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Penn State Scandal Among Worst Ever In College Sports


First Posted: 07/13/2012 7:48 am Updated: 07/13/2012 7:52 am

Years of child sex abuse at Penn State by longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky may represent the worst scandal in the history of college sports. While it's hard to compare Sandusky's crimes, and the institutional problems described in the Louis Freeh report released Thursday, to other cases involving unacceptable benefits or point-shaving, this is a list of some of the scandals that drew massive attention prior to Penn State.

(All captions via AP)


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  • POINT SHAVING AT CCNY, 1947-51

    The City College of New York men's basketball team won both the National Invitation Tournament and the national championship in 1950. Then a point-shaving scandal that spanned 86 games dating to 1947 was discovered. Thirty-two players from seven schools were arrested. CCNY turned from powerhouse to trivia answer. Players from Kentucky were also involved, but the Wildcats program survived to remain a powerhouse.

  • SMU GETS THE DEATH PENALTY, 1986

    Southern Methodist boosters funneled thousands of dollars to football players through a slush fund that was administered by school officials, including former Texas governor Bill Clements. The NCAA gave the program the "death penalty" - forcing it to the sidelines for the entire 1987 season - and the Mustangs have never regained their national stature.

  • THE BC THREE, BOSTON COLLEGE, 1978-79

    BC basketball players Rick Kuhn, Joe Streater and Jim Sweeney were persuaded to fix nine Eagles games during the season. Kuhn and two money men were handed 10 years each in prison.

  • HOT ROD, TULANE, 1980s

    Star forward John "Hot Rod" Williams was accused of accepting more than $8,000 to shave points in several games. He was later acquitted, but the school dropped the team until 1989.

  • THE FAB FIVE and ED MARTIN, MICHIGAN, EARLY 1990s

    Several players, including star forward Chris Webber, were paid by a booster and factory worker, Martin, from his gambling operations. All records, including two Final Fours, featuring the so-called Fab Five recruiting class, were vacated, Michigan was put on two years of NCAA probation and head coach Steve Fisher lost his job.

  • ACADEMIC FRAUD, MINNESOTA, 1990s

    Clem Haskins' tenure with the Golden Gophers was brought down by a widespread academic fraud. Former manager Jan Gangelhoff claimed she had written papers for at least 20 players. Minnesota's records were vacated and the program was docked five scholarships. Haskins, the AD and several other officials lost their jobs.

  • GEORGIA ACADEMIC SCANDAL, 2002

    Georgia head coach Jim Harrick and his son, Jim Jr., provided high grades to players in classes they never or seldom attended and paid players' expenses. The elder Harrick, who led the Bulldogs to NCAA tournament appearances in 2001 and 2002, resigned and his son was fired.

  • MURDER IN TEXAS, BAYLOR, 2003

    Bears basketball transfer Patrick Dennehy was slain by teammate Carlton Dotson. Coach Dave Bliss instructed his players to lie to the NCAA by telling investigators that Dennehy was dealing drugs. Dotson pleaded guilty to murder, Bliss was fired and Baylor self-imposed penalties of a one-year postseason ban and a loss of scholarships.

  • NO MORE HEISMAN, USC, 2005

    Reggie Bush, winner of the 2005 Heisman, was stripped of the award after it was revealed that his parents were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by an agent. Southern California coach Pete Carroll left for the NFL, but the Trojans were stripped of 30 scholarships and given a two-year postseason ban.

  • TATTOO U, OHIO STATE, 2010

    Buckeyes football coach Jim Tressel admitted that he knew several of his star players were trading memorabilia for cash and tattoos in violation of NCAA rules, but sat on that information for 10 months until after the players participated in a 12-1 season that resulted in a Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas. Tressel was forced to resign, Ohio State vacated the 2010 season and was hit with NCAA probation and a loss of scholarships.

  • THE BOOSTER, MIAMI, 2011

    A total of 73 Hurricanes football players have been implicated in the latest scandal to hit the Miami program. A booster, Nevin Shapiro, subsequently jailed for running a pyramid scheme, allegedly dispensed money, prostitutes, cars and vacations to the players. Shapiro said coaches and university officials knew of his gifts. The case is pending before the NCAA.

  • BOBBY PETRINO, ARKANSAS, 2012

    Petrino, the Arkansas coach, initially said he was riding alone when he was injured in a motorcycle accident. It was subsequently learned that Jessica Dorrell, a former Razorbacks volleyball player, was with Petrino and had had an extramarital affair with him. Petrino had paid Dorrell $20,000 and set her up with a job in the athletic department. Petrino was fired.

