NCAA Defines OSU Misconduct/ Tressel Emails Released

• OneBuckeye

  

  http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/04/25/0425-ohio-state-faces-severe-sanctions.html
  

  The NCAA alleges that:
  
  Tressel was guilty of ethical misconduct when he knowingly provided false information to the NCAA in certifying that he knew of no potential violations by his players and failed to inform OSU officials.
  Ohio State fielded ineligible players last season when starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor and others competed despite Tressel's knowledge of their misconduct. NCAA bylaws call for immediate suspensions.
  The NCAA said that Pryor, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, Solomon Thomas and Jordan Whiting will not face further punishment. They have been suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season.
  
  The NCAA letter details what those five current players and one former player did: Improperly sold Big Ten championship rings, "gold pants" charms from Michigan wins, game-worn equipment and other items to tattoo-parlor owner Ed Rife for $9,480.
  
  Players, whose names were redacted by Ohio State citing a federal privacy law, also received 13 free or discounted tattoos. In addition, one player received a $2,420 discount toward the purchase of a used vehicle from Rife, as well as an $800 loan for vehicle repairs, the NCAA reported.
  
  Tressel knew that at least two players were selling memorabilia or football awards to Rife. Those transactions made the players ineligible to compete under NCAA rules, the letter states.
  
  However, Tressel never reported the violations to OSU officials and certified to the NCAA he was unaware of any potential problems.
  
  Tressel said he never informed his Ohio State superiors of the misconduct by his players because he feared for their safety amid an April 2, 2010 e-mail from Cicero reporting that they were selling memorabilia a tattoo parlor under investigation for suspected drug dealing. Rife has not been charged with any crime related to these incidents.
  
  Tressel also said that Cicero requested that the information be kept confidential and the coach said he did not want to take any action that might interfere with the federal investigation. The suspect has not been charged with any offense.
  
  The allegation that Tressel lied to the NCAA is significant. Since 2006, the NCAA has sanctioned 28 schools for violating the ethics bylaw that Tressel did. Of the 13 head coaches involved, only one kept her job. The others either resigned or were fired by their schools.
  
  Since 2004, four universities that are part of the Football Bowl Championship division were penalized by the NCAA for allowing ineligible players to participate in games and for being repeat offenders.
  
  Alabama (football), South Alabama (men's tennis), Arkansas (track) and Southern California (football) each had to vacate all victories in which the ineligible athletes competed. All were placed on probation, but only Southern California was banned from post-season competition.
  
  Tressel, Gee, athletic director Gene Smith and others are being asked to meet with the NCAA infractions committee on Aug. 12 in Indianapolis. At the hearing, OSU will answer questions and explain itself. At some point after that, the NCAA will rule on the ultimate punishment.
  
  In addition to stripping Ohio State of its wins from 2010, NCAA rules allow the organization to reduce the number of football scholarships OSU can award and forbid Ohio State from participating in any Big Ten championship game or post-season bowl game.
  

  
  Facts, figures
  Here are the bottom-line numbers on the transactions between one former and six current Ohio State University football players and Columbus tattoo-parlor owner Edward Rife. Ohio State redacted the names of the players, citing federal student privacy laws.
  
  $9,480: Cash players received for selling awards and equipment.
  $555: Value of two free tattoos and discounts on 11 other tattoos.
  $2,450: Discount on used vehicle a player bought from Rife.
  $800: Loan the same player received from Rife for vehicle repairs.
  $100: Fee a player received for obtaining team autographs on two replica helmets owned by Rife.
  Total: $13,385
  Transactions
  Player A: Sold Big Ten championship ring for $1,000 (April 2009).
  Player B: Sold national championship game jersey, pants and shoes for $1,000 and received two free tattoos valued at $150 (summer 2009).
  Player C: Sold Big Ten championship ring for $1,200 and received $50 discount on one tattoo (June 2009).
  Player D: Sold Big Ten championship ring, "Gold Pants" award and (a redacted item) for $2,500 (May/June 2009).
  Player E: Sold Big Ten championship ring ($1,000), "Gold Pants" award ($350) for $1,350 and received $155 discount on five tattoos. (February to November 2009).
  Player F: Received $150 discount on three tattoos (summer 2009).
  Player G: Sold Big Ten championship ring ($1,500), two "Gold Pants" awards ($250 each), helmet ($150) and pants ($30) from Michigan game and Rose Bowl watch ($250) for $2,430. Received $55 discount on two tattoos. Paid $100 to obtain team autographs on two helmets. Received $2,420 discount on purchase of used vehicle and $800 loan for vehicle repairs. (November 2008 to May 2010).

