Purdue's women's basketball team (yeah, I know, it was news to me that they had one too) got some pretty bad news late Wednesday from the NCAA Rules Committee. Ex-Coach Katrina Merriweather was found to be guilty of both writing papers for an ex-player as well as making illegal recruting phone calls.
These violations were handled internally with the suspension of both player and coach when they occurred a few years back, but the NCAA didn't think that was enough punishment. So, Brand's people handed down a loss of 2 schollies for the coming year as well as some sort of probation...When you look at it, it's really not a big deal. BUT, the NCAA called the violations "Major."
I don't really care about the NCAA punishing the women's program. But I care about a couple of things in this story- here they are:
First, I'd like to never see a Women's basketball game again past High School. I find the game tough to watch and most of the women that play it tough to look at. Granted, Nicki Taggart was smokin' hot (played for the Boilers in '93-'94), and one of Purdue's PFs from the early mid 90s called me "baby" on more than one occasion while I worked in the cafeteria in Cary Quad (it was thrilling and scary at the same time)...So not all is completely lost. But, if Purdue never would have had a team, we wouldn't be having these problems right now.
Second, if we have to have a team, let's make sure the ladies aren't embarrassing the university. Cheating of any kind while representing my alma mater is bothersome, academic cheating is deplorable. Is it really worth risking your degree/job for women's basketball?
Lastly, if we're going to have women's basketball, and Purdue's team is going to break rules, and the NCAA is going to investigate and find the Lady Boilers guilty, they need to be even handed. The NCAA was clearly trying to make a big deal out of this when we know as a fact that bigger programs in other sports have made much larger violations without the NCAA squawking so loudly about it.
tO$U paid players, gave them goods and bent academic rules for Maurice Clarett and Troy Smith (and others). What happened? Clarett's case was viewed as isolated and he was thrown under the bus...good thing for them he proved to be a crazy person shortly after so they didn't look so bad. And Troy Smith was briefly suspended, the AD stepped down and it all went away. Why? Because programs like the Buckeyes help pay for Title IX and other non-profit garbage that needs to be funded by the NCAA. If they kill the cash cow, they kill the philanthropic movement and Miles Brand would have to actually earn his money outside of the scholastic-athletic arena. I get that...But double standards stink.