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Years of child sex abuse at Penn State by longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky may represent the worst scandal in the history of college sports. While it's hard to compare Sandusky's crimes, and the inst...
Years of child sex abuse at Penn State by longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky may represent the worst scandal in the history of college sports. While it's hard to compare Sandusky's crimes, and the inst...
Years of child sex abuse at Penn State by longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky may represent the worst scandal in the history of college sports. While it's hard to compare Sandusky's crimes, and the inst...
Years of child sex abuse at Penn State by longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky may represent the worst scandal in the history of college sports. While it's hard to compare Sandusky's crimes, and the inst...
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02:54 PM on 07/15/2012
This is not "among" the worst scandals it IS the worst scandal.
09:15 PM on 07/14/2012
should penn state take down the statue of joe pa?
what do you think?
coachjoepa.com
12:14 PM on 07/14/2012
I've sat and read and empathized. I've become depressed and ill. I've become ashamed and angry. I am a proud supporter of PSU. I would like to see the rapist find his way to a harmful death. I would like his victims to have never met him. I want everyone involved in covering this up at PSU to share in the rapists fate. In a way then, I am glad Joe is gone.
He was a hero of mine. Heroes fall. Am I supposed to be ashamed? Are the rest of the students and alumni supposed to accept this as culpability and to be punished too?
Relating to the NCAA, I just don't know how this is an athletic issue. It was a coach that worked for Penn State. It was management that abused their position, betrayed the trust of young men and corrupted themselves into believing this was alright. This is criminal not athletic.
Also, you dramatic trolls offering the parody of Pedophile State as if the whole of this university, the acting students, the alumni, my family, etc. You insinuate that I am a rapist by your remarks. You insinuate that I and anyone else who went to or supports PSU are in some fashion positively interested in the sexual abuse of children. I'd like to offer you my firm fist in response. Please, take your lynch mob mentality and go. Perhaps karma will someday take the things you hold dear and obliterate them too.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
grailknight
is happily godless
08:11 PM on 07/16/2012
It's not an athletic thing? The perpetrator was a coach for PSU, the first link of conspiring to cover up was THE coach at PSU. The smart thing to do is for PSU to suspend its football program for at least five years. That would go a long way towards demonstrating that the football program isn't the end all and be all at Happy Valley.
08:29 AM on 07/17/2012
No, this isn't in the by-laws that NCAA uses to define its role in collegiate athletics(forgive my ignorance if I am unaware). I understand your confusion but isn't what they do supposed to be ensuring that the students and professional ethics are kept in order to keep a level playing field for each and every other student athlete. So if the rapes somehow kept Penn State winning or had students involved.. I don't refuse to see your point but it doesn't make sense that the NCAA will do anything right now. The NCAA would then have to have an influence on charities associated with colleges. If the rapes were made by someone from the engineering and fine arts departments and the cover-up still occurred, how would the NCAA get involved then? They wouldn't and I seriously don't think they will now. Or even better, if the coach from the fencing team had been involved, what then? They have more championships than the football program. OOoh, maybe wrestling!! (just like from the lot of you, its dramatic and unnecessary). And to cgroes from their post, I will never be ashamed of Penn State. I will be embarrassed by the former leadership but there are 500k+ men and women who didn't rape these young men nor help in the cover-up. I am not ashamed of them. They, me.. We Are Penn State. Every day and forever. My integrity is intact. May the guilty rot.
11:26 AM on 07/14/2012
WOW! That photo really destroys Joe.
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VA Jill
I'm not perfect and neither are you
11:14 AM on 07/14/2012
You forgot Creighton University in the 80s, where athletes were passed and graduated who could not read beyond a second grade lever.
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VA Jill
I'm not perfect and neither are you
11:55 AM on 07/14/2012
*level. Not enough coffee this morning!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
wvredneck1
Mountaineers are always free
09:11 AM on 07/14/2012
This is the worst scandal in the history of college sports. How do they not receive the death penalty? I hope fans stay home when their teams play penn state although I know that won't happen. I would stay home in protest. Raping little boys is not acceptable.
01:39 AM on 07/14/2012
to call what happened at Penn St a "scandal" is a gross understatement
08:46 PM on 07/13/2012
Remember SMU's scandle with their football team back 25 years ago when the school was paying the players a weekly salary and then the NCAA gave them the "Death Penalty" and their football program has not recoverd. This Penn State thing is just as bad and needs the same punishment!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
grailknight
is happily godless
08:17 PM on 07/16/2012
I think conspiring to cover up child rape is just a little worse than paying players.
06:57 PM on 07/13/2012
Among? Yeah right!
THE worst. Paper writing? Taking cash? Big freakin deal!!
Pedophile State practically encouraged child rape. They deserve nothing less than the death penalty. Heck, cancel the whole university for a while!
06:52 PM on 07/13/2012
Among?? Tattoos? Point-shaving?
Big deal.
Pedophile State practically encouraged child rape!!
They deserve nothing less than the death penalty.
Sandusky too!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Winston Smith
GOP solution: GIVE THE 1% MORE !!!
06:05 PM on 07/13/2012
Tell the NCAA what you think...

Often the NCAA talks about the kids who violate their rules in terms of ethics transgressions. Can they ignore PSU and be anything but incredibly hypocritical ?

If it turns out that the NCAA can not do anything to punish PSU because of the rules are structured to only punish kids for taking money while allowing coaches and institutions to shield a serial child rapist...then the NCAA needs to apologize for their negligence to address such issues and CHANGE THE RULES.

Let's hope that they can deal with this, and not be just one more part of the system that failed to do anything to protect these kids and and punish the offenders.

http://www.facebook.com/ncaastudents
05:02 PM on 07/13/2012
Yesterday Caltech receive three years probation to an NCAA violation.
05:00 PM on 07/13/2012
What exactly did USC do wrong when an agent paid Bush's parents in San Diego money so that the agent would presumably become their son's NFL agent when Bush left USC early?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Andrea Doria
GOP - Destroying the Middle Class since 1980
02:56 PM on 07/13/2012
Jocks.