NCAA REQUIRES LOSS OF CONTESTS FOR SIX OHIO STATE FOOTBALL STUDENT-ATHLETES

INDIANAPOLIS--- Five football student-athletes from The Ohio State University must sit out the first five games of the 2011 season for selling awards, gifts and university apparel and receiving improper benefits in 2009, the NCAA has determined.

A sixth football student-athlete must sit out the first game in 2011 for receiving discounted services in violation of NCAA rules.

The violations fall under the NCAA’s preferential treatment bylaws.

In addition to missing five games next season, student-athletes Mike Adams, Daniel Herron, Devier Posey, Terrelle Pryor and Solomon Thomas must repay money and benefits ranging in value from $1,000 to $2,500. The repayments must be made to a charity.

Student-athlete Jordan Whiting must sit out the first game next year and pay $150 to a charity for the value of services that were discounted because of his status as a student-athlete.

“These are significant penalties based on findings and information provided by the university,” said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs.

The decision from the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff does not include a withholding condition for the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The withholding condition was suspended and the student-athletes will be eligible to play in the bowl game Jan. 4 based on several factors.

These include the acknowledgment the student-athletes did not receive adequate rules education during the time period the violations occurred, Lennon said.

NCAA policy allows suspending withholding penalties for a championship or bowl game if it was reasonable at the time the student-athletes were not aware they were committing violations, along with considering the specific circumstances of each situation. In addition, there must not be any competitive advantage related to the violations, and the student-athletes must have eligibility remaining.

The policy for suspending withholding conditions for bowl games or NCAA championship competition recognizes the unique opportunity these events provide at the end of a season, and they are evaluated differently from a withholding perspective. In this instance, the facts are consistent with the established policy, Lennon said.

Gene Smith, associate vice president and director of athletics at Ohio State, said the university will “further enhance” its rules education in the future based on this situation.

“We were not as explicit with our student-athlete education as we should have been in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years regarding the sale of apparel, awards and gifts issued by the athletics department,” Smith said. “We began to significantly improve our education in November of 2009 to address these issues. After going through this experience, we will further enhance our education for all our student-athletes as we move forward.”

The standard withholding condition in cases like these involving the five student-athletes is four games, or 30 percent of a season. A fifth game was added to the penalty because these student-athletes did not immediately disclose the violations when presented with the appropriate rules education, Lennon said.

“Once a student-athlete understands a violation has occurred, they must immediately come forward to report it,” he said. “That did not happen, so the additional one-game penalty was imposed.”

The university declared the student-athletes ineligible on Monday (Dec. 20) and requested reinstatement from the NCAA.

As part of their reinstatement, Adams must repay $1,000 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring and Herron must repay $1,150 for selling his football jersey, pants and shoes for $1,000 and receiving discounted services worth $150.

Posey must repay $1,250 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring for $1,200 and receiving discounted services worth $50, while Pryor must repay $2,500 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring, a 2009 Fiesta Bowl sportsmanship award and his 2008 Gold Pants, a gift from the university.

Solomon must repay $1,505 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring for $1,000, his 2008 Gold Pants for $350 and receiving discounted services worth $155.

During the reinstatement process, each case is evaluated based on the specific facts of the particular case by NCAA staff. Prior to reaching a decision, staff considers any guidelines
established by the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, a student-athlete’s responsibility for the violation, as well as any mitigating factors presented by the institution.

The university can appeal the decision to the Division I NCAA Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, an independent committee comprised of representatives from NCAA member colleges, universities and athletic conferences. This committee can reduce or remove the condition, but it cannot increase the staff-imposed conditions.

Reinstatement decisions are independent of the NCAA enforcement process and typically are made once the facts of the student-athlete’s involvement are determined. The reinstatement process is likely to conclude prior to the close of an enforcement investigation. It is NCAA policy not to comment on current, pending or potential investigations.

Yes he can, along with posey and herron. I think all 3 will most likely go

Why the F can't they wait one or two more years to sell this shit????

"Adams must repay $1,000 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring and Herron must repay $1,150 for selling his football jersey, pants and shoes for $1,000 and receiving discounted services worth $150.

Posey must repay $1,250 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring for $1,200 and receiving discounted services worth $50, while Pryor must repay $2,500 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring, a 2009 Fiesta Bowl sportsmanship award and his 2008 Gold Pants, a gift from the university.

Solomon must repay $1,505 for selling his 2008 Big Ten championship ring for $1,000, his 2008 Gold Pants for $350 and receiving discounted services worth $155."

and in a related story, I'm selling my St. Raphael Raiders Cleveland West Suburban Parochial Football League Champion T-shirt. Ahhh 7th grade was magical.

If Pryor wants to play QB in the pros he probably needs to come back. I doubt he's proven to be worthy of a first round pick as a QB.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Why doesn't the bowl game count in this suspension?

OK, I re-read the article and caught that tOSU did something wrong.


Where is BD for the spin? How this gets to show everyone how great the backups are?

I think he should find a new position, such as WR

First 5 games next year are:
Akron
Toledo
@ Miami
Colorado
Michigan State

First game eligible will be Nebraska

I think Pryor bolts regardless.

I think Pryor is in trouble here no matter what he does, I don't think he is ready for the pro's, he will probably be a receiver.

I think he needed another year and now is suspended for half the year, now the Buckeyes have a guy coming in called Braxton Miller that people are raving about, I remember seeing him play before the year and he was more of a runner, but people say he has an arm too.

I know they have reasons for guys that get to play in the bowl game still, but it does seem kinda of weird that do play in that game. I don't know if the NCAA wants to make teams happy and have better bowls, because if these guys were off the team, Arkansas would probably roll, and also the NCAA gave a break to Cam Newton, just think where Auburn would be with no Cam.

I almost if it has anything to do with the thought that college football could leave the NCAA if they wanted too.

Laugh out loud!

Seriously, I hope that these suspensions do not adversely affect their studies.

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I don't know if anybody heard Mark May's take on ESPN, but he was mad at the NCAA and brought up some crazy things, like if this was another school these players would be suspended and there not because their in the Big 10. If this was Ryan Mallett he would be suspended and the NCAA wants to save teams in the Big 10 and Pac 10.

I would ask Mark May if the NCAA protects Big 10 and Pac 10, I think some people would say Cam Newton should be suspended and he didn't by the NCAA. So maybe the NCAA protects other teams and people too, not just the Big 10 and Pac 10.

Mark May is a dolt.

If the NCAA was really looking to protect itself or Ohio State, it either wouldn't punish the athletes at all, or it would require the punishment to come during the bowl game.

You know how much money the NCAA makes from the Sugar Bowl? $12,000. That will pay for about a third of a single secretary's salary in Indianapolis. It's a pittance. Instead of punishing them during the bowl, however, they are punishing them during a stretch that includes one major conference and one major non-conference game. If the players decide to forgo the punishment and enter the draft prematurely (and it would be premature for any of the three; Pryor may not even be drafted), it will effectively destroy Ohio State's chances next year.

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Fire Phil Emery

On top of that, no one knows what's going to happen with the labor issues in the NFL....Next year is not the best year to declare early.