Hooray! It’s Over!

At long last, the 3+ year investigation in the Miami athletics program has ended.  The most visible penalties to the common fan are the loss of nine football scholarships and three basketball scholarships each over  a three year period.

I honor the confidentiality agreement I signed with the university back in 2003 and will never publicly comment on the specifics of the case or my time there, but I do have a couple opinions on the outcome.  The average sports fan is saying that we “got off easy.”  This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Those who say we didn’t get a bowl ban are morons.  In what the NCAA considered an unprecedented move, Miami declined two bowl games and a conference championship appearance.  They lost tons in revenue and national exposure from this.  Furthermore, they implemented some recruiting restrictions in a time when they needed to rebuild.  This is probably similar to the punishment the NCAA would have given us if we had not self-imposed.  The NCAA couldn’t punish good behavior and cooperation.  A third bowl ban would have been absurd.

The penalty that Miami fans should be most upset about is the fact that recruits can receive complimentary admission to only ONE home game in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.  In the past, this was unlimited.  This does not make the coaches’ job easier; they may have only one opportunity to make an outstanding impression and communicating this to recruits and families could be a nightmare.

When the NCAA stuck its nose in the Penn State mess (where it didn’t belong – it’s a criminal case), they set themselves up for this “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” scenario.  What is worse than hurting children?  A rogue booster?  I don’t think so.

The cloud of this botched investigation has been hanging over the program for over three years now.  It was like being in purgatory – what could coaches tell kids about the future of UM?  Nothing.  Think of all the recruits that wouldn’t even consider Miami because of the investigation.  Jimbo and Muschamp are certainly crying because the source of their negative recruiting has dried up!

Now is the time to move on, enjoy the #7 ranking, and beat F$U in a prime-time match-up on November 2nd.  Go Canes!

Observations from Chapel Hill

• “Zero Dark Thursday” loses its luster after losses three and four.
• I’m glad we pulled out Storm Trooper for this.  Well played, UM.
• What was with the music selection?  “Summertime Sadness” and “Some Nights” are not great pump-up music.  I bet these were personally requested by Larry Fedora.
• In general, the Carolina fan is a class act.  In my four visits to Kenan, I’ve yet to be treated poorly.  All the heckling has been good-natured.  I wish Miami fans could always behave this way.  Way to go, Heels!
• Apparently, I have really bizarre game-watching habits for a die-hard fan.  With the exception of the last 16 seconds (when I was cheering like a madwoman), I was very stoic.  I just stood there watching the game in silence, making the occasional quip about their “Tar Heels in the NFL” video.

Now, onto the important stuff.  For Miami, the game was a comedy of errors.  Nothing was going right.  Our best RB was out.  Our fastest WR had a knee injury.  Our NFL prospect QB was struggling.  The team played probably its worst game all season.  But, the wheels never came off the train.

It was encouraging to see the players fight back.  This game would not have been won by Miami 2-3 years ago.  When Duke Johnson went down, Dallas Crawford stepped up.  This is a real team.  What won the game for Miami was superior talent but also conditioning and the will to win. 

A wise man once said that the game was usually won by making the other team quit.  Carolina couldn’t do that last night.

There goes Rumple…

“There goes Rumpelstiltskin.  If he screams and stomps his feet any more, he will be swallowed up by the earth,” said my mom of an unnamed college football coach.

So, this coach was reaming out his quarterback for throwing an INT.  He was screaming and his face was bright red.  He was standing on his tippy toes, his teeth clenched as he was getting in this young man’s face.  He was completely out of control.

The quarterback knew he messed up.  And to be honest, yelling isn’t always constructive.  It’s just going to make the kid more upset, nervous, and error-prone.

That’s why I was really impressed with the actions of new USF coach Willie Taggart while coaching his team vs. Miami.  He has a young team.  In this game, USF had a two-yard punt.  After that, Coach Taggart didn’t run over to his punter like a madman.  Rather, he calmly approached the player and had a short discussion.  While I was not privy to the conversation, I would like to think the coach used it as a teaching moment and discussion for improvement for the next go-around.  He had a similar interaction with his QB after her committed a turnover.

I’m not a college football coach, and I know that yelling is necessary to drive a point home.  Sometimes.  But whether you are in the football world or just everyday life, it goes to show that you can accomplish so much more with kindness and graciousness than anger and aggression.