The Front Row

With all the comparisons of the OSU case to USC, I took some time to look up the NCAA's report on USC after their hearings. I found it almost shocking how much more there was to the case.

Most seem to believe that NCAA was given the punishment they did only because Reggie Bush (and OJ Mayo) got illegal benefits. However the reason USC got hit so hard has much more to do with WHO gave Bush/Mayo the benefits, the failure of compliance the monitor the actions of the players and follow up on possible leads, and a few other violations that showed a widespread lack of institutional control.

The findings of the NCAA case were as follows: Violations of NCAA bylaws governing amateurism; failure to report knowledge of violations; unethical conduct; impermissible benefits; violations of coaching staff limitations; impermissible recruiting contacts by a booster; impermissible inducements and extra benefits; and lack of institutional control.

Now there are some allegations that mirror what OSU is/may be facing, but the violations USC got hammered for the most have very little in common with OSU.

So to break down each of the allegations...

1. Violation of amateurism
- Reggie Bush entered an agreement with two sports marketers/agents (along with Bush's step father) who provided Bush cash including enough for a car and accessories, travel arrangements to an NFL player's party, a Las Vegas vacation, travel for his family to the Orange Bowl and Hawaii, and a house, furniture and appliances for his family. Any college player that has an agreement with an agent is immediately ineligible.

2. Failure to report/unethical conduct
- An assistant coach (McNair) had a conversation with one of the agents, who tried to get the coach to make Bush adhere to the agreement or reimburse the agents for the benefits provided. The coach did not report the conversation, denied having the conversation in 2 interviews with compliance, and falsely attested he had no knowledge of violations signing a compliance certification. There was also a picture of both men together along with a celebrity mutual friend. (McNair has and is still denying evereything and currently is suing the NCAA saying the allegations are false)

3. Impermissable benefits
- The benefits mentioned above given to Bush by the agents
- A woman's tennis player made over $7500 in long distance calls using a USC access code.

4. Violation of staff limitations
- The USC football staff hired a consultant who attended practice, analyzed video, and had discussions with Pete Carroll about his observations. Carroll did not check with USC's compliance before the hire, and USC's compliance did not even discover the illegal hire --- it was reported by another school.

5. Impermissable recruiting contacts by a booster
- Recruits on official visits were sent to a local restaurant owned by a USC booster who had improper contact with the recruits

6. Impermissable benefits and inducements
- Another athletic representative provided OJ Mayo, girlfriend, and family with cash, cell phone and service, free travel, and an arrangement to be on the cover of a magazine as incentive to sign with USC. The rep acted with knowledge of the coach and had "booster" status for previously providing a former USC athlete with air travel.

7. LACK OF INSTITUTIONAL CONTROL
- Reggie Bush submitted an incomplete car registration for the car provided by the agent and compliance did not require Bush to provide the missing information
- USC arranged for Bush to have an internship with the sports marketing firm and never monitored the arrangement to see if Bush was actually showing up or doing meaningful work. They also failed to follow up on information regarding the questionable relationship between the agent that could have revealed violations (a journalist contacted USC asking for information on the agent being on the sidelines of the USC games). Compliance never met with Bush regarding the questions.
- USC failed to monitor the recruitment of OJ Mayo and allowed a booster (who has given impermissable benefits to players in the past) to engage in recruiting on behalf of the school
- USC did not monitor the number of football coaches and was turned in by another school
- USC did not monitor the long distance calls made by the tennis player - 123 calls for over $7,000 from 11/06 to 3/09

So what does this mean for OSU?

For USC, the gigantic lack of institutional control was likely the reason why they were hit so hard. At this time, OSU shares two violations with USC - unethical conduct/failure to report violations and impermissable benefits. And one very important observations is that NEITHER OF THESE VIOLATIONS WERE USED AS BASIS FOR LOIC.

USC got hammered because their athletic dept and compliance dept did not monitor high-risk situations even when there were huge warning signs. Some of the activities they failed to monitor - cars, player jobs, and coaching staff payroll - are basic duties of a compliance office.

Compare that to OSU who to date has self-reported all violations, launched investigations immediately when they learned of potential issues, and self-imposed penalties on the guilty parties

I would hope most people, when looking at the two cases, see that there is a huge gap between the severity of the cases - and there is really no reason to believe OSU will get hit as hard (let alone worse) than USC. If some of the recent accusations against OSU are found to be accurate, of course this will change. But how hard OSU gets hit will be directly related to how well compliance did their job to prevent, monitor and identify violations --- not the violations themselves.