The NCAA ruling to uphold sanctions against the football team has elicited a strong response from the student body. Students across campus are confused and disappointed with the final verdict.
The ruling was based on violations made in 2007. Under the ruling, the ACU football team was forced to vacate 10 wins from the 2007 season and erase the stats of two unnamed players. Athletic Director Jared Mosley and head football coach Chris Thomsen have said they disagree with the ruling, but the program is moving on.
Jared Mosley, athletic director and compliance coordinator, answers questions during a press conference Tuesday. LAURA ACUFF Features Editor
Some students are not. Cross-country runner Jacob Schofield, sophomore mathematics major from Wayne, Mich., said he thinks the NCAA is wrong.
“It’s stupid,” Schofield said. “Division I schools do this kind of stuff all the time and get away with it. ACU is a big-time Division II school, so they are trying to make an example out of us.”
The NCAA penalties have been criticized as harsh and excessive. Another complaint has been made regarding the appeals process. The appeals board failed to question one of the coaches mentioned in the report, and Thomsen, who was not named in the report, said he was never even questioned about the academic violations alleged against the team.
This apparent lack of due process has drawn the ire of students across campus. Laurel Blackmon, a freshman communications major from Arlington, said she wonders if things might have gone differently if these coaches had been given an opportunity to speak.
“It seems really unfair. I would think it would be normal for the coaches to be able to make an appeal,” Blackmon said. “Maybe if he had been able to explain himself, they could have seen his side of the story, and maybe things would have been more favorable for ACU.”
Some students think the NCAA came down too hard, in light of the fact that ACU self-reported the violations and enacted some self-imposed sanctions. Others contend the ruling unfairly punishes individual players for team violations.
“I think it’s silly, because ACU reported the violations itself,” said Erin Boyd, sophomore biology major from Keller. “So there should be a little bit of grace involved. I mean, it’s not like we were trying to hide anything, and it definitely wasn’t the individual players’ fault.”
ACU’s love for its football team has been the common theme throughout the ordeal. Much like Mosley and Thomsen, the students seem eager to go forward from here. Jeff Morris, junior biochemistry major from Richmond, is among those who are ready to move on and cheer on this season’s undefeated team at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.
“I feel like it’s a shame they way things went down,” Morris said. “But, we are moving past all that and are excited about having a good season this year and in the future.”
