Jim Tressel Has Resigned

[steelerfan]

I disagree, as was Stated in the SMU documentary, the death penalty for one school can kill revenue for an entire conference...and while National tv may not be affected as much by one team, local tv is affected.

I am generalizing but the fact is lots of different money makers can be affected when a school gets a death penalty and no one wants that to happen now

The point is this: if OSU falls off the side of the earth, someone else will replace them. Maybe Michigan or PSU or ND. Someone will take their place. Someone will take those kids and win those games.

ND has been mediocre/bad for a long time. They are as historically relevant as anyone. The NCAA is still making $. Miami has had more success than OSU in the last 30 years. Miami has struggled for a few years now. The NCAA is still making $. Michigan is a historically strong program that has struggled lately. The NCAA is still making $. Texas is another of the winningest programs in history. Last year they were 5-7 and 20 years ago they were nearly irrelevant. The NCAA still made $.

When someone plummets, someone else will replace them and the beat will go on.

[steelerfan]

For instance, our radio station that broadcasts Ohio State football games. We routinely sell anywhere from 40-60 sponsor spots per game. We lose the Ohio State games, and in turn, lose those sponsors who have spots air solely during OSU games, that's thousands of dollars every week that we're losing. As we are a small market, something as little as having a thousand dollars lost can have a huge impact on whether or not we turn a profit for the year or lose money, which directly affects our budget for the next year.

I get that, but no one in the NCAA offices is saying, "if we give OSU the death penalty, what will happen to that small market radio station?"

[SmoothPancakes]

I get that, but no one in the NCAA offices is saying, "if we give OSU the death penalty, what will happen to that small market radio station?"

Oh I know they couldn't give any less of a damn about our tiny station in NW Ohio. I'm just giving a minor example. We're just the tiny tip of the iceberg of all the various organizations, companies, etc, that will lose money if Ohio State were given the death penalty.

[steelerfan]

Oh I know they couldn't give any less of a damn about our tiny station in NW Ohio. I'm just giving a minor example. We're just the tiny tip of the iceberg of all the various organizations, companies, etc, that will lose money if Ohio State were given the death penalty.

And I knew you knew and get what you're saying. But, of the "organizations, companies etc, that will lose money", none is named "NCAA".

[JeffHCross]

Jeff, what have you heard about a 503,c being funded by O$U interests, that ends up paying certain pipeline high school coaches handsomely for their services at week-long summer camps?

Nothing, but I don't follow the news/rumors as closely as most people here probably do. If it doesn't come across my Twitter feed (and that's actually rare that I'm watching that closely) or get reported in mainstream media, I won't hear about it. Especially with a story like that ... I'm not going to subject myself to rumor and conjecture if I can avoid it.

NCAA cannot be too soft as it won't deter other schools from willingly cheating.

What will be interesting to watch is how the NCAA reacts to the Sugar Bowl sham investigation/allowing the players to play. It was the NCAA's decision to allow the players to play and defer the suspensions. The investigations since have shown that "if I knew then what I know now" -- no Sugar Bowl. Does the NCAA come down harsh because of that? If so, is there any backlash since they took Ohio State's word for it first. Interesting to watch that.

[JeffHCross]

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...y.html?sid=101

[ram29jackson]

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...y.html?sid=101

hypocrisy is in

[SmoothPancakes]

Ohio State may still have a ton of bitchslapping coming their way from the NCAA, but it looks like they're in the clear as far as the players and families purchasing cars.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6686479

Ohio State in clear over car purchases

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State football players did not receive improper deals when buying cars from two Columbus-area dealerships, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles said Tuesday following an investigation of 25 vehicle sales.

Questions about players' car purchases arose in the wake of a scandal in which some players received cash and tattoos for autographs, championship rings and equipment.

The scandal forced out coach Jim Tressel because he knew of the memorabilia sales for months without alerting Ohio State officials, in violation of his contract.

The Ohio BMV undertook its review following allegations that the dealerships sold vehicles to Ohio State athletes and family members at below market rates.

The BMV's 65-page report issued Tuesday said the certificates of titles for cars sold by Jack Maxton Chevrolet and Auto Direct to players and families accurately reflected the vehicles' sales prices.

The investigation also rejected allegations that the sales prices did not reflect the true cost of the vehicles because players provided dealers with tickets, jerseys and other memorabilia in place of cash.

"We found no evidence in the dealers' business records that tickets and/or sports memorabilia were included in the sales," the report said.

The dealers and their lawyers also said the allegations were false. Aaron Kniffin, the salesman who sold most of the vehicles at both dealerships, also denied the allegations in a sworn affidavit that was previously made public, according to Tuesday's report.

"The deals that I did for Ohio State student-athletes were no different than any of the other 10,000-plus deals that I've done for all my other customers," Kniffin said in that May 10 affidavit.

Kniffin said any sales involving Ohio State players were forwarded to the general manager, who contacted Ohio State's compliance office.

The university said at this point it has no reason to believe any student athletes received improper car purchases.

"Today's report from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles supports the sworn statements two Columbus auto dealers provided us that the manner in which they conducted sales with Ohio State student athletes adhered to university and NCAA rules," said Doug Archie, Ohio State's athletics compliance director.

The investigation found that Auto Direct made money on the 10 vehicles it sold to players and families and that Jack Maxton made money on 14 of 15 sales; one vehicle was sold at a loss because it had been on the lot longer than 150 days.

