It's a quiet Monday in college football, and this offseason, that can only mean one thing: Time for another hallowed program to sink further into an NCAA quagmire of its own making! Ohio State has received the dreaded Notice of Allegations from the NCAA, and the Columbus Dispatch has the documents. In a continuation of the theme established earlier this spring, with charges leveled directly at coaches like Lane Kiffin and Bruce Pearl, the university appears to have dodged the failure to monitor charges as well as the hammer of a "lack of instifutional control" label, but Jim Tressel could face major sanctions for his alleged role in covering up violations committed by multiple Buckeye football players, some of which would have ruled starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor and other team leaders ineligible for all of 2010.
Jim Tressel Investigation: Ohio State’s NCAA Notice Of Allegations Arrives
“It was reported that Jim Tressel, head football coach, failed to deport himself in accordance with the honesty and integrity normally associated with the conduct and administration of intercollegiate athletics and violated ethical-conduct legislation,” the 13-page NCAA document says.It gets worse: Thanks to earlier violations in the football and basketball programs on the part of Troy Smith and Jim O’Brien, the Buckeyes could be tagged as repeat offenders, although it’s sort of funny that harboring seven potentially ineligible players doesn’t garner a repeat offender designation all by itself. As it stands now, Ohio State is staring down an August 12 date with the Committee on Infractions, the result of which could encompass an 11-1 season vacated, docked scholarships, and (if the repeat offender penalty gets handed down) a postseason ban.
More details from the unearthed documents are available at the above Dispatch link, and for a good time, follow the reliable beat reporter Ken Gordon on Twitter as he speculates on the immediate future of Tressel and the Ohio State football program.
