Scout.com: Sallee Blog: Bama Put On Notice

Sallee Blog: Bama Put On Notice

Alabama head coach Nick Saban

By Barrett Sallee

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Jun 11, 2009

The punishment handed down to Alabama by the NCAA's Committee on Infractions (COI) might seem light in the eyes of some. However, it has put the entire Crimson Tide athletic department on thin ice for the next half-decade.

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After months, and even years of uncertainty, the hammer finally dropped on Alabama on Thursday. But, a funny thing happened when the hammer came down – the nail barely moved.

The NCAA's Committee on Infractions found Alabama guilty of failure to monitor and of student athletes receiving impermissible benefits. The Crimson Tide's punishment is three years probation and the COI ordered them to vacate all wins in which players involved in a department-wide textbook scam participated in. For football, that means 21 wins will be vacated between 2005-2007. Zero football scholarships were taken away.

A post-season football ban was considered. But, due to Alabama's cooperation during the investigation, a ban was not imposed, even though Alabama was considered a repeat offender by the NCAA due to previous offenses, including the much-publicized Albert Means case.

The NCAA is supposed to punish repeat offenders to the highest degree possible. In this case, they did. A total of 201 athletes on 16 of the 19 university-sanctioned teams received a total of $40,000 of improper benefits. A transgression that pales in comparison to what opened the repeat offender window in the first place.

In 2001, it was discovered that Alabama boosters shelled out a cool $200,000 in 1999 to lure Means, a standout DT from Memphis, Tenn., to Tuscaloosa. One NCAA official stated that, in that case, Alabama was “staring down the barrel of a gun,” referring to the “death penalty.” In this textbook case, they were really just staring at a slingshot.

So, what do the sanctions mean for the football team? Well, nothing.

Nobody really cares that wins were vacated. Players won the games. Fans in the stands saw them. Fans at home watched on TV. Gamblers won or lost money on them (legally, of course). Vacating wins is really just a glorified slap on the wrist – and this transgression deserved a glorified slap on the wrist.

Alabama has already re-established itself as a contender for the SEC Championship in just two short years under head coach Nick Saban. They've stepped up the recruiting game a notch from the days of Mike Shula and snapped a six-game losing streak to the arch-rival Auburn Tigers. Even though Alabama fans like to talk about the past – at great length – that's the only thing that will be affected by these sanctions. The Alabama of tomorrow will be in the same shape as the Alabama of yesterday, only without 21 wins.

Make no mistake though, the COI has put Alabama on notice that it's “staring down the barrel of a gun” yet again. This marks the fourth time in 14 years that Alabama has been penalized by the NCAA. A fifth time anytime in the near future, and Alabama would be in some serious trouble.

This investigation exposed widespread impropriety within the athletic department. Embattled athletic director Mal Moore has some serious explaining to do; and personally, I don't think he can keep his job after this mess. Because, for the next five years (three on probation, two more as a repeat offender), the entire Alabama athletic department will be more scrutinized than the Zapruder Film. That's not good for a program that's already spent the better part of two decades under the NCAA's microscope.

Now...about those Southern Cal violations. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Barrett Sallee covers the SEC for www.CollegeFootballNews.com. He can be reached at barrettsallee@gmail.com, or on Twitter

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