Jumpy Guy

With the announcements of the sanctions and penalties and all the other crap that came out this morning I think that it's a damn shame that the one group of people that are being harmed the most are the athletes at PSU. This will hurt all of the students that simply had nothing to do with this terrible situation. I agree 100%, fire everyone, anyone that was even remotely tied to this should be punished. But students coming in on scholarships that had nothing to do with this and punishing them I believe is just not right. Hell, some of these students weren't even born when these horrible crimes took place. Football cannot be all consuming on a college campus but it does fund a lot of other students dreams.
My .02

fltsfshr

I don't think it's right to beat up the University with the NCAA. I want to know why there aren't other warrants being issued for conspiracy to hide a felony (heinous). It's other individuals, not just Paterno who participated in the cover up. These are the people who should be investigated, prosecuted and liable for their actions.

Instead it's blame the institution but protect the individuals. I suspect it's because many of them are power players in either the alumni association, the instructors, the administration or the board. That's wrong.

I believe that pedophiles protect pedophiles as a justification for their actions. I don't think it's fair that the institution should suffer.

fltsfshr

Zippy

Well, I agree that there are some football players that will be hurt, but as to the fine, it was expressly stated that the fine will not affect any other athletic activities, or academics. As far as where this money will come from, Penn States endowment was in excess of $1.8B before the Sandusky thing brewed up, so $60M is truly a drop in the bucket. As far as the athletes that are there, I feel that if they truly are looking to become members of the NFL, they can transfer to another school where they can have an opportunity to fulfill their goals, in fact I feel confident that they are being recruited by other schools as I type.

That all said, PSU has ~44000 students, around 100 play football, that means 43900 students should have little or no impact. I am not sure how much of the $60M that Penn State makes off of football, is actually put back into the general fund and how much is kept in the football program, but using $15K/year tuition (which is the lowest tuition for any major on campus, source is the Penn State tuition calculator) times 44,000, the number of students that appears to be in State College, that gives them $660M/ in tuition alone, I am not sure what football funds are used for other than football, that breakdown does not seem to be available.

So the only major thing that I can calculate that was lost is Paterno's legacy

But that just me talking, and I mean to offend no one.

raymo19

As I understand it the student/athletes on football scholarships are free to transfer anywhere they wish with no penalty. The rest of the student body, the alumni and fans will suffer a decade plus of sucky football. Seems fair to me under the circumstances. SMU only paid the athletes.

boltonblue

I agree it is harmful to the student athletes. On the other hand however, I don't know you can punish the program without bringing harm to those participating in the program.
Students can transfer but it also hurts their chances f ever graduating.
My so changed his major after two semesters and he'll likely be going an additional year to "catch up".
What happens to students that transfer after 2 or 3 years?

If they're not headed for the pros, I think their football scholarship should be converted to an academic version for the remainder of their college experience at the digression of the student.

RedY2KS2k

Keep in mind, the NCAA ruled that any football scholarship athlete at Penn State can quit the sport and keep their scholarship; additionally, they will be allowed to transfer to another institution and be eligible to play immediately - the normal one-year ineligibility period for a transfer athlete has been waived.

I'm ambivalent about the penalty for the football program. I'm more interested that anyone guilty of a conspiracy to aid and abet Jerry Sandusky's crimes should do hard time. And I mean real prison time among the Crips, Bloods, and members of the Aryan Nation, not "Club Fed." They were men enough to do the crime; now we need to find out if they're men enough to survive the time.

Jumpy Guy

Excellent points, thanks for your input

paS2K

Wow...I just stumbled upon this thread....glad that I was NOT involved in the controversy....for a change