials before being eligible for reinstatement), but it shouldn’t have been an enormous issue. I do feel that the Albert Means case should’ve put ’Bama in line for the death penalty.

by burntorangehorn on Dec 15, 2009 12:06 PM CST up reply actions

Was Dismissed - No One Read the Books Anyway

by realmccoy on Dec 16, 2009 5:29 PM CST up reply actions

Referencing "birthers" and "rock solid" research gives this post the pungent smell of inanity.

proud to swim home

by learned hand on Dec 15, 2009 10:38 AM CST reply actions 1 recs

Major?

Personally I feel there are much worse offenses than distributing free textbooks. Interesting thought, though, the wording does seem kind of ambiguous.

by SelimSivad on Dec 15, 2009 10:39 AM CST reply actions

I'm not up for doing my own rock-solid research now, but...

…I imagine there has to be an established definition of “major NCAA probation” in the various NCAA references. I doubt we’d be finding out about this now if Alabama were ineligible for the post-season, or even for getting votes, considering Alabama was a BCS bowl team last year. Really, teams just on the bubble of getting into the BCS last year would’ve been all over this had it had any legs.

by burntorangehorn on Dec 15, 2009 10:49 AM CST up reply actions

http://www.rollbamaroll.com/2009/12/11/1196144/article-claims-bama-ineligible-for#comments

[it] is somewhat sloppily worded. That’s not the text of the rule, it’s a short-hand explanation of a rule. The actual rule does not refer to probation, but to post-season bans.

What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.

-Hank Hill

by Zoltar on Dec 15, 2009 10:57 AM CST up reply actions

too funny lol...

this would be the funniest sports screw up ever if there were any punishment for those minor infractions, we would honestly destroy cinci worst than ou did last year…wer’e playing the right team to finally give the big 12 the respect it deserves, in my opinion ou(with bradford), neb, mizzou &osu would have much better records if they were in the sec…but we get to show the world what happens when the right big 12 team plays for the crystal ball!!

All I want for Christmas is for Texas to move to the SEC and destroy those overrated chumps!!!

by OkcityHornFan on Dec 15, 2009 11:04 AM CST via mobile reply actions

you know what would be even funnier?

if the faculty of the university decided to formally protest about the coaches salary just three weeks before playing that national championship game. that would be a hoot!

Roll 'Bama Roll: The Champagne of 'Bama Blogs.

by kleph on Dec 15, 2009 11:42 AM CST up reply actions

Probably would be

Thing is, though, Mack and his assistants earn a lesser percentage of the total football program take than just about anyone in the country, if I recall correctly.

by burntorangehorn on Dec 15, 2009 12:07 PM CST up reply actions