NCAA Punishment Of BYU Basketball Doesn’t Seem Fair? It Isn’t.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The inconsistency, incompetence and heavy-handedness of the NCAA strikes again.

For the second time in a month, the NCAA threw the book at BYU Men’s Basketball. This time regarding the case of former Cougar Nick Emery.

The BYU Athletic Department issued a fiery response criticizing the NCAA’s decision calling it “truly unprecedented for a case in which the institution had no knowledge of or involvement in the infractions.”

Nick Emery made mistakes that have been well documented. He accepted improper benefits from boosters. He should be and was held accountable for those mistakes. I don’t think anyone would argue that there shouldn’t be consequences handed down by the NCAA for those mistakes.

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If, as BYU claims in the above statement, the men’s basketball program had no knowledge of or involvement in the infractions should the NCAA throw the book at them? No.

BYU self-reported the violations. They provided the NCAA with all the details of the improper benefits. BYU went above and beyond to help the NCAA in their investigation. That didn’t matter when the penalty was handed down.

The NCAA is and continues to be TERRIBLE. This is ridiculous. #BYU's fiery response is justified. https://t.co/LsBNfqsmD2

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) September 4, 2019

Here is where the NCAA is making a mistake. Their decision does NOT encourage and reward schools for self-reporting. Quite the opposite actually.

How many schools involved in the college basketball bribery scandal uncovered by the FBI have gotten away with severe and egregious violations yet the NCAA has done nothing.

How did North Carolina escape sanctions for their academic scandal? The answer is simple. These schools didn’t self-report. They didn’t provide the NCAA with details of their violations. They didn’t make it easy for the NCAA to flex their muscle and make examples of their athletic programs.

The result? The NCAA was left on its own to find evidence of violations and could not find enough evidence to sanction North Carolina.

The Utah basketball program was just sanctioned after self reporting very minor infractions. The NCAA threw the book at them too yet turn a blind eye to power programs egregious violations.

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) September 4, 2019

North Carolina goes relatively unpunished for something that any reasonable person would see as a blatant disregard for the rules while a school like BYU has the book thrown at them for doing the right thing.

It doesn’t seem fair. Because it isn’t.