 |
Dayton Business Journal...
Ohio State forfeits football victories
by Jeff Bell, DBJ Contributor
Friday, July 8, 2011
Ohio State University will vacate all 12 victories from the 2010
football season and its Big Ten co-championship as part of its
self-imposed punishment for the Tattoogate scandal that has hounded the
program since December.
Those corrective actions and a number of others were outlined Friday in
OSU’s response to allegations from the NCAA over the scandal that
involved at least six Buckeye players selling awards and football gear
for cash and discounted tattoos.
In addition, the university said former football coach Jim Tressel, who
lost his job because of the scandal, and OSU have reached an agreement
in which Tressel will change his previously announced resignation to a
retirement.
As part of the retirement agreement, Tressel will receive a lump-sum
payment covering cash-out of his accrued vacation and sick days equal
to 240 hours. A dollar amount for the payment was not immediately
available.
“I take full responsibility for my mistakes that have led to the
ongoing NCAA inquiry and to scrutiny and criticism of the football
program,” Tressel said in a release issued by Ohio State. “I am
grateful for this opportunity to retire from the university that I so
deeply respect and that I will continue to support.”
Other corrective and punitive actions proposed by Ohio State in its
response to the NCAA include placing the football program under two
years probation effective July 1, 2011, introducing several measures to
improve monitoring of football players related to them receiving awards
and apparel and increasing the number of full-time members on the
athletics department’s compliance staff from six to eight.
“We are fully cooperating with the NCAA,” OSU Athletics Director Gene
Smith said in the release, “and we look forward to working together to
bring a resolution to these current matters.
“Throughout the entire process since we discovered possible
infractions,” he said, “Ohio State has consistently acted to
investigate any allegation, self-report its findings to the NCAA,
communicate transparently about its findings and take necessary
remediation steps.”
Ohio State officials will meet Aug. 12 with the NCAA’s Committee on
Infractions, with that panel deciding whether additional sanctions
against the football program and university are needed.
The trouble recently has disturbed many in Buckeye-Nation after finding
steady success on the field that has been hampered by the off-field
issues.
The Ohio State athletics department ranks among the top revenue
producing department in all of college sports, bringing in more than
$100 million annually from bowl game appearances and sponsorships with
companies such as Nike Inc. , Jarden Corp. ’s Coleman Co. unit and
Tommy Hilfiger, which is owned by Phillips-Van Heusen Corp.
Read it with links at Dayton Business Journal
|
