Everyone remembers the SI cover with "Kentucky's Shame" and rivals love to remind us that the cheating was so bad that we almost got the death penalty in 1989. Although I was a teenager at the time of the scandal and remember most of the details vividly, I thought it would be interesting to take another look at what exactly we were alleged to have done and compare that to the prostitution scandal taking place now at UofL.
What really stands out is that our alleged violations were small potatoes compared to what took place at Minardi Hall...certainly far less insidious and salacious. The other stark contrast was how the 2 schools responded to their respective situations and the actions they took to remedy the root causes of the problems.
Here's a snippet from an article covering our 1989 probation (also worth noting that this will be UofL's 2nd probation since our last):
Although the NCAA investigated a host of allegations during its 13-month inquiry, it found three major violations:
* Former assistant coach Dwane Casey sent cash to Mills and his father when the high school all-American was being recruited. The money was found in an opened air-express package in Los Angeles in April 1988, triggering the investigation that culminated in yesterday's announcement. (My note: the discovery of the $1,000 in the Emery envelope in Los Angeles by an admitted fan of UCLA, who was also recruiting Chris Mills, was and is more than a little suspicious. In fact, Casey later successfully settled a multi-million dollar lawsuit against them and had his show-cause order rescinded by the NCAA.)
* Manuel "committed academic fraud by cheating" on a college entrance examination and was allowed to compete during the 1987-88 season, even though the school should have known he was ineligible.
* Casey demonstrated a "knowing and willful" effort to violate NCAA regulations and provided false information to investigators about his role in rules violations.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions also cited a number of less serious violations, such as recruits being provided with improper trips, housing and inducements such as free T-shirts.
Steve Morgan, the NCAA associate executive director in charge of enforcement, said the committee seriously considered banning Kentucky from regular-season play next season and perhaps the season after, as well as banning TV appearances for a second season.
Other possible penalties that were not imposed included a ban on all scholarships and a ban on off-campus recruiting.
"There were significant reductions . . . even though this is a major penalty," Morgan said.
The NCAA report said the penalties were softened because the university cooperated with investigators and took steps to correct some of the ongoing problems.
"While breakdowns occurred in the institution's control over the program, the university's president acted forcefully to uncover all relevant information in the case and to set a proper direction for the future of
Kentucky's athletics program," the committee report said.
It also credited the school with appointing a new athletic director, C.M. Newton, and it cited the resignation of the coaching staff as reasons for leniency.
Meanwhile, Teflon Tom and Pitino keep whistling past the graveyard as they continue to rake in millions while their basketball program is going down in flames.
What really stands out is that our alleged violations were small potatoes compared to what took place at Minardi Hall...certainly far less insidious and salacious. The other stark contrast was how the 2 schools responded to their respective situations and the actions they took to remedy the root causes of the problems.
Here's a snippet from an article covering our 1989 probation (also worth noting that this will be UofL's 2nd probation since our last):
Although the NCAA investigated a host of allegations during its 13-month inquiry, it found three major violations:
* Former assistant coach Dwane Casey sent cash to Mills and his father when the high school all-American was being recruited. The money was found in an opened air-express package in Los Angeles in April 1988, triggering the investigation that culminated in yesterday's announcement. (My note: the discovery of the $1,000 in the Emery envelope in Los Angeles by an admitted fan of UCLA, who was also recruiting Chris Mills, was and is more than a little suspicious. In fact, Casey later successfully settled a multi-million dollar lawsuit against them and had his show-cause order rescinded by the NCAA.)
* Manuel "committed academic fraud by cheating" on a college entrance examination and was allowed to compete during the 1987-88 season, even though the school should have known he was ineligible.
* Casey demonstrated a "knowing and willful" effort to violate NCAA regulations and provided false information to investigators about his role in rules violations.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions also cited a number of less serious violations, such as recruits being provided with improper trips, housing and inducements such as free T-shirts.
Steve Morgan, the NCAA associate executive director in charge of enforcement, said the committee seriously considered banning Kentucky from regular-season play next season and perhaps the season after, as well as banning TV appearances for a second season.
Other possible penalties that were not imposed included a ban on all scholarships and a ban on off-campus recruiting.
"There were significant reductions . . . even though this is a major penalty," Morgan said.
The NCAA report said the penalties were softened because the university cooperated with investigators and took steps to correct some of the ongoing problems.
"While breakdowns occurred in the institution's control over the program, the university's president acted forcefully to uncover all relevant information in the case and to set a proper direction for the future of
Kentucky's athletics program," the committee report said.
It also credited the school with appointing a new athletic director, C.M. Newton, and it cited the resignation of the coaching staff as reasons for leniency.
Meanwhile, Teflon Tom and Pitino keep whistling past the graveyard as they continue to rake in millions while their basketball program is going down in flames.
