What this says

I agree with you that this isn't acceptable.  However, recruiting violations like texting and a player receiving benefits from an outside source aren't exactly the same.  Sampson, for example, knew exactly what he was doing, knew what he was doing was wrong and did it anyway.  Floyd probably had a good idea, but didn't actually KNOW that Mayo was receiving benefits.  It's a little harder deny knowledge of this kind of thing in basketball, I think, since the team is so much smaller.

That being said, coaches and institutions still can't go around holding their players hands 24/7.  If a player and a booster are determined to violate the rules, the university is not going to be able to stop them.  It's going to take a dumb move on the part of those partaking in the collusion for them to be caught.

So, since universities aren't able to keep players from doing this, what would you all think if a university was able to sue the former player for the damages they incur from that player's irresponsibility?  As it is now, players like O.J. Mayo and Reggie Bush get off free while their former university faces sanctions from the NCAA.

I agree with you that this isn't acceptable.  However, recruiting violations like texting and a player receiving benefits from an outside source aren't exactly the same.  Sampson, for example, knew exactly what he was doing, knew what he was doing was wrong and did it anyway.  Floyd probably had a good idea, but didn't actually KNOW that Mayo was receiving benefits.  It's a little harder deny knowledge of this kind of thing in basketball, I think, since the team is so much smaller.

That being said, coaches and institutions still can't go around holding their players hands 24/7.  If a player and a booster are determined to violate the rules, the university is not going to be able to stop them.  It's going to take a dumb move on the part of those partaking in the collusion for them to be caught.

So, since universities aren't able to keep players from doing this, what would you all think if a university was able to sue the former player for the damages they incur from that player's irresponsibility?  As it is now, players like O.J. Mayo and Reggie Bush get off free while their former university faces sanctions from the NCAA.

I agree with you that this isn't acceptable.  However, recruiting violations like texting and a player receiving benefits from an outside source aren't exactly the same.  Sampson, for example, knew exactly what he was doing, knew what he was doing was wrong and did it anyway.  Floyd probably had a good idea, but didn't actually KNOW that Mayo was receiving benefits.  It's a little harder deny knowledge of this kind of thing in basketball, I think, since the team is so much smaller.

That being said, coaches and institutions still can't go around holding their players hands 24/7.  If a player and a booster are determined to violate the rules, the university is not going to be able to stop them.  It's going to take a dumb move on the part of those partaking in the collusion for them to be caught.

So, since universities aren't able to keep players from doing this, what would you all think if a university was able to sue the former player for the damages they incur from that player's irresponsibility?  As it is now, players like O.J. Mayo and Reggie Bush get off free while their former university faces sanctions from the NCAA.

The difference between Sampson and Floyd is active vs. passive participation. Sampson orchestrated the phone calls and illegal recruitment of players. He was a knowing participant of luring kids to his school. Floyd was niave at best and looking the other way at worst. As the article states, the money paid to Mayo had absolutely nothing to do with him attending USC or playing for coach Floyd. The money paid had everything do to with exposure and the schools location in LA. If IU were located in LA, he might have gone there. Remember this wasn't money to get him to go to USC, it was money to get him to sign with BDA. BIG difference.

Had a USC booster paid Mayo this would be a different story.

Yes, Indiana "reported themselves" but that investigation turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg. The reality of the situation is that IU only reported some of the infractions and an intern caught the other infractions. That's why the NCAA came back with more violations (of which IU is about to agree with) and that will be an even bigger problem for IU. 

I think the point that's being missed here is that Mayo was being paid LONG before he ever decided on a college. What if USC said they didn't want him to come to their school? Mayo would have gone somewhere else and still been paid at Nowhere State University. He was going to get paid no matter what "institute of higher learning" he attended.

So Floyd never asked the questions like "where did you get the giant plasma tv OJ? or why are you driving an Escalade with $8000 rims?"  Then he can claim he didn't know?  They don't do bed checks at USC?  No one saw that a college kid had thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stuff?  Yeah right.  Pleading "ignorant" is the best that USC will be able to do?  The NCAA should hit them as hard as they are going to hit Indiana or anyone else. 

Once the "handler" got access to the program and extra benefits like tickets and the like he became a "booster" under NCAA guidelines; so even if it was to send the kid to BDA, the University and the individuals benefited so they should be punished.