It could have been worse

By Ken Rogers

Published: June 11, 2009

The NCAA Committee on Infractions report on the Alabama textbook case included few surprises.

Three years of probation and vacating 21 football victories were the attention-grabbers, along with no scholarship reductions.

One thing that did surprise me was the report said seven football players were “intentional wrongdoers” in the scandal that stretched back to the 2005-06 academic year.

Five players—Antoine Caldwell, Marlon Davis, Chris Rogers, Marquis Johnson and Glen Coffee—all were suspended the day before the 2007 Tennessee game. They served four-game suspensions and were allowed to return for the Auburn game.

The other players were discovered in the school’s investigation. They have not been identified. However, it’s fairly safe to assume those players were seniors on either the 2005 team or 2006 team.

Alabama did not have to vacate the victory over Tennessee and the bowl victory over Colorado in 2007. Had the unidentified players been on that team and participated in those games, those victories also would have been vacated.