Behind Blondie Park

It’s no secret that “The Ohio State University”  Buckeyes football program has run faced disciplinary actions by the NCAA.  Once again, the University’s  is being accused of a secondary violations which occurred in 2013 which   are likely to have NCAA president Mark Emmert and others laughing.

In early 2011, Ohio State  faced sanctions for a humorously serious violation after  football players, including former Oregon recruit Terrelle Pryor, were trading Buckeye football memorabilia for tattoos. What made the situation worse was that head coach Jim Tressel reportedly knew about the trades more than eight months before the school was made aware of the situations. On top of the five players having to repay the benefits earned, Tressel’s contract was broken by failing to inform Athletic Director Gene Smith of the university.

Tim Tebow Joins ESPN SEC Analyst

According to the Northeast Ohio Media Group’s Doug Lesmerises, a recent Sports Illustrated investigation detailing Ohio State’s secondary NCAA violations over the past year uncovered some minor missteps, including one particularly amusing compliance report involving former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and an eight-second phone conversation.

That’s right, the bombshell violation featured one of the most polarizing football players on the planet. Here’s what happened: Linebacker prospect Clifton Garrett, who signed with LSU on Feb. 5, called Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer on March 9, 2013, only to find out he was on vacation and eating lunch with Tebow.

Here’s what happened next, per the school’s self-report via Lesmerises:

During a phone call with a possible recruit , Coach Meyer informed Garrett that he was on vacation and having lunch with friends and family, including Tim Tebow. Garrett asked Coach Meyer if he could wish Tebow good luck on the upcoming season. Coach Meyer handed the phone to Tebow and Garrett conversed with Tebow for approximately eight seconds. Coach Meyer stated that no recruiting conversation occurred, there was no intent to have Tebow recruit on behalf of Ohio State and he, in fact, did not recruit on behalf of Ohio State.

Although NCAA violations often land schools and teams in hot water, minor infractions like these provide a refreshing change of pace from what typically dominates the headlines during the offseason in college sports.

It remains to be seen how the NCAA will respond to Ohio State’s self-reported secondary violations and what improvements the university will make in 2014. But for now, it’s clear that the potential punishment for serious violations has led schools and athletic programs down an honest path.

SOURCE:  The Bleacher Report

A history of major NCAA violations:

In 2009, Florida State University was given the nickname “Free Shoe University,” because agents purchased more than $6,000 worth of shoes for Seminoles players. In addition, cases of academic fraud were uncovered from 2007, which would lead to 10 school teams losing scholarships and vacating wins. While the NCAA did not name the athletes, FSU banned 23 football players from attending the 2007 Music City Bowl. According to the NCAA report, academic fraud is the worst of all NCAA violations.