June 18, 2008

Study finds harmless NCAA penalties are harmless

From the department of "no-duh" comes this great find by Senator Blutarsky: NCAA penalties do not hurt schools' win-loss records.

The "major penalties" imposed on college football teams who violate NCAA rules — including TV and bowl bans and scholarship reductions — have no impact on the teams' won-lost records, a researcher told the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics on Tuesday.

There was no statistical difference in on-field performance between the five years prior to the NCAA penalties and the five years following them, said Chad McEvoy, coordinator of the sports management program at Illinois State University.

Even as the penalties increase in severity - the loss of 10 scholarships vs. the loss of five, for instance - the penalized teams lose no more games, he noted.

The lone exception, of course, is that tiny, little hand-slap given to SMU, but I digress. (And -- in fairness -- the report only studied teams that faced major penalties beginning in 1987 through 2002.)

Another flaw noted in the article is that NCAA itself is doing a very poor job of actually uncovering infractions.

There is a widespread call for tougher penalties, said Mike Glazier, founder of a law firm that specializes in representing colleges, conferences and individuals in NCAA infraction cases.

But Glazier said that about two-thirds of all NCAA infraction cases are self-reported and cautioned that stiffening penalties might discourage this self-policing. "More often than not, those who do not self-report do not get caught," he said.

And therein lies the NCAA's dilemna.

The NCAA relies on the schools that cheat the system... to abide by the system... to report the cheating.

Ummm... yeah.... Paper tiger... paper tiger.

Posted by Kevin Donahue

Comments:

Study finds harmless NCAA penalties are harmless
From the department of "no-duh" comes this great find by Senator Blutarsky: NCAA penalties do not hurt schools' win-loss records.
The "major penalties" imposed on college football teams who violate NCAA rules — including TV and bowl bans and scholarship reductions — have no impact on the teams' won-lost records, a researcher told the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics on Tuesday. There was no statistical difference in on-field performance between the five years prior to the NCAA penalties and the five years following them, said Chad McEvoy, coordinator of the sports management program at Illinois State University. Even as the penalties increase in severity - the loss of 10 scholarships vs. the loss of five, for instance - the penalized teams lose no more games, he noted.
The lone exception, of course, is that tiny, little hand-slap given to SMU, but I digress. (And -- in fairness -- the report only studied teams that faced major penalties beginning in 1987 through 2002.) Another flaw noted in the article is that NCAA itself is doing a very poor job of actually uncovering infractions.
There is a widespread call for tougher penalties, said Mike Glazier, founder of a law firm that specializes in representing colleges, conferences and individuals in NCAA infraction cases. But Glazier said that about two-thirds of all NCAA infraction cases are self-reported and cautioned that stiffening penalties might discourage this self-policing. "More often than not, those who do not self-report do not get caught," he said.
And therein lies the NCAA's dilemna. The NCAA relies on the schools that cheat the system... to abide by the system... to report the cheating. Ummm... yeah.... Paper tiger... paper tiger.