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SMU Death Penalty
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:24 pm
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:24 pm
How archaic, how quaint.
Times sure have changed !
NCAA investigations revealed that in 1985 and 1986, thirteen players had been paid a total of $61,000 from a slush fund provided by a booster. Payments ranged from $50 to $725 per month and had started a month after SMU had been handed its latest probation.
Southern Methodist University football scandal - a highly condensed verson
The SMU folks who were involved leading up to the sanctions ( if they're still around) have got to be laughing their asses off at the current state of college football.
Careers were ruined, lives drastically changed, for what we now view as commonplace.
It was before my time, but information from that era seems to suggest that everyone was guilty of "colorful" recruiting practices. Was SMU used as example by the NCAA to keep blue-bloods in line ?
What really happened ?
Times sure have changed !
NCAA investigations revealed that in 1985 and 1986, thirteen players had been paid a total of $61,000 from a slush fund provided by a booster. Payments ranged from $50 to $725 per month and had started a month after SMU had been handed its latest probation.
Southern Methodist University football scandal - a highly condensed verson
The SMU folks who were involved leading up to the sanctions ( if they're still around) have got to be laughing their asses off at the current state of college football.
Careers were ruined, lives drastically changed, for what we now view as commonplace.
It was before my time, but information from that era seems to suggest that everyone was guilty of "colorful" recruiting practices. Was SMU used as example by the NCAA to keep blue-bloods in line ?
What really happened ?
14
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:27 pm to Trumansfangs
quote:
Was SMU used as example by the NCAA to keep blue-bloods in line ?
I forget which coach said it, but it was along the lines of "The NCAA was so mad at UNC that they gave SMU the death penalty".
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:29 pm to Trumansfangs
I remember when OU self reported Gabe Ikard eating a 2nd plate of spaghetti to avoid any issues. Crazy how times have changed. Nowadays Ragu would pay him $500k for doing that.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:29 pm to Trumansfangs
quote:
What really happened ?
Texas stooges at the NCAA put the hammer on SMU because they beat us a couple times in the 1980s.
... is what Aggie fans are about to tell you.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:31 pm to Trumansfangs
i played there before the death penalty. i can tell you there were a lot of schools paying more than smu in the swc. crazy times then and now.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:36 pm to Trumansfangs
My memory from the 30 for 30 documentary is a little fuzzy, but I'm thinking they got busted the first time and kept paying their players anyway, and then they got busted again, which is when they got the death penalty.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:38 pm to perch
quote:
i played there before the death penalty. i can tell you there were a lot of schools paying more than smu in the swc. crazy times then and now.
One of the players from the death penalty team had one of the best quotes I can remember:
We may not have been the biggest team
We may not have been the strongest team
But we were slow
This post was edited on 1/19/26 at 5:39 pm
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:39 pm to Trumansfangs
Shouldn't Jeremy Pruitt be forgiven as well?
Posted on 1/19/26 at 5:48 pm to Trumansfangs
The SMU folks who were involved leading up to the sanctions ( if they're still around) have got to be laughing their asses off at the current state of college football.
At least one of them was on the SMU Board of Regents and he went on to become governor of the state of Texas.
While he was governor he admitted even after SMU was exposed they continued to pay the players because well, a deals a deal.
At least one of them was on the SMU Board of Regents and he went on to become governor of the state of Texas.
While he was governor he admitted even after SMU was exposed they continued to pay the players because well, a deals a deal.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 6:16 pm to JacieNY
The clip of Lou Holtz talking about losing a player to SMU during all that is absolutely hysterical.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 6:29 pm to tBrand
There is documentaries on you guys blew the whistle, so it’s what sports history will tell you. Why even throw our school in? To cast doubt? You really try hard and fail
Posted on 1/19/26 at 6:36 pm to JayAg
quote:
Why even throw our school in?
Posted on 1/19/26 at 6:51 pm to tBrand
quote:
Thread over.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 6:59 pm to Violent Hip Swivel
quote:
My memory from the 30 for 30 documentary is a little fuzzy, but I'm thinking they got busted the first time and kept paying their players anyway, and then they got busted again, which is when they got the death penalty.
From what I understood was they had signed contracts with some players and had to continue paying them. They backed themselves into a hole they couldn’t get out of.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 7:00 pm to Trumansfangs
And Ron Meyer who built the network left for the pros and poor Bobby Collins came in not know come here from sic'em and I think continued the stuff but got caught holding the bag.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 7:14 pm to Trumansfangs
Meanwhile, Carson Beck drives a Lambo around campus.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 7:54 pm to deeprig9
quote:
I forget which coach said it, but it was along the lines of "The NCAA was so mad at UNC that they gave SMU the death penalty
you're close
Jerry Tarkanian of UNLV famously said, "The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky, they'll probably slap another two years of probation on Cleveland State,"
which is how things worked for blue bloods before.
things are more even now
Posted on 1/19/26 at 7:58 pm to Trumansfangs
Same with Alabama and Gene Jelks, and our probation/ Death penalty. We couldn’t have scholarships, go to bowl games or anything in the late 90’s. It’s what led us into Mike, Mike, Mike as coaches. Dude takes money to play at Bama, then takes money from an Auburn booster to rat on himself.
Posted on 1/19/26 at 8:11 pm to Trumansfangs
Didn't they get busted and continue to do it? No wonder they got slammed....they bought it on themselves.
This post was edited on 1/19/26 at 8:29 pm
Posted on 1/19/26 at 8:27 pm to Clark14
There's a book called "a payroll to meet" that covers that era at SMU.
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