CBS: You'd be foolish to think college football is not as crooked as college hoops

per Dodd:

College football seems to be one wiretap away from the obvious becoming public: The nation's No. 1 college sport is as crooked, scandalous and cheat-ridden as its basketball counterpart.

That has sort of been forgotten as college hoops' culture continues to be flayed in public.

We've known for decades basketball had a seedy under-the-table aspect to it. The recent revelations from the FBI and media reports of its investigation have filled in the details.

But to think college football is immune to such corruption would be foolish. The sport continues to be the No. 1 economic driver for college athletics. It's just that we've been distracted lately.

The temptation to cheat is certainly there as the structure of football and basketball have become more similar. Salaries, pressure and revenue have never been higher. At certain levels of college football, you even hear of a "going rate" paid for talented recruits. In other words, the amount of cash it would take to the get in the running for a five-star recruit.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...ball-is-not-as-crooked-as-college-basketball/

Go Gophers!!

Obviously there is cheating going on in college football. Cam Newton was supposedly offered $200,000 to go to one school and ended up going somewhere else....I'm sure he made that choice out of his love of Auburn and his desire to get a first class education....

The difference though is that in basketball one elite recruit can turn your team into a possible title contender and the number of players you need to compete is so much smaller that wide spread payments are much more realistic. In football it is tougher because that elite recruit can certainly give you a leg up but there are a lot more players on the field and the logistics of paying a large portion of them is much harder and less realistic.

There is zero doubt in my mind that cheating is rampant in college football as well but it isn't on the same level as what is going on in basketball. Every team is trying to find that gray area in the rule book to get any advantage they can.

It appears that there are many bag men running around in unnamed football powerhouses including boogie men at all levels it will be very difficult to untangle and unravel.

They have to get caught red-handed. It will require a lot of squealers and FBI agents working full time.

No way. Bum F Alabama just happened to go from the arm-pit of America to a top college destination for the highest-of-profile recruits overnight under Saban because it was misunderstood. If you actually visit you'll find:

https://247sports.com/college/michigan/Board/59424/Contents/Alabama-Player-Cars-50862142

The car dealerships Saban is involved with have nothing to do with this, I'm sure.

hungan1 said:

It appears that there are many bag men running around in unnamed football powerhouses including boogie men at all levels it will be very difficult to untangle and unravel.

They have to get caught red-handed. It will require a lot of squealers and FBI agents working full time.

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Not that difficult. See the link in the post above. These morons post their cheating all over social media for the whole world to see. You could find out who was really behind this in a matter of days if you worked at it. You could get dozens of these kids to give up information with the appropriate application of pressure. They sold their soul for a ****ty Chevy Camero....clearly loyalty doesn't have a steep price tag.

Nothing compares to BB. Much easier based on number of participants involved in each program for BB.

Heracles said:

No way. Bum F Alabama just happened to go from the arm-pit of America to a top college destination for the highest-of-profile recruits overnight under Saban because it was misunderstood. If you actually visit you'll find:

https://247sports.com/college/michigan/Board/59424/Contents/Alabama-Player-Cars-50862142

The car dealerships Saban is involved with have nothing to do with this, I'm sure.

Click to expand...

This comment doesn't make much sense. If we were talking about a school that had never really been any good suddenly becoming great (like Oregon or Auburn), that's one thing - but Alabama and Nick Saban both had long histories of being great well before they found each other. When you put the one of the most prestigious and storied programs together with a great coach - it would be far more surprising if they weren't dominant.

You'd also be foolish to think anyone is actually that foolish.


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hungan1 said:

It appears that there are many bag men running around in unnamed football powerhouses including boogie men at all levels it will be very difficult to untangle and unravel.

They have to get caught red-handed. It will require a lot of squealers and FBI agents working full time.

Click to expand...

Every Tom, Dick, and Harry reading this responds to financial incentives. Is there an incentive to clean up the system? I don’t think so at the moment. What if there were? What if the IRS or FBI digs their fingernails deep into this like Eliot Ness?

The IRS may award tax cheat whistleblowers 15 percent of recovered taxes and penalties up to 2 million, and 30 percent over that. The unreported “gifts” we’ve heard about range from the single thousands up to the hundreds of thousands. Fifteen percent of taxes and penalties may be enough of an incentive for Joe cousin or neighbor to turn in a tax cheat, outside of worrying about any fairness in football.

If the NCAA were serious about cleaning everything up (stop laughing) they could institute a similar program. Let’s say 5 percent of a fired for-cause coach’s salary.

The NCAA of course doesn’t have the subpoena power, expertise, or resources to research financial issues, overseas bank accounts, US-based accounts, or ability to wiretap conversations between coaches and handlers/recruits. Of course as in other areas like the Securities and Exchange or Justice Dept. the investigators are also susceptible to bribes, promises of employment, etc.

It’s nice to dream about.

Heracles said:

No way. Bum F Alabama just happened to go from the arm-pit of America to a top college destination for the highest-of-profile recruits overnight under Saban because it was misunderstood. If you actually visit you'll find:

https://247sports.com/college/michigan/Board/59424/Contents/Alabama-Player-Cars-50862142

The car dealerships Saban is involved with have nothing to do with this, I'm sure.

Click to expand...

Oh, but those are used cars paid for by stipend money, by family, and by friends with fringe benefits. Saban has nothing to do with running the dealerships, just the players. I vote Bama Football as the best wheeled team in the country. How good are people's eye sights in Alabama?

Heck, if that was MN and the Gophers involved a car dealer would be going to jail. Isn't there a (il)legitimate former MN car dealer that is just being released from prison?

hungan1 said:

Oh, but those are used cars paid for by stipend money, by family, and by friends with fringe benefits. Saban has nothing to do with running the dealerships, just the players. I vote Bama Football as the best wheeled team in the country. How good are people's eye sights in Alabama?

Heck, if that was MN and the Gophers involved a car dealer would be going to jail. Isn't there a (il)legitimate former MN car dealer that is just being released from prison?

Click to expand...

Nick Saban at Michigan State --- 38 wins, 24 loses - 3 bowl games, lost all three

Does the recruit bear any responsibility? Does the recruit's parent or parents bear any responsibility?

Paging Denny Hecker!