Five Alabama players miss game in textbook case

[Mike80]

Well they say that in the SEC if you aren't cheating you aren't trying....

Five players miss game in textbook case

University investigating possible infractions that could spread beyond Saturday's suspensions

TUSCALOOSA -- The trouble surrounding Alabama's suspension of five players for Saturday's game against Tennessee may only be beginning.

The university has launched an investigation into possible NCAA violations involving "impermissible receipt of textbooks." Involvement could extend beyond the suspended football players -- Antoine Caldwell, Glen Coffee, Marlon Davis, Marquis Johnson and Chris Rogers -- and possibly to additional players and sports, according to a UA official.

The suspensions were a pre-emptive measure to make sure an ineligible player was not used against the Volunteers. None of the five players was on the Crimson Tide sideline during Saturday's 41-17 victory.

Infractions were discovered Thursday, according to a UA release, and the players were informed of their suspensions Friday. Alabama coach Nick Saban said he didn't learn of the situation until Friday night, and informed his team during what linebacker Darren Mustin called "a family meeting."

"Obviously, there were some players who did not use good judgment in what they did," Saban said. "I don't know all the circumstances surrounding it. There's also a system in place that shouldn't allow this to happen that obviously didn't work.

"It's poor judgment on the players' part. You've heard me say this before. We can't tolerate poor judgment. You need to do what's right, and when you don't do what's right, most of the time there's serious consequences for it."

Alabama's suspensions came in the same week the NCAA placed Ball State's athletics department on two years of probation for lack of institutional control as a result of a textbook scandal.

Major violations included the use of scholarship funds to buy books for other students not receiving athletic aid. According to the NCAA judgment against Ball State, "89 student-athletes in 10 sports impermissibly obtained a total value of $26,944 in textbooks through the book loan program for scholarship student-athletes."

NCAA Bylaw 15.2.3.1 states, "The institution may provide the student-athlete with cash to purchase books, as long as the amount of cash provided is equal to the actual cost of the books purchased."

In book violations of less than $100, eligibility would not be affected if the athlete repaid the money to a charity. In instances of more than $100, however, the offending player must petition to regain eligibility and may face suspension for a percentage of the season, depending on the dollar amount.

al.com: Everything Alabama

 

[HailToMichigan]

"Impermissible receipt of textbooks"....what does that mean? Maybe Alabama should be happy their players want to get their hands on books so badly

Are the Tide still on probation from that stuff in 2002?

 

[HineyBuck]

Crikey!! We can't allow student athletes to get their hands on textbooks! What is the world coming to?

 

[scooter1369]

Its Tuscaloosa, gentlemen. The problem here is that the players weren't provided picture books, so as to be able to actually use them.

We could also be looking at a case of pre-colored coloring books, which in SEC country, would constitute academic fraud.

 

[ntd]

I have a feeling this will be widespread and not just in the SEC...getting textbooks and selling them seems like a really easy way to scam the system, especially when you have a group of students who are all in the same classes like athletes and can share books or get so much tutoring that they don't need them

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

This could be much worse than the student-athletes getting the books from other students. This would be a very easy way (until you get caught) of flat-out paying players where the paper trail is sufficiently convoluted to keep the investigators off of you for...


...well, until now.

This is not based on any specific knowledge of the case; just speculation based on Occham's Razor: the simplest explanation is probably the right one. In this case, the simplest explanation seems to involve something even worse than lack of institutional control.

 

[MD Buckeye]

ROLL TIDEEEE!!!!

 

[Oh8ch]

This could be much worse than the student-athletes getting the books from other students. This would be a very easy way (until you get caught) of flat-out paying players where the paper trail is sufficiently convoluted to keep the investigators off of you for...

I used to be an adjunct faculty in CS at a local University. I got new texts in the mail all the time from book publishers. In clearing out for a garage sale this summer I stumbled across them and it occurred to me that instead of selling them in my garage perhaps some were being used at OSU.

Three hundred dollars later.....(cash BTW - without showing any ID).

Of course, we don't know if this was even the issue. It could just be a violation of the SECs "No Player Left Behind" program.

 

[HailToMichigan]

I used to be an adjunct faculty in CS at a local University. I got new texts in the mail all the time from book publishers. In clearing out for a garage sale this summer I stumbled across them and it occurred to me that instead of selling them in my garage perhaps some were being used at OSU.

Three hundred dollars later.....(cash BTW - without showing any ID).

Of course, we don't know if this was even the issue. It could just be a violation of the SECs "No Player Left Behind" program.

Cash for books.....and no receipt either. At least, I was never handed one. Just stand in line, hand 'em a pile of books, they give you cash and that's that. No paper trail.

Then again, you would have to sell a LOT of books back to the school in order to get much money out of it. I mean, we all know what kind of scam they run with textbooks. I used to be able to get back maybe $100-150 each semester after shelling out $400. Compared to the kind of money a kid can get in an old-fashioned phony-job-at-the-dealership booster hookup, textbooks seem like smallfry stuff.