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NCAA sanctions make no sense
Who could guess that one of the most literal manifestaCOLUMN BY tions of ALEX PERRY George Orwell’s idea of historical revisionism would come in the form of college sports? Yes, the NCAA, everyone’s favorite comically incompetent regulating body, has decided that the Wichita State baseball team must forfeit wins from 2011-13, as well as pay a $5,000 fine and go on probation for a year because 21 players racked up more than $7,000 worth of bills in purchasing things such as shoes and hunting gear with money that was supposed to be applied elsewhere. That’s certainly a legitimate violation of NCAA rules, and the baseball program should pay for it. But the specific punishment makes little sense. Anyone who follows college sports knows the NCAA is a joke and always has been. Players sacrifice their bodies to generate unimaginable sums of money for universities and they never see a dime. It also took them over a century to implement something resembling a real postseason in college football, and there are still plenty of kinks to work out there. But the real punchline always comes in the form of sanctions like this, which are consistently inconsistent in their severity. According to the NCAA, USC didn’t embarrass Oklahoma in the 2004 football championship game because some players received gifts. Ohio State’s football team, according to now-official records, went completely winless in 2010 because players got free tattoos. However, they basically exonerated former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno recently by giving back all 111 wins they vacated after it was discovered that he played a role in covering up years of child rape in his facilities. I’m of the opinion that vacating wins for infractions that caused no unfair competitive advantage is nonsense, but if they’re going to do it, they might as well stick with it. See NCAA on page 2
SUNFLOWER WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT-RUN NEWS SOURCE
MONDAY • FEBRUARY 2, 2015
Wichita State takes NCAA to extra innings VOLUME 119, ISSUE 59
File photo
Wichita State is appealing NCAA ruling over vacated wins, resulting from unauthorized purchases using a discount. Shocker baseball plays at Eck Stadium, pictured here.
WSU to appeal NCAA ruling on vacation of baseball wins By James Kellerman SPORTS EDITOR @JamesKman13
The NCAA handed the Wichita State baseball program a one-year probation and a $5,000 fine, in addition to the team vacating all wins in which the players participated while ineligible, according to a news release issued by the organization Thursday. The one-year probation began Thursday and runs through Jan. 28, 2016. The NCAA gave their decision after conducting an investigation into the baseball team’s improper use of apparel benefits between February 2012 and November 2013. University President John Bardo said in a statement Thursday the punishment set by the NCAA for these infractions are appropriate. However, Bardo said the university will appeal the sanctions in regards to vacated wins. If the appeal is denied, WSU is supposed to vacate all regular
season and conference tournament wins in which the 21 ineligible student-athletes competed from the time they became ineligible through the time they were reinstated as eligible for competition. That means the team’s record will be adjusted downward to a maximum of 74 WSU wins during the 2012 and 2013 seasons be vacated. The individual records of the student-athletes will also be vacated. All of the university’s records regarding baseball, as well as the record of former head coach Gene Stephenson, will reflect the vacated records and will be recorded in all publications (i.e. conference, NCAA, media guides, etc.). In the WSU statement, Bardo said, “The student-athletes involved acted without guilty knowledge. It seems unfair to permanently tarnish the records they achieved as a team.” The NCAA release states that for nearly two years, 21 baseball players, using a 50 percent discount provided by a former assistant, purchased shoes,
clothing, hunting gear and other non-athletic items for a total of $7,594.18. The discount was not generally available to the full student body, family or friends. It is considered an extra benefit to the players. The retail value of the items was $15,187.68. The student-athletes paid a total of $7,593.50 for the items, $7,594.18 below retail price. A former administrative assistant provided her login information to baseball players so they could access her computer and VIP account, according to the NCAA release. Shelley Wombacher, an employee of WSU and of the baseball program for more than 20 years, was the administrative assistant at the time. The athletes paid for the items themselves and thought they could order items in this manner as a part of the school’s agreement with the apparel provider. The NCAA also found Wombacher provided impermissible recruiting inducements to a two-year college coach and the coach’s student-athletes by providing them an apparel
discount through the retailer. Wombacher told the NCAA the discount was available to anyone and she never said ‘no’ to anyone who asked for it. However, she said she did not advertise the discount, and the only people aware of the discount were those associated with the baseball program or people she told about it. Coaches, staff and administrators are allowed to order apparel. Athletes are allowed to order items, such as running shoes or sweatsuits, used in their sport. Many of the items purchased from February 2012 through November 2013 were baseball team apparel, including T-shirts, caps, hoodie sweatshirts, jackets, shorts and athletic shoes. The student-athletes used many of those items for training and practice purposes. Some of them also ordered polo shirts and backpacks, as well as hunting gear, including boots, “camo” items, gloves, pants, jackets and “bibs.” See RULING on page 4
No foul play suspected in Fairmount Towers death By Shelby Reynolds MANAGING EDITOR @_shelbyreynolds
The Wichita State campus is reacting to the death of a student Wednesday night. A 29-year-old male student was found unresponsive in a Fairmount Towers South dorm room Wednesday night, according to a release from Wichita State Thursday morning. Emergency crews responded to a call around 11 p.m. Wednesday after a resident assistant found him alone, the release said. No foul play is suspected. According to Wichita Police documents, the RA was investigating “a smell” in the dorm room when she found the student unresponsive of an apparent drug overdose. “I was surprised that it happened here,” WSU junior Tim Jantzi said. “You hear about it happening at other schools but it really hit home.” University counselors were at the dorms, located northwest of campus at 21st and Hillside, to meet with residents. Some Fairmount residents were relocated to other rooms overnight, the
university’s release said. Next of kin have been notified, said Wade Robinson, vice president of Student Affairs, and the student’s name will be released on their terms. Robinson could not confirm the cause of death on Thursday, but when asked, said drug use in the dorms lately hasn’t been more prevalent than in the past. “In the five years that I’ve been here, we have never had a death in the dorms,” Robinson said. Jantzi said he lived in Fairmount Towers two years ago. “Aside from marijuana use,” he said, “I don’t think [drug use] is very common. But with all colleges there will be a few people that use harder drugs.” According to the university police blotter, there were two cases of possession of drug paraphernalia in the month of January on campus: one on Jan. 27 in Shocker Hall and another on Jan. 29 in Fairmount Towers South. Taylor Goshen, a WSU freshman, said the death brings to light the need for more drug use awareness. “It’s just an absolute shame,” he said. “Maybe this is something we need to do better.”
Photo by Kevin Brown
Wichita State officials reported the death of a student found late Wednesday night in Fairmount Towers South. Officials worked the scene Wednesday night into Thursday morning.