Penn State punishment a rare good move by NCAA

In throwing the book at Penn State, the NCAA didn’t stop at its own 427-page manual, it tossed darn near the whole headquarters law library at the Nittany Lions.

In its fury, the NCAA discovered it had a constitution — and invoked it.

In the search for things to smack the Nittany Lions over the head with, it dusted off Bylaw Provision 4.1.2(e), which permits the executive committee to "adopt and implement policies to resolve core issues," and put it to use.

Remarkably — and refreshingly — the NCAA has come a long way from just two seasons ago, when it tip-toed around a Cam Newton controversy saying that it could find nothing in its bylaws to cover a parent alleged to have attempted to market his son to the highest bidder.

This time, the NCAA didn’t quibble over precedent, it resolved to establish it.

In fact, its president, Mark Emmert, and executive committee chair, Ed Ray, seemed to relish saying "unprecedented" and "extraordinary."

Not only was the package of sanctions — a $60 million fine, four-year postseason ban, loss of 10 scholarships per year and a maximum of 65 overall, vacating of victories, waiver of transfer rules for current and incoming players, etc. — trailblazing, so, too was the speed with which it was meted out.

Far from the often-glacial pace of NCAA operation, they were announced just eight months after the NCAA first sent Penn State notification and but 11 days after circulation of the Penn State-commissioned report by former FBI head Louis Freeh.

In comparison, the case against Southern California surrounding Reggie Bush took nearly three years.

Of course, coming down on Penn State with both feet was the easy part.

Never has the key phrase of "lack of institutional control" been so applicable.

Never in its history has one of the NCAA’s member institutions behaved so egregiously or so heinously abdicated its responsibility. Which is why the consent decree with the NCAA came so swiftly.

In doing so, Penn State agreed to a list of sanctions that could have the Nittany Lions replacing Indiana at the bottom of the Big Ten football standings for many years to come.

While the focus for some will undoubtedly be on how long it takes the Nittany Lions to bounce back from the impact of the sanctions, the bigger question hovering over big-time college athletics is: What will the NCAA’s role be going forward?

Will the Penn State case be a sign of a more engaged, sharper-toothed NCAA, as hoped? Or, after executives finish patting themselves on the back, will we have a return to business as usual?

Ray, the president of Oregon State, pointed to a meeting of presidents and chancellors a year ago in a season of scandals as a tipping point.

"Basically, as a group, the presidents and chancellors said, ‘We’ve had enough. This has to stop. We have to reassert our responsibilities and charge to oversee intercollegiate athletics,’" Ray said.

Emmert said, "Certainly, the lesson here is one of maintaining the appropriate balance of our values. Why do we play sports in the first place and does that culture ever get to the point where it overwhelms the values of the academy, those things we all hold dear?"

Maybe the collapse of values and desertion of mission by Penn State helped the NCAA to redefine its own.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 525-4820.