3 things NCAA people probably shouldn’t have emailed each other about Penn State

When the NCAA was determining how to punish Penn State for the Jerry Sandusky scandal, certain members of the college sports governing body felt it didn’t really have jurisdiction to punish the school’s athletic program, as revealed by certain internal emails uncovered by Onward State. (Penn State has responded to the story.)

The NCAA certainly didn’t come to its decisions lightly. However, the organization appears to have been working to justify a punishment it was already leaning toward.

In the wake of public outrage, the NCAA felt like it had to hit Penn State, despite a lack of precedent. The NCAA had rarely involved itself in criminal matters before, typically sticking to athlete eligibility and competitive balance. PSU eventually received a bowl ban, scholarship sanctions, and other punishments, with most of its sanctions being walked back ahead of schedule.

Former NCAA vice president of enforcement Julie Roe and NCAA vice president of academic membership affairs Kevin Lennon admitted that they probably didn’t have the authority to punish Penn State.

But it was a popular idea among fans and some school presidents. The NCAA correctly guessed that PSU would accept heavy sanctions (the “consent decree” refers to the school’s acceptance of fault and sanctions) rather than risk the negative PR of fighting against them. Penn State could’ve taken the issue to the Committee on Infractions, as most schools do when accused by the NCAA of breaking rules, instead of consenting.

“If Penn State could have Louie Freeh conduct an investigation over the last year, why haven’t we done anything?”

Oregon State president Ed Ray sent the above email to Roe on the day the Freeh Report, Penn State’s commissioned investigation into itself, was released to the public. Ray seemed to believe the NCAA failing to act would cast public doubt on the organization during a time of institutional reform.

While Joe Paterno’s vacated wins are far from the most important parts of the story, this discussion on how to explain removing them from the record books could shine light on the NCAA’s approach.

When discussing Penn State’s vacation of wins from 1998 through 2012, Roe and NCAA vice president of communications Bob Williams weren’t talking about competitive advantage, which is typically the reason for sanctions. In the NCAA’s eyes, those wins were accrued because of “a pristine image, which was a lie.”

It could be argued that Penn State’s “image” contributed to recruiting, but as noted elsewhere in the emails, the Nittany Lions have maintained “decent recruiting” since the scandal broke anyway. Its 2012 and 2013 recruiting classes ranked similarly to its 2011 class, which was completed before Sandusky’s grand jury indictment.