Miami didn’t play a football game Monday, but it scored a huge touchdown
with the NCAA by self-imposing a postseason ban for the second
consecutive football season.
The school is awaiting a Notice of
Allegations from the NCAA regarding mainly football players’ involvement
with a former rogue booster who allegedly supplied them with cash,
goods, trips, and covered massive bar and restaurant tabs.
The
investigation is ongoing, yet the school felt like it needed to show the
NCAA how seriously it takes the impending allegations and about
ensuring this never happens again. Self-imposing a bowl ban for
consecutive years, especially when the Hurricanes were poised for a
division title and shot at a BCS bowl with a win over Florida State in
the ACC championship game, should earn the school some additional good
will from the NCAA, particularly as the NCAA has never administered a
postseason ban for longer than two years (aside from Penn State this
season).
Although the NCAA isn’t obligated to follow a school’s
lead, even when it self-punishes, taking such a course of action can’t
hurt. The NCAA , however, never comments on decisions schools make prior
to findings and punishments being levied.
“Schools may
self-impose any penalties they believe are appropriate before going to a
hearing with the Committee on Infractions,” said Stacey Osbourn, the
Director of Public and Media Relations for the NCAA. “The committee then
will determine if it will adopt those as appropriate and whether any
additional consequences are warranted.”
The positive fallout
could serve Miami exactly as it hopes. The intent is to show remorse,
which it clearly has. In addition, Miami wants to lay a new foundation
to appease the NCAA and change its reputation as whole. This will help
in that respect.
That bodes well for the immediate future, even
if scholarship reductions are significant. Consider the similar position
Ohio State was in a year ago. It chose to play in a ho-hum bowl game,
and the NCAA banned it from the postseason this winter.
And
wouldn’t you know, in Urban Meyer’s first season at the helm, the
Buckeyes are unbeaten and in contention to play for a national
championship. Instead, they can’t go anywhere.
The likely
financial loss for the Big Ten this season is considerable. OSU’s ban
means the league will get just one team into the BCS. The Big Ten has
been represented by multiple teams in 11 of the 14 years since the BCS
was formed, including every season since 2005. The payoff of an added
BCS bowl has been a boon to the conference, which earned $28.4 million
from the BCS a year ago.
Florida State and Clemson are a combined
three victories from the ACC sending multiple teams to BCS games. The
Canes could be good enough to make a similar push next season.
Miami
officials said Monday morning they hoped that making this announcement
two days after becoming bowl eligible will help the “University to move
forward in the most expedited manner possible.”
While the
possibility of an ACC title is now off the table, second-year coach Al
Golden says his club still has plenty to play for. They can finish the
ACC slate 5-3 and tie for the division crown, plus reaching seven wins
is something the team can build on.
“It’s critical for our
seniors, for them to have weathered what the will have weathered and be
able to have an opportunity to go out like that,” Golden said.
The
decision also means that Georgia Tech, despite its 6-5 overall record,
will represent the Coastal Division in the ACC title game on Dec 1 in
Charlotte.
Miami will be watching, but it will do so feeling pretty positive that its future will only get better.
