Ok, so bama is going to get popped

[Sooner_Havok]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4250596


WTF national communist against athletes, WTF??

[JLEW1818]

The NCAA will reveal later Thursday that the Alabama football program must vacate victories from 2005 through 2007 that included players who improperly obtained free textbooks for other students, the Birmingham News is reporting.

Alabama could be forced to vacate as many as 21 wins under the watch of former coach Mike Shula and current coach Nick Saban, sources at the university told ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach. Citing a source, the News reported the number of wins to be at least 10.

The Crimson Tide will not lose future scholarships, according to the News. The university also will be placed on probation for the second time in the past eight years and ordered to pay a fine, the newspaper reported.

The NCAA alleges the violations began at the start of the 2005 season; the university reported the violations after uncovering them during the '07 football season, when starting linemen Antoine Caldwell and Marlon Davis, running back Glen Coffee and defensive backs Chris Rogers and Marquis Johnson were suspended for four games.

Under NCAA rules, the players would be ruled ineligible from when they first received the "extra benefits" and would have been ineligible until they were suspended and reinstated.

It is not clear which additional sports programs at Alabama are affected. The NCAA's ruling will be announced in a 3 p.m. ET teleconference.

University officials aren't permitted to comment until the NCAA releases its findings. The investigation also included athletes in other sports that the university has not disclosed.

Alabama appeared before the Committee on Infractions on Feb. 20 to answer allegations of potentially major violations involving the improper disbursement of textbooks and "failure to adequately monitor" the textbook distribution process for student-athletes.

The violations occurred during the 2005-06 school year and into the fall of 2007. That left the university subject to potentially stiffer penalties as a repeat violator because the football program was placed on probation on Feb. 1, 2002.

The new case also reopens the five-year repeat violator window.

Saban replaced Shula as coach after the 2006 football season and suspended Caldwell, Coffee, Johnson, Rogers and Davis when the university uncovered the violations. The Tide was 5-2 at that point in the 2007 season and their only wins in the next six games came against Tennessee and Colorado in the Independence Bowl.

The sanctions come at a time when Alabama fans were celebrating the program's return to national prominence. Saban led the Tide to a 12-0 regular-season record and a No. 1 ranking last season, before the team lost to Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game and to Utah in the Sugar Bowl.

The university uncovered the violations after an Alabama Supply Store employee realized that an athlete had more than $1,600 in charges for the fall semester of 2007 and alerted university officials. Athletes get free textbooks with their scholarship, but some were accused of getting additional textbooks for other students.

Alabama has changed some of its procedures, including requiring compliance officials to be present when student-athletes pick up their books.

The university has said none of the textbooks or materials were used for profit or to get items not related to academics, and that the athletes involved who still have eligibility remaining have had to pay restitution.

[Sooner_Havok]

The university uncovered the violations after an Alabama Supply Store employee realized that an athlete had more than $1,600 in charges for the fall semester of 2007 and alerted university officials. Athletes get free textbooks with their scholarship, but some were accused of getting additional textbooks for other students.

People, stop self reporting!!! Do what USC did, and continues to do SHUT THE **** UP!

Nothing bad will happen if you just don't cooperate.

[JLEW1818]

damnnn... i was just reading that...... Take all the wins away!!!!!

[Sooner_Havok]

damnnn... i was just reading that...... Take all the wins away!!!!!

That is jacked up. I hope Bamer wins their appeal on this.

[JLEW1818]

i just hate the sec

[Sooner_Havok]

i just hate the sec

I hate them too, but still. Those kids don't deserve to have what they accomplished on the field diminished because a few people broke the rules.

The fans may suck in general, and the media may fawn all over them, but the players can't help that.

[badger]

If they did anything worth a karrrp those years, maybe it would matter!

I mean, didn't even the Pokes beat them in a bowl during that time span?

Isn't that about the time ULM got to them and then billboarded them on their way to their bowl?

How embarrassing. Maybe they should just strike everything from those years off the record... especially the losses to Auburn, heh :D

[rainiersooner]

How embarrassing. Maybe they should just strike everything from those years off the record... especially the losses to Auburn, heh :D

You know, that's a good point! How come only wins get stricken? Technically, they lost with ineligible players too.

Having said that - what a load of crap...I hate the NCAA.

[Collier11]

The whole "vacating wins" BS that the Ncaa keeps trying is crap. Unless it is loss of institutional control, there is no reason to take away victories from any school for the sins of a few idiots.

[Collier11]

Is our probation up this year?

[JLEW1818]

here is what the tide fans have to say!

http://www.tidefans.com/forums/football/88343-tuscaloosa-news-infractions-ruling-expected-today-rapoport-announcement-tomorrow.html

[Sooner98]

Did they say how many of Alabama's national titles won during 2005-2007 will also have to be vacated?

[olevetonahill]

Every school should tell the ncaa to pissuparope
till they have dealt with the lil peters .;)

[sendbaht]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4250596

Poor Bama.....to bad it's not USC

[OU_Sooners75]

I am with Olevet on this one.

