The NCAA has banned Ohio State from a bowl appearance in 2012, Urban Meyer’s first year with the program. In addition to self imposed sanctions which were believed to be thorough enough by Gene Smith, Athletic Director at Ohio State, the NCAA added a third year of probation and additional loses in scholarships (9 total). The Buckeyes will also not be able to play in the next Big Ten championship game, although the current players were able to play in the Sugar Bowl last season and will appear in the Gator Bowl this year.
The athletic department was found to have a been liable of a ‘failure to monitor’ which makes many Ohio State fans question the further employment of Smith as his office allowed much of the violations to occur. The main issue the NCAA hopes to penalize is the no-show jobs violations that were discovered after the first round of players were suspended for trading memorabilia for money and tattoos. A second violation while already on probation is quite troubling.
Former Head Coach Jim Tressel didn’t go without additional penalties either. In addition to losing his position he was slapped with a show-cause charge for the next five years which keeps him out of college coaching for half a decade. Lucky for OSU, new coach Meyer and his already impressive recruits for 2012 are staying put and coming to Columbus next season even without the possibility of playing a 13th game at the end.
Ohio State Gets Bowl Ban, Other Penalties