OT: D1

[Ram040506]

Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith Njigba declares for the draft and will not play in the CFP vs Georgia. First guy to skip a playoff game to my knowledge

A little context. He’s played like barely a game this year and was questionable to even be ready for the playoffs. He’s not really skipping it, he’s not healthy.

[Chuck Norris]

A little context. He’s played like barely a game this year and was questionable to even be ready for the playoffs. He’s not really skipping it, he’s not healthy.

Yeah that certainly makes it less of a big story. Pretty much a no brainer for him.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not D1 related but Baker Mayfield was released today by Carolina.

No. 1 overall pick to flat out cut within a few years.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Primetime got a 5-star WR commitment today in Boulder. ESPN is reporting 200 players already verbally committed elsewhere have contacted Colorado.

[Fightingscot82]

Primetime got a 5-star WR commitment today in Boulder. ESPN is reporting 200 players already verbally committed elsewhere have contacted Colorado.

Probably unable to substantiate that claim but everyone involved here does know that Colorado is in Boulder? Its a top 5 college town for me and if my wife would let me I'd live there - but I do wonder how well this experiment will work. But its exactly the goose in the ass Colorado football needed.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Probably unable to substantiate that claim but everyone involved here does know that Colorado is in Boulder? Its a top 5 college town for me and if my wife would let me I'd live there - but I do wonder how well this experiment will work. But its exactly the goose in the ass Colorado football needed.

It's actually surprising to me he is still considered so 'cool' to this generation. I mean, no doubt, he was 'Primetime' for people our age. But, that was a long, long time ago.

I don't know. If he got mega recruits to Jackson State ... imagine what he may do in the Pac 10 (or whatever the hell it's called these days).

That said, I can imagine the power over parents our age when Neon Freaking Deion comes in for a home visit. That would literally be like a rock star coming to your house.

[EyeoftheHawk]

It's actually surprising to me he is still considered so 'cool' to this generation. I mean, no doubt, he was 'Primetime' for people our age. But, that was a long, long time ago.

I don't know. If he got mega recruits to Jackson State ... imagine what he may do in the Pac 10 (or whatever the hell it's called these days).

That said, I can imagine the power over parents our age when Neon Freaking Deion comes in for a home visit. That would literally be like a rock star coming to your house.

It’s going to be interesting. Winning at Jackson State is one thing, but he’s going to need a good staff around him to win consistently at this level. The PAC 10/12, whatever, is probably a good place to start for him. It’s going to be watered down now as well with the defections. Recruiting is one thing and I think he’ll do that extraordinarily well. Will he be able to win at the next level? That’s the question. He’s a winner and I wouldn’t doubt him, but we’ll find out soon enough.

[IUPNation]

I still think Peon will be a dumpster fire.

[IUP24]

It's actually surprising to me he is still considered so 'cool' to this generation. I mean, no doubt, he was 'Primetime' for people our age. But, that was a long, long time ago.

I don't know. If he got mega recruits to Jackson State ... imagine what he may do in the Pac 10 (or whatever the hell it's called these days).

That said, I can imagine the power over parents our age when Neon Freaking Deion comes in for a home visit. That would literally be like a rock star coming to your house.

I don't want to sound uncultured. I know Primetime. I understand he was a big deal. But somebody share with somebody under 30 why he has this star power appeal? What made him so special compared to any other pro athlete of his time? He's just not one that I've studied in my lifetime lol.

[IUP24]

Pitt is irrelevant in major college football.

Pitt has also won more football games in the last 3 seasons than Penn State has.

[IUP24]

It’s going to be interesting. Winning at Jackson State is one thing, but he’s going to need a good staff around him to win consistently at this level. The PAC 10/12, whatever, is probably a good place to start for him. It’s going to be watered down now as well with the defections. Recruiting is one thing and I think he’ll do that extraordinarily well. Will he be able to win at the next level? That’s the question. He’s a winner and I wouldn’t doubt him, but we’ll find out soon enough.

I question how this will all hold up at a major school in a major conference. Is this for real, or is it mostly a publicity stunt? I'm not saying the guy isn't going there to win; but is he more about the show, or more about the program, players, and winning? I think a lot of those questions need to be answered by Sanders. We'll see.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I don't want to sound uncultured. I know Primetime. I understand he was a big deal. But somebody share with somebody under 30 why he has this star power appeal? What made him so special compared to any other pro athlete of his time? He's just not one that I've studied in my lifetime lol.

He was a megastar athlete -- flashy, arrogant yet likeable, etc. Not to mention he played in the NFL and MLB. He sold merchandise like few others in that era. He was 'primetime' in an era when college football had stars stay at one school. White kids loved him. Black kids loved him.

He was at ground zero of the FSU uprising but would have been a perfect Miami Hurricane in that era. He led the charge against big, bad Miami.

That era was Bo, Jordan and Deion.

Why is he still polarizing to this generation? I guess when you have 'it' ... you have it.

[IUPNation]

Pitt has also won more football games in the last 3 seasons than Penn State has.

