The fallout from the NCAA's laughable "punishment" of the Michigan Wolverines program continues.
After years of punishing athletic departments, teams and programs with penalties that affected players who joined schools years after prior violations, the NCAA suddenly decided that Michigan was different. They did it with the USC Trojans, they did it with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Heck, the Akron Zips are banned from a bowl game in 2025 because of academic scores from 2023-2024.
But with the Michigan punishment, the NCAA decided that was a bridge too far. Even though their investigation found that former coach Jim Harbaugh showed no interest in complying with NCAA rules.
College football fans and commentators have been furious, and rightfully so. And we can now count former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer as one of those calling out the NCAA's hypocrisy and lack of enforcement.
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During a preview of an upcoming episode of "The Triple Option" podcast, Meyer explained what he had to deal with at Ohio State in 2011 after replacing Jim Tressel. And that the lack of enforcement toward Michigan effectively ends the NCAA's importance.
"In December of 2011, I had to stand in front of a group of seniors and tell them they were not allowed to play in a bowl or championship game in their final year of college football, for something they had nothing to do with," Meyer said. "One of the most difficult things I have ever done. That same group went 12-0 and were unable to play of the national championship of college football.
"The recent NCAA ruling to not punish players that weren't involved is correct. However, this ruling also proves that the NCAA as an enforcement arm no longer exists."
This is the trap the NCAA set for itself. They created a precedent over the past two decades that said teams in violation of NCAA rules should be punished with bowl bans, vacated wins, and the like. Now that their importance and relevance is declining, they've suddenly changed their precedent.
Now they look like toothless hypocrites.
Meyer's right: the enforcement arm of the NCAA does effectively no longer exist. And the outcry over their prolific inconsistencies is almost certainly going to push the major conferences and programs closer to eliminating it entirely, at least with regard to college football. Given their track record, that might not be the worst idea.
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