  Email article here. http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/04/25/0425-more-emails-from-tressel-released.html
• karen lotz

  

  Couple of interesting things:

  The NCAA warned that it could treat Ohio State as a repeat offender stemming from the violations involving former quarterback Troy Smith, who took $500 from a booster and former men's basketball coach Jim O'Brien, who gave $6,000 to a recruit.

  Ohio State fielded ineligible players last season when starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor and others competed despite Tressel's knowledge of their misconduct. NCAA bylaws call for immediate suspensions.

  I thought I read on here that the players weren't ineligible?
  

  Andy_Staples Andy Staples
  
  
  
  Dept. of Irony: Banner on front of tOSU athletics site right now asks fans to BID ON PLAYER WORN JERSEYS.
  

• Fab1b

  

  ESPN just reported this as well.
• Automatik

  

  My friend just texted me saying OSU is more than likely F'd.
  
  Screw you Jim!
• OneBuckeye

  

  karen lotz;749309 wrote:Couple of interesting things:
  I thought I read on here that the players weren't ineligible?

  
  Only for the sugar bowl. Most likely case is NCAA comes down hard on Tressel and takes away all 2010 wins except for Sugar Bowl. There is potential for loss of scholarships but loss of post season games is unlikely since Tressel was the only one with knowlege.
• OneBuckeye

  

  Automatik;749315 wrote:My friend just texted me saying OSU is more than likely F'd.
  
  Screw you Jim!

  
  He needs to take a time out.
• Automatik

  

  Its really sad how this shit all came about and the end result.
  
  Sorry to use the most overused term on this forum but.....what a fucking FAIL!
• dat dude

  OneBuckeye;749317 wrote:Only for the sugar bowl. Most likely case is NCAA comes down hard on Tressel and takes away all 2010 wins except for Sugar Bowl. There is potential for loss of scholarships but loss of post season games is unlikely since Tressel was the only one with knowlege.

  
  Agreed. And I would be thrilled with that result. I would be shocked if Tressel coached another game this year, possibly at all for OSU. Jon gruden and urban would be at the top of my list.
• Automatik

  

  Tressel is a snake...no way around it.
• FatHobbit

  

  karen lotz;749309 wrote:

  Andy_Staples Andy Staples
  Dept. of Irony: Banner on front of tOSU athletics site right now asks fans to BID ON PLAYER WORN JERSEYS.

  
  I saw that today too and thought it was pretty ironic. Did they decide to do that before or after the players did?
• Hamp89

  OneBuckeye;749317 wrote:Only for the sugar bowl. Most likely case is NCAA comes down hard on Tressel and takes away all 2010 wins except for Sugar Bowl. There is potential for loss of scholarships but loss of post season games is unlikely since Tressel was the only one with knowlege.

  
  Why would they not take away the Sugar Bowl win too? The information they have now is quite a bit more than it was at the time they ruled the players eligible to play in that game. It will be gone, imo.
• karen lotz

  

  Hamp89;749339 wrote:Why would they not take away the Sugar Bowl win too? The information they have now is quite a bit more than it was at the time they ruled the players eligible to play in that game. It will be gone, imo.

  
  
  The NCAA allowed the players to play in the Sugar Bowl, so they already ruled them eligible for that game.
• OneBuckeye

  

  Hamp89;749339 wrote:Why would they not take away the Sugar Bowl win too? The information they have now is quite a bit more than it was at the time they ruled the players eligible to play in that game. It will be gone, imo.

