NCAA Football

Accusations Of Inappropriate Payments Are All Over College Football

People haven’t even had their fill of the USC scandal yet (witness this piece), but brace yourself: it looks like there are more illegal compensation controversies on the way.

One involves another high-profile program. That program is Florida, and the player is Maurkice Pouncey, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Before he turned pro, though, it’s suspected he took a $100,000 payment from “a representative of an agent.” Obviously, this would pose a rather large problem.

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley says there’s “no information that has indicated that there are any compliance issues for the University of Florida,” but as the USC case showed us, it’s not over until the NCAA issues their ruling.

And speaking of players possibly receiving improper benefits, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention another ongoing NCAA investigation, this one into University of North Carolina football players on suspicion of similar improprieties. This was surprising, as Tar Heels coach Butch Davis was renowned not only for returning Miami to prominence on the field during his days in south Florida, but cleaning up the program as well.

The other potential scandal brewing involves an arena where dealings can really get dirty – politics. Arizona’s secretary of state wants a probe into the Fiesta Bowl, the biggest college football game held in the state, alleging improper contributions made by the game’s employees to politicians who helped their cause. While this might not be as talked-about by fans (teams and personalities are much easier and more fun to hate than bowl games), it could be a juicy investigation, if it comes to that.

There’s not much to add except: wow, there are a lot of allegations of impropriety out there right now. SI’s Stewart Mandel doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that all this is popping up in the wake of the USC investigation, and that either schools themselves or the NCAA are being especially vigilant.

Whatever it is, hopefully it pays off in the form of less incidents like this in the future. College football is my favorite sport, and I’d rather not be ashamed of that fact.

Reuters photo, via