If I were running a member institute of the NCAA. I would tell them to **** off and settle the USC case first. Until then, it only makes the NCAA look as if they are not as concerned with the cheating that USC has been getting away with.

Jarrett, that USC Alumni/Booster that talks with recruits at his restaurant, Bush, agents allowed in the locker rooms and free access to players...and judging by what Lane Kiffin is doing at Tennessee...I would also say there is is other stuff going on.

Why should you turn yourself in and get slammed against the wall then hung with a rope if the NCAA is not going to do squat with USC.

Apparently the NCAA has the resources to hand down infractions for text books and has the man power to to handle other crap....

So why not take that manpower and focus on the big dog?

I say, if you self report, the punishment should be at least half of what it would be.

[badger]

Bama's record, like ours, is against us in these situations. USC does not have as much of a track record to worry about as we do.

We had to self-report, lest we get the post season ban hammer again.

USC, on the other hand, as a private school, can drag it's feet, because there's no Phat Phil Fulmer around to report crap (or, you know, successors of His Royal Fattness who threaten to report you to the NCAA during offseason).

Bammer did the right thing... and as I said, it's not like they're giving up much here... no worthwhile bowl wins, no wins over the in-state rival... um... not too many wins compared to some great seasons they've had. Nothing worthy of claiming another championship :D

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Was Fulmer behind this one? ;)

[PLaw]

I hate them too, but still. Those kids don't deserve to have what they accomplished on the field diminished because a few people broke the rules.

The fans may suck in general, and the media may fawn all over them, but the players can't help that.

The interesting thing here is that the kids weren't doing anything for themselves, but trying to get text books for friends. Now, these friends could be driving Beemers or not have two nickles to rub together. My guess is it was the latter.

Boomer

[meoveryouxinfinity]

The interesting thing here is that the kids weren't doing anything for themselves, but trying to get text books for friends. Now, these friends could be driving Beemers or not have two nickles to rub together. My guess is it was the latter.

Boomer

Or.. could they were selling them to friends? for say, half price?

[RedstickSooner]

Couple things: First, this helps point to something which has been true for a very long time. Namely, that textbook prices are insane.

Second, if it were truly just a few bad apples, I could see letting it slide. But they said it was over 100 athletes, didn't they? And the guy that tripped alarm bells had abused it to the tune of over a grand in a single semester.

So, there's snagging one extra textbook for your broke buddy so he can take a class. And then there's grabbing any textbook anyone you know needs and billing it to the university. They're all violations, and to be blunt, if you *truly* are smart enough to go to college (and I'm sure many of us have our doubts about whether or not college athletes are always college material) you should have no problem whatsoever discerning that this is a rule violation.

As to USC, my feelings there are simple. If the university doesn't get something close to the death penalty after stonewalling for years, and more than, what, a quarter million in improper benefits? Then the NCAA is meaningless, and we (along with all the other major programs) should pull out and turn college sports into the new wild west.

Oh, and one last thing. If they really expect, with such a widespread abuse, that none of those players saw a dime from their buddies... Well, I call shenanigans. There's no way in hell. Money exchanged hands. I mean, I rarely even went on a beer run without a couple bucks flying my way for gas.

These textbooks didn't get handed out on this sort of a scale without a couple bucks flying right back towards the players.

[delhalew]

It infuriates me to see this bama textbook crap when the prophylactic posse is driving around in Escalades and tipping big at the titteeeee bar and little peder just rolls on...smell the methane!

You're right redstick, textbooks are crazy expensive. Thats why it takes only a few to reach the thousand dollar mark.

All i've got to say is its about perspective. As in, put this in perspective and quit dicking around with programs while we have serious violations happening in our faces.

[Salt City Sooner]

What I wanna know is, if 'Bama's gotta forfeit a buttload of victories, & Florida State's gotta forfeit a buttload of victories,

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/scores107/107272/NCAAF762783.htm

Who won this game? :eek: :D

[Crucifax Autumn]

Good question!

[goingoneight]

People, stop self reporting!!! Do what USC did, and continues to do SHUT THE **** UP!

Nothing bad will happen if you just don't cooperate.

I wonder what would happen to me if I resisted arrest?

I'd probably get a scholarship to UT or something.

[sjt]

When determining the punishment, the NCAA cited that the improper benefits violation involving textbooks at 'Bama began back to the 1960's when when Forrest Gump gave a book to a female student in front of Foster Auditorium.

[goingoneight]

Bama students study Curious George?

[Dr.Sooner]

Bama deserves everything they get. FSU deserves everything they get. USC should get the death penalty. They basically beat us with illegal players. If Bush isn't there USC doesn't win the Orange Bowl. We should have played Auburn where we would have thumped them. We probably would have #8 and possibly #9 if USC does the right thing!

[stoopified]

The thing I can't get past is that FAILURE TO COOPERATE WITH AN NCAA INVESTIGATION is a violation in and of itself(or at least it used to be),so why hasn't USC gone down for that at the very least?

[Collier11]

they like to lump them all together is all I can figure?