Will make you weep
You'll cry and cry
And try to sleep.
But sleep won't come
The whole night through,
Your cheating heart
Will tell on you.
[Photo from Goldtimer's GT Blog. Click to enlarge]
Looking around for good anti-GT internets when I stumbled upon this glorious gem written by the Georgia Sports Blog's good friend 81Dog.
The chickens, it would appear, have come home to roost. The NCAA press release concerning GTU's conviction for cheating its fool head off is fairly breathtaking reading. For an "Institute" that brays about its commitment to academics, its integrity, its overall superior standing to other mere colleges in matters of ethics and honesty, this week certainly has been a revelation.
GTU is looking less like MIT on the Connector, and more like the love child of Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV and anyplace ever coached by Jackie Sherill. Read more.
That was good times and good reading. My heart is warmer just having glanced at that.
So I said to myself....What's Next? Sure, I enjoyed reading the official NCAA press release, but I was looking for a deeper analysis. Where would a good Dawg turn to learn the true story behind the story? Why...The Hive where else?
I find it hard to argue that we didn't get what we deserve. The "unintentional" excuse? That veil is getting a bit thin, honey. Just because we didn't mean to do it, doesn't mean we didn't gain an advantage, doesn't mean we didn't screw up in a MAJOR way. And I only listed the subset of problems that jumped out at me!
I love GT, the academics, my former profs, the athletics, the players, the coaches, and on down the line. I am deeply hurt by this. I wish I could jump on the bandwagon, demonizing the NCAA and calling for an appeal, but the agreed upon facts of the case make that impossible for me. Read More
[Can't view to the Hive? Simply log out of Scout.com and view it. You have to be registered to post. Not lurk.]
All ball busting aside, this guy really nailed it. GT got the proverbial book thrown at them in my opinion because of 5 main things:
1. Braine's 2003 edict to NOT look backwards to see if prior violations had been made. Only look forward. This is a clear case of "I don't want to know." Which always draws the extreme ill will of the NCAA.
2. Playing with an ineligible kid again in 2004 after the NCAA had come in and said "You're busted."
3. The competitive advantage gained b/c of WHO the players were and the sheer numbers. Player #6 appears to be Joe Hamilton. As the Hiver linked above said, "How could anyone argue that this wasn't a competitive advantage." (Paraphrase)4. The raw stupidity of trying to retroactively serve an NCAA sanction for lost scholarships that were never available to give in the first place. This bullet point falls under the heading "I told you so" to the guys like Ylojk8 who sent me nasty-grams touting that GT would never get a 79 limit penalty or future year sanctions.
5. Having a staff trained by a guy that didn't know the rules, and hadn't known the rules since 1968.
Looking around the blogosphere there are other great takes on this available from Goldtimer and Nathan .
The reality is that I *am* enjoying this. And I'm enjoying first, foremost and almost entirely because GT fans have been relentless in their pursuit of the moral high ground when the athletic fields were all taken.
The score is now:
All-Time Major NCAA Infractions: UGA 6 vs. GT 4
All-Time Lost Scholarships to NCAA Infractions: UGA 17 vs. GT 24
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