Trouble in Tallahassee | The DawgHouse

It was announced yesterday that several Florida State sports have been caught in a major academic scandal in which some of the players were given "improper help" in classes. Ten programs -- football, baseball, men's track and field, women's track and field, men's swimming, women's swimming, men's basketball, women's basketball, softball and men's golf -- all face penalties, but none is more crucial to history than football. It is reported that the NCAA may force FSU to forfeit all wins from 2006 to 2007, meaning that Bobby Bowden, who is currently 1 win behind Joe Paterno for the most wins in Div I-FBS history. If the wins are forfeited, that decreases his win total to 368, making him fifteen wins behind Paterno. So, the question is, what should be done? Should the NCAA take away Bowden's wins, or just take away scholarships and call it a day? I'm not real sure.

On one hand, I say take the wins away. They cheated, they got caught, and they should be penalized for it. But on the other hand, my "Media Side" tells me not to. If you do, then there will no longer be an interest in "Who Has the Most Wins Now?" and I guarantee that some of the ratings for the national broadcasted Florida State and Penn State games will go down. This seemingly gives Bowden no excuse to keep coaching if the Seminoles struggle (besides the whole less-scholarship deal). When Joe-Pa struggled, everyone said "he's just trying to beat Bowden" and it seemed that being #1 was partly what kept these two guys going. Now it seems Paterno might have this for good over Bowden.

So what's the verdict? I say take the wins away. Set an example. You don't help student-athletes cheat. And you don't screw around with the NCAA and think you'll get away with it. Sorry Bobby, if you knew about it or not, but it seems you will be the main man punished.

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March 7, 2009 04:30 PM ET

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As a Gator alum, I have taken a vow not to throw stones at the FSU fans, so I will only say that I believe the NCAA should make every effort to take into account what the university does once an infraction comes to light, how they handle the issues, and make the penalties fit the "crimes".

GatorRobster

Houston, TX

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March 9, 2009 09:21 AM ET

UF paid the price for breaking the rules in the 1980's and was placed on probation, and FSU is no exception after some of their stuident-athletes were caught cheating. It's time for them to reap what they sow, and if that means losses of scholarships, four years of probation and even vacating wins, then they must face the music and dance.

Nearly half of the students caught cheating were football players, and if that means that Bobby Bowden loses wins from 2006 and 2007, that's the price to be paid and he better deal with the consequences.

O-town Gator

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March 12, 2009 11:43 AM ET

Haha, when was that O-Town? Anyway, the thing is, none of the football players that cheated played, they were all suspended. I don't know if you're supposed to take the wins away anyway.

Ponder this

Crestview , FL

Total Comments (62)

April 23, 2009 10:32 PM ET

Bobby Bowdens career record is irrelavent. Your program was caught in a major fraud. Why should the Bobby vs Joe issue even be relevant? You were involved in a major rules violation, there was a lack of institutional control. When did the guidelines add a Bobby Bowden clause? How do we know these violations haven't been going on for years, adding to the FSU football record. Either it is a violation, or we start interpreting the rules based on who the head coach is. Sounds like Republicans interpreting the Geneva Conventions!