  
  No new information is known regarding what the player did since then. Just the knowlege that Tressel knew about it and didn't report it is new.
• LJ

  

  Hamp89;749339 wrote:Why would they not take away the Sugar Bowl win too? The information they have now is quite a bit more than it was at the time they ruled the players eligible to play in that game. It will be gone, imo.

  
  The info on the players is no different.
• Y-Town Steelhound

  

  Everything is pretty much what everyone expected so far, I don't know why everyone is in freak out mode.
• vball10set

  ^^^exactly...I just want the NCAA to rule on their findings, mete out their punishment, and get this thing behind us
• Hamp89

  LJ;749351 wrote:The info on the players is no different.

  
  Right, but now they know for sure that Tressel lied about knowing about it. At the time of the players being ruled eligible, it was thought to just be a player issue. Having the head coach directly involved in the sanctions now could change the NCAA's perception of how they are going to view the 2010 season. JMO.
• Tiernan

  Too late for TP to declare for this weekend's draft? His 3 yrs here have been a nightmare. Don't let the screen door hit your ass on the way out and good riddance.
• LJ

  

  Hamp89;749360 wrote:Right, but now they know for sure that Tressel lied about knowing about it. At the time of the players being ruled eligible, it was thought to just be a player issue. Having the head coach directly involved in the sanctions now could change the NCAA's perception of how they are going to view the 2010 season. JMO.

  
  It changes nothing with the players. 2 completely seperate issues. The NCAA ruled on the players violations before the bowl game. Nothing has changed. You can't play an "ineligable coach". so no issue there either.
• charliehustle14

  Well if OSU gets the bowl ban and/or schollie reduction, I hope they don't waste a year of eligibility on Braxton Miller and a lot of the other recruits.
  
  Dream scenario: If OSU gets the bowl ban and scholarship reduction, OSU ends up handing out as many redshirts to players, both current and incoming, and goes on to curbstomp college football in 2012. And an errant pass drills Mark May in the face during the National Championship as OSU rolls a SEC team 89-3.
• Y-Town Steelhound

  

  Tiernan;749362 wrote:Too late for TP to declare for this weekend's draft? His 3 yrs here have been a nightmare. Don't let the screen door hit your ass on the way out and good riddance.

  
  Yes and no. It's going to be interesting to define TP's legacy at Ohio State. On one end he's going to be most remembered for the tat-gate and almost costing Jim Tressel his job, not to mention being somewhat of a disappointment for being the #1 overall recruit out of high school. On the other end he's going to potentially end his career with almost four years as a starter, possibly 4 Big 10 championships (tied or outright), 4 BCS bowl appearances (which he could potentially be 3-1 or 4-0 if the other quarterback wasn't Colt McCoy), 4 wins against Michigan, and single digit losses as well as a slew of Ohio State records. Historically he's had one of the better QB careers all-time at OSU despite being seen as a disappointment both on and off the field.
• Hamp89

  LJ;749366 wrote:It changes nothing with the players. 2 completely seperate issues. The NCAA ruled on the players violations before the bowl game. Nothing has changed. You can't play an "ineligable coach". so no issue there either.

  
  You can't play an "ineligbile coach", but you can take all wins away from him for lying to the NCAA.
• LJ

  

  Y-Town Steelhound;749371 wrote:almost costing Jim Tressel his job.

  
  If you're an idiot...
  
  Tressel put himself in this situation. All he had to do was shoot an email to compliance. PERIOD. That's it and it's over with. Jim Tressel himself made the decision to not report it. It's no one's fault but his own.
• LJ

  

  Hamp89;749374 wrote:You can't play an "ineligbile coach", but you can take all wins away from him for lying to the NCAA.

  
  There were no ineligable players played in the bowl game.
• Y-Town Steelhound

  

  LJ;749380 wrote:If you're an idiot...
  
  Tressel put himself in this situation. All he had to do was shoot an email to compliance. PERIOD. That's it and it's over with. Jim Tressel himself made the decision to not report it. It's no one's fault but his own.

  
  
  Oh no doubt Tressel handled it poorly...but the FACT that remains that if Pryor and his buddies don't sell their stuff NONE of this happens. That is something that CANNOT be debated. Tressel can't "cover up" something that never happened.