Appeal isn’t right step

Much of the hoopla surrounding Alabama’s punishment from the NCAA over the textbook scandal has died down. It appears it will remain that way. That is, unless the Crimson Tide administration elects to bring it up again.

When the governing body of collegiate sports’ decision was handed down on Thursday, most of Tide Nation breathed a heavy sigh of relief. And with good reason. The NCAA found more than 200 athletes in 16 sports had bought books for classes they didn’t take, apparently “giving” the books to friends for the semester. The punishment was having to vacate some wins and some individual records. In football, a total of 21 wins from 2005-07 were ordered to be vacated. Far more importantly, the school was placed on three years probation, with the “window of repeat violator status” extended to 2014.

In the moments that followed the NCAA’s findings last week, Alabama athletic director Mal Moore said he would consider appealing the sanctions. He reiterated that notion over the weekend.

However, from this vantage point, the best course of action would be nothing. I would avoid appearing in front of any committee — appeals or not — that is associated with the NCAA. That has happened far too many times in the last 15 years as it is.

It could be noted that Oklahoma was asked to forfeit wins from the 2005 season when it was found two players received money for summer jobs that they didn’t perform. Upon appeal, the NCAA rescinded its original finding.

But it should also be on record that Ball State was forced to give up three scholarships for a similar type textbook scandal just last year. And most of all, it should be recognized that neither school was in the “repeat violator” window as Alabama was since the first of the textbook purchases purportedly happened in 2005, when the Tide was still on probation.

As Committee on Infractions chairman Paul Dee noted in reading the NCAA statement on the punishment to Alabama, the COI considered much harsher sanctions because of the frequency of the school’s issues with the NCAA. That alone is enough of a warning shot to let this go.

After all, the records were 10-2, 6-7 and 7-6 in those seasons, everyone knows who actually won and lost the games, and there are no scholarships taken away. Does anyone honestly care what Mike Shula’s ledger was in his last two campaigns? Why would anyone want to recall Nick Saban’s first year that
featured four straight losses, including an embarrassing debacle against Louisiana-Monroe?

No, an appeal doesn’t seem worth it to me. What had better be paramount in the minds of everyone concerning Alabama sports is to stay out of trouble through 2014. The thought of not being able to go to a bowl game, play on television, or even worse is too much to bear.