Moving Forward

Committee makes OU vacate victories from 2005 season.

Penalties also extend probation, take away two scholarships.

School to appeal failure to monitor, elimination of wins.

The University of Oklahoma was slapped with penalties by the NCAA Committee on Infractions on Wednesday.

And now the school is fighting back.

OU president David Boren, just moments after the committee's ruling was made public, announced the school would appeal two penalties imposed -- the erasure of wins from the 2005 season record and the finding of "failure to monitor." OU has 15 days to respond in writing to the NCAA findings.

The NCAA committee's report said the university "made several mistakes in a narrow, but significant area -- the employment of football student-athletes at the dealership, which resulted in a breakdown of monitoring. When such mistakes result in significant violations of NCAA legislation, as in this case, a finding of failure to monitor is appropriate and justified."

The heart of the NCAA investigation was the improper employment of former players Rhett Bomar, J.D. Quinn and Jermaine Hardison at a Norman auto dealership. The trio received impermissible benefits totaling approximately $17,000.

Hardison never played a down for the Sooners, but Bomar and Quinn's inclusion in all of 2005's games made the committee rule that OU must vacate its victories from an 8-4 season.

Not only were the wins yanked away, any records by the three players or public display of 2005 wins must be stricken. Coach Bob Stoops' career record will be changed from 86-19 to 78-19.

OU's penalties also include losing two scholarships in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years, an additional two years of probation, which extends an earlier penalty to 2010, and a public reprimand and censure.

Oklahoma issued self-imposed penalties by kicking Bomar and Quinn off the team (Hardison was dismissed for breaking unspecified team rules later) and banning athletes from working at Big Red Sports and Imports until at least the 2008-09 academic year. The Sooners also reduced the number of coaches allowed to recruit off campus this season by one.

The failure to monitor label isn't as severe a charge as "lack of institutional control," which could have brought tougher sanctions.

"That's an independent, more serious charge that can be brought by (the NCAA's) enforcement division or found by the committee on infractions during the hearing," said Paul Dee, acting chair of the infractions committee and University of Miami (Fla.) athletic director. "That was not the case."

Still, Boren said the school will challenge the failure to monitor ruling.

"Any mistakes made by the athletics department compliance staff while monitoring would not have prevented the intentional wrongdoing by the student-athletes and the employer involved," Boren said in a statement. "The university developed the evidence of wrongdoing by the players and employer and took immediate action."

OU drew guilt from the infractions committee for "failure to monitor" in April 2006, following an investigation into improper phone calls to potential recruits by former men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson.

Boren doesn't want the football team's 2005 record bruised.

"Above all, we do not believe that erasing the 2005 season from the record books is fair to the over 100 student-athletes and coaches who played by the rules and worked their hearts out for a successful season," he said.

Dee said OU's wins were vacated because "the student-athletes participated for an entire season." He added that the games were not forfeited, just a vacation on Oklahoma's record.

Stoops voiced appreciation for Boren's support while looking toward the future.

"Our current team is focused on the upcoming season," Stoops said in a statement. "The university is dealing with a matter that relates to the 2005 season. This group of players and those that will join our program later have no reason to be concerned about our goals or the direction of the program.

"Those things remain unchanged. We remain a program that is concentrated on winning championships and my expectation is that we will compete on that level for many years."

Eric Bailey 581-8391
eric.bailey@tulsaworld.com

THE NCAA’S VERDICT

TheNCAACommittee on Infractions announced sanctions against the OU football program Wednesday stemming from the actions of former players Rhett Bomar, J.D. Quinn and Jermaine Hardison. The NCAA ruled that the trio received money in excess of work performed at the Norman auto dealership Big Red Sports and Imports. OU had previously placed self-imposed sanctions on the program.

A look at the NCAA penalties and OU’s self-imposed sanctions:

1. Wins erased for 2005 season

What OU wanted: No action. The university is appealing this ruling.

What the NCAA did: Instead of going 8-4 in 2005, OU’s record is now 0-4. The wins no longer count toward the university’s or Bob Stoops’ totals. The losses still stand. Their opponents’ records remain the same.

The records and statistics from that season are erased for the three players involved—quarterback Rhett Bomar, offensive lineman J.D. Quinn and walk-on Jermaine Hardison. Bomar is no longer in OU’s passing record books.

Statistics for other players involved in that season—like running back Adrian Peterson—still stand.

2. Two more years of probation

What OU wanted: No action.

What the NCAA did: The university was already on probation through 2008 for recruiting violations in the men’s basketball program. OU’s probation now runs through May 23, 2010. If the school commits another major violation in the next five years, it could face the death penalty, which would keep the team from playing for up to two seasons.

3. Loss of two scholarships

What OU wanted: The university kicked the players off the team days after its investigation and revoked the two scholarships for one year.

What the NCAA did: The NCAA recommended OU’s actions but determined they were not enough. The football team will lose two scholarships for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 academic years, dropping their total from 85 to 83.

4. Minor penalties

What OU wanted: The football team must send one fewer coach for off-campus recruiting this fall. The school also banned contact with the car dealership’s former general manager, Brad McRae, for five years.

What the NCAA did: The committee accepted those two self-imposed sanctions but added others. McRae cannot employ or supervise any OU student-athletes for five years. The NCAA also issued a public reprimand and censure for the university for its violations.

WHAT THEY SAID

“Above all, we do not believe that erasing the 2005 season from the record books is fair to the over 100 student athletes and coaches who played by the rules and worked their hearts out for a successful season that year.”
OU President David Boren

“This group of players and those that will join our program later have no reason to be concerned about our goals or the direction of our program. Those things remain unchanged.”
OU coach Bob Stoops

Matt Baker 581-8355
matt.baker@tulsaworld.com