Hawaii hit hard by NCAA

It is funny in a sad sort of way how accurate the joke is about UNC getting publicly exposed for cheating so the obscure teams should be afraid. The NCAA will make an example of Hawaii while turning a blind eye towards UNC.

The delusion is strong with the Tar Heel nation.

Here's some perspective from the south on possible sanctions towards UNC (from the local paper):

NCAA investigation

Any predictions of where the NCAA investigation into UNC’s academics scandal will end are worth just about as much now as NCAA Tournament bracket picks.

The investigation started more than a year ago, and it was delayed even more last summer when UNC announced more self-reported problems, bringing a new NCAA “Notice of Allegations.” That kicked the can of worms even farther down the road.

Given the time needed for a formal NCAA finding and for UNC to respond, it is unlikely UNC’s case will conclude before April or May. In other words, not before the NCAA basketball tournament is finished.

The important thing to many at UNC was that the latest allegations centered on women’s basketball and men’s soccer – not football and not men’s basketball, UNC’s greatest sources of prestige and athletic revenue.

Neither the Weinstein Report nor the NCAA’s notice leveled any allegations at a specific Tar Heel basketball or football player or coach. And while the issue of UNC’s widespread “lack of institutional control” is serious, it applies to a broad spectrum of 3,100 students (fewer than half of them athletes) over an 18-year span. Further, the NCAA reportedly views that as possible “impermissible benefits to student-athletes” – not academic fraud.

While no one knows when the NCAA will render judgment or what that judgment will be, it probably won’t take any wins or titles away from the biggest sports.

“We do believe the cloud is beginning to lift,” UNC coach Roy Williams said last fall. “Gosh, we’ve been investigated six times. ...We know what went on, and let’s go ahead and move forward and get it over with.”

Hmmm...how much revenue does Hawaii pump into the NCAA compared to UNC? It's a money thing plain and simple. UNC vs. Anybody is going to pull decent ratings on ESPN, allowing more valuable advertising and more money pumping into the system. Hawaii may be the "anybody" once in a while, but they're certainly not the headliner in any matchup, and their home games are played while most of the country is sleeping, giving them very little ability to generate TV ratings or ad revenue.

The last I heard about the UNC affair was that they "uncovered" another potential student (possibly the women's basketball or soccer kid) which, by turning them in, gave UNC a whole 'nuther round of submit the report, await a response, respond to the response, await a final decision square dancing. Based on the timing of each of these processes, no decision is expected until after basketball season ends. Then again, if UNC is holding a small supply of other potential students who were involved in reserve, they could just add yet another student name this spring, and stall the process for another 4-5 months. In theory, if they had 10 kids in their pocket, that could draw things out for 4 years if they played it right.

Here's what I predict (and Roy's "cloud is lifting" statement backs this up, IMHO): UNC knows that they've stalled this thing out long enough that only a small group of rabid sports fans care at this point. The NCAA knows this too, and knows that the longer this drags out, the weaker their case looks. Worse for the NCAA, they can't control the timing if UNC continues to find ways to stall things procedurally. I also believe that HCRW will likely time his retirement along with the NCAA sanctions. If the NCAA plans to come down hard, look for Roy to retire at the end of this season. If, however, HCRW decides to come back next year, that would indicate that the NCAA will give them a slap on the wrist. I'm guessing that HCRW announces his retirement at the end of NEXT season, and that the NCAA decision doesn't impact the program until after he's gone.

:sick

Certainly UNC isn't going to press the issue w the NCAA, like AD Zenger did! What a joke!

WHOA...the earth just moved in SoCal.....and I don't think it had anything to do w the NCAA moving on the UNC issue!

To paraphrase Indiana Jones: "I HATE earthquakes!"

WSG

RC