What's the most you've ever won in your March Madness office pool? Fifty bucks? A few hundred? As a result of his participation in pools and auctions from 2000-2004, former Washington coach Rick Neuheisel walked away with a payday topping $4 million. More on that in a moment.
Washington is the first of the programs we've covered to get hit with two violations in the last 20 years and having read the circumstances surrounding both violations, I have to say that these might be two of the most trumped-up violations we run across. The NCAA Committee on Infractions filed reports in 1994 and 2004 on the Huskies. The 1994 violations involved improper benefits and the 2004 report detailed Neuheisel's love of college basketball.Sorry, No Photos
In April of 2002 a "confidential" informant blew the whistle on the veritable den of iniquity that was the Washington Huskies' football office. Gambling on the NCAA basketball tournament was rampant with people shelling out three, sometimes five, whole dollars to get in on the action. These deep pockets came from all over the athletics department: trainers, assistant coaches, football staffers, and even the head football coach himself. It had finally gone too far, though, when Neuheisel got involved with an NCAA tournament auction in which he paid over $3,500 and received over $10,000.
"But wait," you're probably asking, "that doesn't sound like anything near $4 million."
You're right. You see, Neuheisel chose to be less than forthcoming with the NCAA's investigatory staff. This lack of candor is what led the Committee on Infractions to make such a big deal out of those trivial office pools, and it also resulted in Washington showing him the door. He sued the NCAA and Washington for wrongful termination and that case reached a settlement in 2005 that provided Neuheisel with his massive payday. While it took a while for him to realize his winnings, it might have been the most lucrative series of NCAA tournament pools ever. (It's also worth noting that the settlement was reached largely on account of the NCAA failing to produce documents that they should have.)
I get the impression that, had Neuheisel been up-front with the NCAA, this would've probably been written off as a minor infraction. No such luck, though. The huskies were dinged for "failure to monitor" and given two years of probation in the 2004 report.
The incidents covered in the 1994 report were more worthy of the NCAA's time, although (like the 2004 violation) the punishments were, in large part, levied upon people who had nothing to do with the infractions. In fact, the NCAA comes right out and says "[n]o members of the university's coaching or athletics administration staff are named in a finding of a violation."
The long and the short of the 1994 violations is this: several boosters gave extra benefits here and there to student athletes and prospective student athletes. Washington didn't know about them and, for the most part, the NCAA didn't seem to think there was any reason they should have.
The worst of the violations involved a booster with a real estate development company who, over the course of nine years, paid a "substantial number" of players for work they didn't do. The NCAA estimates the total payout to be over $30,000. Other incidents of overpayment involved to prospective student athletes making 20% more than their non-athlete co-workers at a golf course (overpayment which came to around $400 a summer per player).
There were also other assorted nit-picky violations tossed into the report for good measure, including hotels giving prospective student athletes "extra amenities" and a booster asking (with no other inducement) a prospective student athlete to change his verbal commitment to Washington.
As a result of all of these infractions, the NCAA gave Washington two years of probation, a two-year post-season ban, restricted Washington's TV appearances for a year, and yanked 20 scholarships from them over two years.
Scoreboard:
- Failure to monitor: 2004 (10 points)
- Lack of Institutional Control: 1994 (10 points)
- Probation: 4 years total (8 points)
- Post-season ban: 1994, 2 years (6 points)
- Television ban: 1994, 1 year (3 points)
- Initial scholarships: 1994, 20 (10 points)
- Total: 47.00 points (1994: 33 points, 2004: 14 points)
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Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Okay if your rating system seriously is going to put UDub at 7 and the 7th Floor Crew at 10, it's clearly worthless. Go be a guest panelist on "Who's Now" or something.
I can already see it: Colorado doesn't make the top ten, and Air Force is #1.
You can blame the NCAA for that, John. I'm not the one who gave out more harsh punishments to Washington than Miami and had you actually read the post you'd see that I don't really agree with the severity of the Washington penalties.
How can Washington be NO.7 when they sUck every year?....Hell, if your goona cheat at least be good at it.
pete, after seeing OSU and UDUB here in a quantified formula on ncaa punishments, i'm wondering if this will turn out to be more of an expose on the ncaa than 'the dirtiest programs'.
it's long been discussed that the ncaa will slap the wrist of the monster programs while dropping the hammer on others.
i'll be interested to see where the alabamas and oklahomas show up...
Lets be honest, it comes down to politics. If I remember correctly USC came up this off season with two violations. One recruiting one the top RB's in the country using a professional athlete. Oh and using the star professional athlete of the kids local NFL team. What happen to the text message violations? I forgot though USC is the NCAA's poster child. There is no way they can receive post season probation. They just send out the message, kids come to USC where your family can live in La Jolla. It is not just USC though. They just are the most recent example to grab from. I think every school has violations. They just chose who gets punished and how bad. Oklahoma got off easy too. A HARSH punishment is suspension from post season play. I read a comment that says Washington is a bad program. If you remember though, that violation came after a National Title and back when they were beating USC 28-0 on a yearly basis. What crippled them? Suspension from post season play. Think about it, how do you tell a top recruit, "Oh by the way, you won't get to play in a bowl game during your career here." Not saying Oklahoma deserves a 5 year ban from post season, but put a year or two ban and they will feel the effects then. Not removing wins from a season that has already passed. I think there are schools out there we all know violate NCAA rules. Miami over the years but I think this new coach deserves a chance at doing things the right way and cleaning up that program. Nick Saban, he seems to be the leader of constantly reporting himself for violations. Notre Dame infamous, "Lets Win one for the Gipper," is as common a phrase as hearing Saban say, "I did not realize I was not aloud to contact the player and I just found that out, sorry." I think his punishment is that he sits infront of the NCAA rules committee on College Gameday and gets every rule read to him infront of a nationwide audience. Then if he does his trade mark phrase again and violates any rule, he gets slapped with a big probation. I have no personal grudges against any of these programs, I just am amazed at how the same school or coach can have multiple violations yet there is no punishment that really hurts their program. Tell me how taking away scholarships from USC is going send away a recruit when he still plays for a winning program, lives near the beach, is surrounded by hot girls and celebrities in the stands at a school that claims to have the best financial aid that they guarentee to cover all cost of attending their school through their financial aid. Plus if you can get a house in La Jolla you can get your tuition from someone.
Sportsrant, first of all if you think pro athletes don't help in recruiting check out the Eddie George story. This guy goes to banquets throughout Ohio and tries to pump up OSU to heraded high school football players. Point is this happens everywhere. The SC program is no dirtier than any other high profile program with one major exception. They are the best at recruiting, period. Pete and staff own college football right now and sorry, it won't be changing soon. I grew up in Seattle and the National title year of 1991 was the culmination of Don James great work at building a successful program. Neuheisel ripped that apart quickly. Any top 25 program is 1 step away from the death penalty, but you have to be smart enough to TRY and follow the rules. Coaches can't babysit players. That is not their job, winning is. As for the SC allegations, it's just jealousy, get over it. FIGHT ON!