re: Your SEC stat that's the most difficult to believe but actually true

They were put on probation for those years:

"The NCAA found Auburn committed six major violations. Three involved giving cash payments to Ramsey. A fourth cited Dye's program for a lack of proper institutional control. The other two -- both new to the case and provided to the NCAA by Auburn itself -- cited the school for allowing athletes to play without meeting all eligibility requirements and exceeding the number of permissible grants-in-aid during 1988-89 and 1990-91."