The report also addressed what it called "persistent allegations" that Ohio State athletes and coaches have been allowed to drive dealer-owned cars using dealer license plates.

That practice is not illegal and is allowed under BMV rules, the agency said.

"On the contrary, the statute that governs the use of dealer-plated vehicles by third parties expressly permits dealers to allow any member of the public to operate dealer-owned vehicles," the agency said in its report.

In a May 12 interview with the state watchdog, Kniffin said Jeff Mauk, owner of Jack Maxton Chevrolet, received tickets from Ohio State coaches for giving them cars to drive. Kniffin said that was a common practice, according to the interview included in the BMV report.

Messages were left for Mauk and Auto Direct owner Jason Goss seeking comment.

[psusnoop]

Well that is one good sign for OSU.

[SmoothPancakes]

Well that is one good sign for OSU.

Yeah, they're still gonna get taken to town on behind the woodshed by the NCAA, but that is at least one LESS thing they have to worry about.

[psusnoop]

At this point that is a good thing. I'm sure like yourself that NCAA is not going to "go easy" on them, I'm thinking more the USC at this point.

[SmoothPancakes]

At this point that is a good thing. I'm sure like yourself that NCAA is not going to "go easy" on them, I'm thinking more the USC at this point.

Yeah, I don't think OSU will get hammered as bad as I thought they would a couple weeks ago. They're in the clear on the cars. Tressel resigned and is gone. Pryor has bailed and left. So the two main players behind these issues are no longer there, so while maybe not much, it's at least a bit of a positive for the Buckeyes. And I agree, the NCAA definitely isn't going to go easy on them. With everything lately, between USC, everything surrounding Cam and Auburn last year, North Carolina, and others, the NCAA can't afford to go light and easy. Plus, if the NCAA was willing to bring what they did against USC, who while maybe not the USC of the mid-2000s, they are still one of the top tier programs in the NCAA today, that means the NCAA isn't going to be afraid to lay it down hard against Ohio State.

[psusnoop]

Yea I don't see the NCAA going easy on OSU just because they are OSU. If anything it may work against them since they had so many FT employees in the compliance dept.

[AustinWolv]

Well that is one good sign for OSU.

How about a non-Ohio entity also investigate it, you know.....because I'm sure a good portion of OH trickle-down financial standing comes as a result of O$U jobs, merchandise, etc. Penalize that school, you are penalizing the state.

[psusnoop]

How about a non-Ohio entity also investigate it, you know.....because I'm sure a good portion of OH trickle-down financial standing comes as a result of O$U jobs, merchandise, etc. Penalize that school, you are penalizing the state.

Even if they did I'm sure the books are cleaned up by now.

[AustinWolv]

Speaking of, notice this part:

Asked by ESPN if the BMV could provide an unredacted version of the Maxton document, listing the dealer cost of and profit on each car sold to an Ohio State athlete or family member, Bohrer declined, citing state privacy law.

One point of convenience that O$U has consistently brought up is privacy laws for their students. Now the BMV too. Nice.

However, the only thing that report shows is that the dealerships didn't commit fraud with their paperwork. Questions could still linger about if those deals were available for the public, weekend test drives were made available to the public, how financing was handled, who paid or co-signed, if there were any special loans offered that weren't available to the public...........in other words, the improper benefits part of the car story is not confirmed over.

[SmoothPancakes]

Speaking of, notice this part:

One point of convenience that O$U has consistently brought up is privacy laws for their students. Now the BMV too. Nice.

However, the only thing that report shows is that the dealerships didn't commit fraud with their paperwork. Questions could still linger about if those deals were available for the public, weekend test drives were made available to the public, how financing was handled, who paid or co-signed, if there were any special loans offered that weren't available to the public...........in other words, the improper benefits part of the car story is not confirmed over.

Yeah, it's a convenience for OSU, but the issue is with the state law, not OSU, on that. That's a law that was in place and around long before any of this stuff started happening. Just because it involves OSU and because ESPN wants the info, doesn't mean that law should be just ignored now. If people have a problem with that, take it up with the BMV, the state, and the state legislature.

[AustinWolv]

Smooth, no problem with the law in that regard, I just find it funny considering O$U has been leaning on the privacy crutch for some time now.

But maybe it would be easy enough to get the BMV to release the records........because stuff like this happens: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/sports/n...orary-Citizens

[ram29jackson]

looks like Auburn has some friction now too.....? paying hostesses a little too much

[SmoothPancakes]

Nah, stuff like that happens because we have a dumbass for a governor who would rather do stuff like that and try and sell of the entire state of Ohio to private companies and corporations piece by piece, instead of actually running the state. Dumped the Department of Development for his own little created private corporation called JobsOhio, that, at least last I saw when the legislation was going through, is pretty much completely behind closed doors, no transparency, etc.

He wants to sell off the state prisons, sell off the Turnpike (though it sounds like leasing the Turnpike has become the leading candidate in that discussion). And he lost Ohio $400 million in funds for developing a high-speed rail system because he opposes it, and because the federal funds were specifically for rail, when he wanted to use it on the highways. So instead California and Florida got the money Ohio was originally awarded thanks to him. At the rate he's going, Ohio's not even going to own anything by the time he leaves office.

This is what happens when you elect a former Lehman Brothers/Wall Street jackass as your governor.