I think the big reason USC isn’t being raked over the coals is that the principals involved in the Bush mess aren’t affiliated with USC. It was sort of private misdeeds — and note, they didn’t pay Bush to go to USC even, they paid his family so he’d hire them as agents when he jumped to the NFL.

Is this quibbling, or do these distinctions matter? I don’t know. But from the perspective of The Masses what matters is whether a program is out of control, or failing its student-athletes, etc. And I don’t think you could say that USC is doing that. Miami back in the day, Florida before that, Alabama and Albert Means, and FSU perpetually? Those were persistent, deep problems with programs. USC and Reggie Bush? Yipping about Urban Meyer talking about a gymnastics scholarship? One-time stuff that doesn’t point to some deeper corruption. But the FSU thing is all about the AD’s corruption, and the Miami stretch of REALLY bad behavior, well, that looked like a program out of control to me.

I am a bit embarrassed every time I look at Randy Shannon and see that scar on his forehead that he received here at the Swamp when one of our students hit him with a garbage can when he was an assistant coach at Miami. There is enough criminal to go around in college sports.

Its how the different schools handle it that separates them.

Look at Oklahoma last year when they immediately dismissed their starting QB when they discovered he was taking money on the side… thats a school that did the right thing, while others try to take a pass.

Just take a look at the whole USC Reggie Bush thing. There is proof that Reggie Bush illegally took money, and the NCAA is looking into it. We all THINK something is going to happen, but that school is still claiming ignorance (…yeah, right). When you recruit these kids and make home visits and see how they live… then suddenly they are driving brand new fully loaded SUV’s and living in mansions… It’s just too hard to credibly claim complete ignorance. We all agree that taking money is pretty bad and maybe even worse than the FSU cheating scandal, and yet there have not been scholarships mentioned at the USC thing.

That’s going to be an interesting one to watch. I look for Reggie Bush to give up his Heisman at the least, and if that happens, what about their National Championship? (Any comments?)

I’ll bet this one is a nightmare for the NCAA… they probably hope it just “goes away”.

But again - no cries from ESPN to dismantle the USC program. Does that mean that Miami is that much better than USC? I mean the whole NCAA Miami thing was about players taking money. :)

And although FSU has been a disgrace for a long time, for crimes barely worth repeating, I recall the ESPN declaration coming at a time when academic and recruiting violations were the LEAST of UM’s problems. UM’s issues at the time were, uh, criminal in nature. To wit, defecating in a woman’s laundry basket — and that was one of the non-violent issues.

We all remember the Charlie Pell fiasco we endured. And then there was the FSU Free Shoes University scandal, and now this latest FSU cheating fiasco.

Why is it then that when Miami went through their sanctions in the 90’s, that ESPN printed a front page declaration that the Miami program should be disbanded…

Why isn’t anyone screaming for FSU disbandment?

Is Miami that much better than us and FSU that only they get front page ESPN disbandment demands, meanwhile we and FSU seem to get less, arguably even a pass? :)

Although why FSU and Kentucky would appoint successors named Jimbo and Joker is beyond me.