Pitt doesn’t play in the BIG East either…

[IUPNation]

I don't want to sound uncultured. I know Primetime. I understand he was a big deal. But somebody share with somebody under 30 why he has this star power appeal? What made him so special compared to any other pro athlete of his time? He's just not one that I've studied in my lifetime lol.

I thought he was clown then.

Hes the reason the crowd at The Vet reacted when Coke Head Irvin was laying on turf. He was running around like an idiot. And the crowd was booing him.

The Vet turf was the MVP of that game.

[IUP24]

NCAA power has diminished to the point where almost anything goes. They also failed to put any sanctions on North Cheatolina for their blatant academic scandal of a couple of years back. The Tar Heels defense for that was basically that since other members of the student body had cheated as well as the athletes, the athletes shouldn't be singled out.

I've pretty much soured on D1 sports in general. Small-college sports aren't perfect, but at least the D2 and D3 kids play more for the love of the game, and I don't have to mortgage my house to afford season tickets to see them play.

The full context of your post highlights what's ultimately wrong with the NCAA at the highest levels of college sports. The NCAA is never going to punish a major program at a major university the way they actually should (like they did with SMU and the "death penalty" punishment). And it has nothing to do with killing a town's economy, or hurting a university, etc. They won't pull the trigger for reasons related to their own self-interest.

In recent history, there's been MAJOR scandals in college sports at big-time programs, and in big revenue sports. You think about some of the things that have happened, and this probably isn't the entire list...

• Penn State sex scandal with Jerry Sandusky
• Michigan State scandal within their athletic department with Larry Nassar
• Rick Pitino prostitute scandal with Louisville men's hoops
• Louisville basketball scandal, Part 2
• UNC basketball academic cheating scandal
• FBI investigation into coaches and boosters wire tapping recruits money from some big-time basketball programs (Arizona, UNC, Tennessee, etc.).

You take a look at each of those individually... Minimal tangible punishment that would legitimately impact anything and serve as an actual deterrent to others. To your point, there wasn't a punishment levied against UNC. Sean Miller and Bruce Pearl lost their jobs stemming from that FBI investigation, but nothing happened to the basketball programs otherwise. The NCAA picks and chooses who they want to punish, and when they want to step in.

At the end of the day, there's far too much money at stake for the NCAA to actually do anything when these scandals break. People can say what they want about the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The reality outside of State College, PA and outside of that fanbase is that a predator was allowed to work within Penn State's football program for decades. What involvement or knowledge powerful people within that program and university actually had, I guess we'll never know. And in hopes of not stirring up an argument, or straying from the actual point I'm intending to make here, I'll choose to just not proceed further. That said, Penn State was let off the punishment they were issued with "good behavior." Why? Because the NCAA and college football NEEDS Penn State. They can't afford for their football program to be down and for the fanbase to not be energized or interested. The NCAA has far too much to lose if Penn State's program got destroyed from that scandal - and that's truth. It wasn't about feeling bad for the players on the team who had nothing to do with it; the NCAA cared about their wallets. They need Penn State's fans to travel to Phoenix, or Jacksonville, or Topeka, and spend a crap ton of money to watch a bowl game. They need that alumni base tuning into games every weekend on TV. They need the world to tune into the White Out once a year. It's no different than Alabama, or Georgia, or Ohio State, etc. The NCAA needs those schools. They want those schools. And in evaluation of teams vying for the College Football Playoff, they've successfully used the sports media to condition most fans to turn their nose up at anyone not considered a "blue blood." They don't actually want Cincinnati or UCF to have a legit shot. They would rather that spot go to a big time program. Because with big time programs, comes big time money. Impacting one of those programs chances of being there at the end can effectively hurt the NCAA.

Those big boys play by a different set of rules relative to what they are allowed to do off the field. Had a scandal like what happened at Penn State occurred at any of those big schools, it would've been the same punishment at the end of the day. Now... Had that happened at a school like Kent State, or UNLV, or some mid-tier P5 program like Indiana or Maryland.. Those schools would be celebrating homecoming at a soccer game today. I truly believe that.

You keep going further and actually dig into the corruption of college basketball. Look at what you see in March now. They are playing Sweet 16 games in football stadiums. The only schools selling those out are the ones who continue to break the rules off the court. UNC, Arizona, Louisville, etc. The NCAA can't lay the iron fist on North Carolina. They have far too much to lose with them being banned from the postseason for 3 years. They need Tar Heels fans selling out Lucas Oil Stadium in the Round of 16. They need fans from Arizona filling up Jerry's World in the Elite 8. And this thing is only going to get worse. The NCAA continues to push for postseason expansion in all sports, because they are being prompted to do so with money from the networks. And they'll try to make the venues those games are played in bigger. Who sells the most tickets? The teams that cheat the most.

Those runs for schools like St. Peters, UMBC, etc., are fun for the fans, but that's not what the NCAA wants. So, ultimately, that's why they're going to placate to the big boys and let them skirt the rules where they can.

Now.. Had one of those programs committed the academic cheating violation, they'd be banned from the dance for life. Rant over lol...

An aside to all of the this... I think the NCAA was always like this, but I think it's just so out in the open now and visible.