Awesome Bleacher Report Article on Cheating in College Football. Must read

[ShotgunDawg]

There is some great nuggets in here. Enjoy

Wonder what parts of this are written by Freezus? A plea for sympathy in hopes of reducing the show cause.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2677700-cheat-or-go-home-inside-the-dysfunctional-hell-of-becoming-a-cfb-coach

[maroonmania]

Apparently the OM Network has hacked the article and removed it.**

[ShotgunDawg]

Apparently the OM Network has hacked the article and removed it.**

it's back working know.

[SaintDawg]

From the article... "But you want to know how things went so bad so quickly at Baylor? Look no further than how and why the team got so good so quickly. When you take chances on players with character issues (see: defensive end Sam Ukwuachu (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2604046-baylor-reaches-settlement-with-victim-in-sam-ukwuachu-sexual-assault-case)), the odds are not in your favor."

Hmmmm... OM got real good, real fast too.

[maroonmania]

Cheating in recruiting has always been bad and has just gotten worse as the money stakes with college football have gotten higher. So when UNM fans are stomping and saying "well everybody does it!" to a degree they are right. There has been for quite a while now an "acceptable" level of cheating to just be competitive at the top end of college football. Honor among thieves so to speak. However, when you get a school that has pushed the envelope in every direction possible and gone off the rails like the Bears have, even buying players away from power programs several states away from MS its going to raise red flags all over the place. It goes back to what I've been saying which is somewhat vindicated in the article (where its says a coach has to decide from day one how he will recruit) that if schools that going totally rogue in recruiting, like the Bears have, don't get their just due then its time to throw out all recruiting rules and just go with recruiting anarchy. Its actually more fair to all schools to say recruiting is open game to everyone than it is to have some schools trying to be reasonably compliant and others doing whatever they want in recruiting with no real punishment and somehow saying that's a level playing field.

[Jack Lambert]

From the article... "But you want to know how things went so bad so quickly at Baylor? Look no further than how and why the team got so good so quickly. When you take chances on players with character issues (see: defensive end Sam Ukwuachu (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2604046-baylor-reaches-settlement-with-victim-in-sam-ukwuachu-sexual-assault-case)), the odds are not in your favor."

Hmmmm... OM got real good, real fast too.

And both started going down hill really fast as well.

[ShotgunDawg]

I realize I'm in the minority here, but I believe due to increased coverage of recruiting, articles like this, & the increased amount of transparency & money that is in college football, within the next 20 years we are going to see the manner in which team acquire talent drastically change. The amount of coverage, increased popularity of the sport, & money involved will eventually demand more competitive integrity within the sport.

I think within the next 20 years we are going to see the sport go one of two directions. 1) Open market, pay players whatever you want. 2) A full fledged pay minor league type set up where player get paid monthly & there is a draft in which players are given slotted signing bonuses depending on where they are drafted.

College football just can't continue to the dog & pony show of pretending to be an amateur sport in which cheating is illegal, while having a structure that demands & encourages cheating. Doesn't make sense

[Beaver]

"One coach says one of the first people to call him after he took the job was a booster who owned a local car dealership. The booster offered to work with the coach to set up what he called an "honor system," where players could go to the lot and use loaner cars as long as they were returned in a reasonable amount of time. When told the idea was an NCAA violation, the booster responded, "Not if we don't get caught—and we haven't gotten caught yet."

Sounds familiar....

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

If (1) happens we are even more screwed than we are now in the SEC West...You think Bama dominates now? ha.

[smootness]

"One coach says one of the first people to call him after he took the job was a booster who owned a local car dealership. The booster offered to work with the coach to set up what he called an "honor system," where players could go to the lot and use loaner cars as long as they were returned in a reasonable amount of time. When told the idea was an NCAA violation, the booster responded, "Not if we don't get caught—and we haven't gotten caught yet."

Sounds familiar....

Uh, still a violation. You're just not caught until you're caught.

[Gutter Cobreh]

I realize I'm in the minority here, but I believe due to increased coverage of recruiting, articles like this, & the increased amount of transparency & money that is in college football, within the next 20 years we are going to see the manner in which team acquire talent drastically change. The amount of coverage, increased popularity of the sport, & money involved will eventually demand more competitive integrity within the sport.

I think within the next 20 years we are going to see the sport go one of two directions. 1) Open market, pay players whatever you want. 2) A full fledged pay minor league type set up where player get paid monthly & there is a draft in which players are given slotted signing bonuses depending on where they are drafted.

College football just can't continue to the dog & pony show of pretending to be an amateur sport in which cheating is illegal, while having a structure that demands & encourages cheating. Doesn't make sense

I saw an article earlier today where the NFL is exploring a developmental league. Should this occur and developed successfully, it will no doubt impact college recruiting. I'll see if I can find and link. The key is making it work, but since the NFL is tax exempt money should not be an issue to keep it afloat. It would also require high school kids the ability to jump straight, unlike basketball.

