The Notre Dame football team that played for the BCS Championship in 2012 never really played for the championship, according to an NCAA edict that said the Irish will have to forfeit wins from the 2012 and 2013 seasons because of academic fraud.
Via Yahoo! Sports:
According to the NCAA’s statement released Tuesday, the trainer “completed coursework” for the two players. In addition to the improper assistance for the two unnamed players, the trainer also “provided impermissible academic assistance to six additional football student-athletes in a total of 18 classes.”
Notre Dame forced to vacate wins from 2012 and 2013 due to ineligible players. https://t.co/XLWoM5TZzF pic.twitter.com/cHAl7nSpht
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 22, 2016
Via USA Today:
Other penalties handed down by the NCAA:
– One year of probation for the athletic department
– A public reprimand and censure for the school and a $5,000 fine
– A two-year, show-cause order against the student-trainer
– The athletics department must disassociate from the former student-trainer for two years.
What does it all really mean? Not much. The team won’t lose scholarships and the program can still go to bowl games, It seems like an excessive punishment for student on student infractions, and not institutional ones, but at the end of the day, does it really matter?
