FSU -36

zippy

No that's not the point spread
that's how many players will not be going to FSU's bowl game due to NCAA sanctions for cheating on tests

The FSU program keeps going deeper in the dumps

Time For mr Bowden to say bye bye

yawie99

<< <i>Time For mr Bowden to say bye bye >>




It really is. This seems like a great opportunity for the university to show Bowden the door. Maybe not push him out, but at least point him in the right direction. I know the guy's a legend and maybe he's still universally adored by FSU alumni and boosters, but to an outsider, he just doesn't seem capable of leading the team back to its past glory.

goose3

36 is true but some of those are not cheating related.

(as much as I would have liked for them to be)

Kilann

How is it Bowden's fault that his players cheated? He can't hold their hand 24 hours a day. By no means am I a FSU or Bowden supporter, but when will we ever make the players (and not their coach who isn't a babysitter) held accountable for their actions?

yawie99

What's the NCAA's phrase? Lack of institutional control or something like that? Obviously an individual is responsible for his or her own actions, but 36 individuals suggests a program with virtually no oversight of its "student athletes." The players, not Bowden, are indeed the ones who cheated or broke the proverbial unspecified team rules, but when it happens on that scale, those at the top bear at least some responsibility.

Kilann

Ok, that may very well be the case, but again, why is Bowden's fault? He's their coach, not in charge of their educational studies. He's not the one making sure they are doing their homework, making sure they are taking their tests. His job is to coach them up on the football field. It's easy to point the finger at him as he's been the face of that school for a long time, but is he really to blame, or shouldn't those in charge of their education be held accountable?

yawie99

The direct influence of Bowden maybe be limited to the gridiron, but I think it's safe to assume that college coaching is more than just X's and O's. A coach also cultivates the climate of a program - a role at which Bowden has apparently failed, which seems remarkable given his stature.

SoFLPhillyFan

The athletic department including the coaches are responsible for monitoring the players academic performance in order to ensure that scholarship and NCAA requirements are met. Tutors and "learning assistants" are provided. It is the athletic department's responsibility to ensure the legitimacy of these tutors.

1) The AD most likely resigned over this scandal, although the university is not publicly stating this.

2) Xavier Lee was mysteriously pulled with 4(?) games left in the season. They say that he missed too many classes, but he is on the list of players who will miss the bowl game. This was probably the beginning of the investigation. The story actually broke weeks ago but the extent of player involvement was not indicated.

3) The number of players involved was announced on the same day that a rep from the Music City Bowl visited Tallahassee to formally invite FSU to the game. Most likely not a coincidence.

SI.com -

FSU president cites lack of oversight
Posted: Friday December 21, 2007 12:15PM; Updated: Friday December 21, 2007 3:45PM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida State's president attributed an academic cheating scandal to a lack of oversight by athletic department officials, an inattentive faculty member and a rogue tutor.

T.K. Wetherell on Friday described the course in question, a three-hour music history class, as "contaminated" and said changes have been made.

Although Wetherell has said in the past that the recent resignation of athletic director David Hart Jr. was not related to the incident, his statement suggested otherwise.

"The violations focused on a poorly structured online course, lack of attention to detail by a faculty member, and insufficient oversight by the athletic department of one rogue tutor -- all coming together to result in a 'contaminated' class," Wetherell said in the statement.

Hart did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment on Wetherell's criticism of his former department.

Wetherell, who has been vacationing in Montana since the suspensions were announced Tuesday, said no coaches were involved and that many of the athletes simply used poor judgment.

"The student-athletes, who come from a number of sports, did not enroll in the course with the intent to do anything wrong," he said. "However, a university-employed tutor provided inappropriate help on exams. In the final analysis, these students made the decision to use the answers provided for an online exam, and they are suffering the consequences."

The school has suspended roughly two dozen football players, including some starters, for its Dec. 31 game against Kentucky in the Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn. Two players, receiver Joslin Shaw and defensive end Kevin McNeil, were suspended during the season.

The players who won't travel to the bowl game will be identified Saturday when the school announces its travel list.

"Our university found this problem," coach Bobby Bowden said after Friday's practice. "It's not like I had anything to do with this."

However, the St. Petersburg Times editorialized Friday that "it's time for Bowden to retire." The paper praised his accomplishments, but said the coach was "padding the career victory total at the expense of a remarkable legacy and a dignified exit. "

"It needs to be said with admiration and firmness," the Times wrote. "Dadgummit, Bobby, it's time."

Bowden disagreed.

"It ain't time to cut and run," he said. "It won't erase what has happened."

This is the school's second serious brush with the NCAA in as many decades. The university received a five-year probation in 1994 after several of its players received free shoes and athletic gear from a sporting goods store at a mall.

Wetherell, who played football for the Seminoles in the mid-1960s, is trying to keep the school from having the NCAA investigate lack of institutional control, a violation that often leads to severe sanctions. Wetherell said the school expects to have its report to NCAA officials early next year.

The NCAA wouldn't comment Friday on Florida State's investigation because it hadn't received the school's final report.

"Each case is different and each case is looked at and acted on a timeline based on its complexity and whatever else is involved," NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said.