[HSVDawg]

College football just can't continue to the dog & pony show of pretending to be an amateur sport in which cheating is illegal, while having a structure that demands & encourages cheating. Doesn't make sense

Why not? It's been going on that way for probably 40 - 50 years now and college football is only getting more popular with stadiums, TV contracts, and athletic department budgets only getting exponentially larger. Where is the catalyst to change the status quo away from a system that is basically printing money for all the big decision makers and influential programs?

[BulldogBear]

Why not? It's been going on that way for probably 40 - 50 years now and college football is only getting more popular with stadiums, TV contracts, and athletic department budgets only getting exponentially larger. Where is the catalyst to change the status quo away from a system that is basically printing money for all the big decision makers and influential programs?

I would say there is still an option 3. With all the coverage and social media and watchdogging stuff, it may go in the direction of being harder to get away with and therefore more above board. Shouldn't give up on that possibility at all.

Switching gears....

"That works in two places," one coach says. "At the major schools—the 10-20 best programs—and in a coach's head." --Problem with Beardsharks is they can't get it though their collective thick skulls is that they do not fall into that category. Not even close.

[BulldogBear]

I saw an article earlier today where the NFL is exploring a developmental league. Should this occur and developed successfully, it will no doubt impact college recruiting. I'll see if I can find and link. The key is making it work, but since the NFL is tax exempt money should not be an issue to keep it afloat. It would also require high school kids the ability to jump straight, unlike basketball.

As strange as that would feel, I'd rather see that than open season and throw out the rules. It might actually help the game's integrity.

[BulldogBear]

From the comments: You want to see where this starts, coach at the youth levels and watch how the 'stars' and, more important, their parents start to change. Parents start behaving like cheerleaders, then sports agents. You'll have the parents of 12-year-old kids forcing Youtube channels of their kids' athletic exploits. They're convinced their kids will get college scholarships, become pros, and they convince their kids. In a nation that pampers its young people, the youth sports stars are the most pampered of all. Heaven help you as a coach if you deny them their inevitable path to 'greatness.'

[ShotgunDawg]

Why not? It's been going on that way for probably 40 - 50 years now and college football is only getting more popular with stadiums, TV contracts, and athletic department budgets only getting exponentially larger. Where is the catalyst to change the status quo away from a system that is basically printing money for all the big decision makers and influential programs?

Because I don't think anyone outside of a few blue blood programs & some TV execs that need the same teams to be good every year to set a floor for ratings, really like the current system.

I think the catalyst could come from a number of different places. I can almost guarantee that 90% of coaches hate the current system as they realize they have to risk their integrity & family name to be successful in their business. Do you really think coaches like this system? They'd much rather have a level playing field. The other driving factors could be from the middle class of college football that is tired of facing the proposition of "cheat or suck".

Point is, outside of the a few programs, no one likes this system.

[ShotgunDawg]

As strange as that would feel, I'd rather see that than open season and throw out the rules. It might actually help the game's integrity.

At least it would be fair

[Spiderman]

This is written as a perfect discription of Hugh Freeze...

Do you find a way to pay a player's father? Or say it's a player with academic shortcomings or questionable character flaws...do you find a way to get him into school? Do you ignore past behavioral problems under the guise of "everyone deserves a second chance" and hope the 2 a.m. call from police doesn't happen?

Do you talk yourself into something unseemly because, in the end, winning overcomes all? Or because, more than anything, you truly believe you can reach the misunderstood player like no one ever has?

I mean it has to be directed square at him, especially the last line.

Haiti anyone?

[maroonmania]

If (1) happens we are even more screwed than we are now in the SEC West...You think Bama dominates now? ha.

Yep, if you went to open season recruiting then you would have to eliminate walk-ons. You would only be able to add 25 to 30 players to your roster every year. Like you are saying Bama would be more than happy to pay 50 top notch recruits every year so they would have more walk-ons than we would have signees.

[HSVDawg]

Because I don't think anyone outside of a few blue blood programs & some TV execs that need the same teams to be good every year to set a floor for ratings, really like the current system.

I think the catalyst could come from a number of different places. I can almost guarantee that 90% of coaches hate the current system as they realize they have to risk their integrity & family name to be successful in their business. Do you really think coaches like this system? They'd much rather have a level playing field. The other driving factors could be from the middle class of college football that is tired of facing the proposition of "cheat or suck".

Point is, outside of the a few programs, no one likes this system.

So basically, all the power players and decision makers who stand to benefit the most from the system like it the way it is. That's really all that matters.

As far as coaches, I'm sure some are fine with it and some aren't. But they are all getting filthy rich from it, so I doubt they will be biting the hand that feeds anytime soon.

Not to get too political or anything, but it is pretty similar to asking Congress to change the tax code that favors the wealthiest individuals and big corporations while the middle class bears a majority of the burden. Whether you or for or agsinst tax reform, you have to recognize that you are asking wealthy individuals and corporations who contribute to their campaigns (who all benefit most from the current system) to make a decision to change it to where neither will benefit as much as before. So once you recognize that, you realize that substantial change will never happen. The same thing applies to college football amateurism.

[RocketDawg]

The first story in the article, where the player's father is in the office with the head coach ... is that Mullen/Cam Newton? Sounds like it. And I still think Mullen made the right decision.