University of virginia

Preface

People ask and debate how college athletics have become so important in society. I believe the answer is in a statement my professor Kate Wood once said, “If you have been to an athletic event then you have attended something very similar to a religious service.” The placement of college athletics as a replacement for religion in American society has been documented and debated. When situations like Penn State and Syracuse come about the questions should stop, because the rioting students prove the point. When people are willingly covering up crimes and questionable behavior to protect the athletic program there should be concern about the placement of athletics within university society. This type devotion is dangerous unless understood.

I wish to thank my Capstone Mentor, Kate Wood, for her invaluable guidance and support throughout this process. To David Corlett, Ann-Marie Plunkett, and John Corlett for getting me through Pro Seminar, thank you for the honesty and commitment. Finally to my family, particularly my husband James and two children Anderson and Addison, who have been on the front lines of this paper, all my love.

Introduction

In the same month Ohio State University (Ohio State), an American public university, suspended its head football coach Jim Tressel for the first five games of the 2011 season and fined him $250,000 for failing to notify the school administrators of five players receiving gifts and money in exchange for autographs and other paraphernalia.² The violation was of the NCAA rule stating any items or awards received for participation by a student-athlete may not be sold or traded for another item of value regardless if the player’s name or picture is not on the item.³ Tressel was not in violation of this rule but another which states that if a coach knows about wrongdoing within his organization he will report it to the school administration and the NCAA. Tressel lied several times about his knowledge of the players involved in the scandal, and in March 2011, finally admitted that he knew a full year before media outlets discovered the wrong doing.⁴ Ohio State’s football program is considered to be one of the best, most celebrated in the history of college athletics. During his ten seasons as Ohio State’s coach, Tressel led the team to a Bowl Champion Series (BCS) national championship in 2002, two additional BCS title games, and perhaps more important to the Buckeye fans a 9-1 record against arch rival the University of Michigan. Tressel, who many in Ohio considered beloved, could not withstand the growing pressure and on May 30, 2011 resigned. On July 8, 2011 Ohio State announced that it would be vacating all of the football team’s wins from the 2010 season, including a Sugar Bowl win that the accused players were allowed to play in, and would be giving themselves two years of probation.⁵ As Tressel came under fire critics across the country blasted Ohio State and college sports in general. Ohio State’s fans held a rally outside Tressel’s home.

The situations for BYU and Ohio State appear to be very similar but with very different outcomes. BYU’s player violated the school’s rules and the school made the decision to jeopardize the team’s success by enforcing its own rules. This decision was quick, shocking, and gave a clear message that BYU would put its self-imposed principles before wins. The Ohio State football team violated many NCAA rules but instead of taking the position of BYU the institution created a culture that waited until the wrongdoing became public to issue punishments. Due to not reporting the violations an entire successful season was lost, and the reputation of the school tarnished.

The actions of both schools help shape opinions about the identity of the university’s athletic department and the school itself. In recent years many scandals and issues have become known about the relationship between a university and its athletics program. When the problems come out in public, the first response is to ask why no one from the university reports the wrong doing to the authorities. Too often it feels like these situations are really cases of people dealing with ethical issues, who know what the right decision is and yet place the needs of protecting the athletic program first. The athletic program becomes greater than any other portion of the university’s mission. When this type of inflation happens, the need to protect the athletic institution is greater than what many people would consider to be the ethical choice. Ohio State could have avoided the removal of Tressel if it had an environment where it was acceptable to admit mistakes and wrong doing. Ohio State’s situation is not isolated as college sports have increasingly seen a rise of infractions.

In the world of college athletics there is an ongoing discussion about the issues surrounding why athletic programs are allowing rule infractions. In the case of the institution as a whole the need for the athletics program becomes greater than simply a as a revenue source. Instead college athletics are the identity for schools that do not also have a religion identity. This identity is a replacement for religion that religious-affiliated schools have and it is this reason that the secular schools need athletics more so than religious-affiliated schools. The identity of secular schools is wrapped in its athletic departments where the athletics departments of religious schools are merely an extension of the university.