Title/Author:
“Infractions: Rule
Violations, Unethical Conduct and Enforcement in the NCAA” by Jerry Parkinson
Tags:
Football (American),
basketball, college, ethics
Publish date:
September 1, 2019
Length:
376 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding
Review:
It is no secret that
schools that compete in college sports have broken many rules, especially when
it comes to recruiting, in order to gain a competitive edge. The governing body of college sports, the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) oversees compliance with the
rules, investigates allegations of violations and deals out punishments to
schools that are found guilty. This book
written by a former member of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions is an
excellent look inside this segment of the organization.
Even though the NCAA
has come under heavy criticism in the last few years, readers should not expect
this book to be either a defense of the organization, nor is another one that
bashes the NCAA because of unfair punishments, vague rules or any of the other
reasons why NCAA-bashing has become popular. Instead Parkinson uses his
experience in the rules enforcement area to explain to readers the inner
workings of that committee through stories of past rule breakers.
Some of these incidents are well known, such as Southern Methodist University's (SMU) slush fund payments to players in the 1980's that resulted in the school receiving the only "death penalty" dished out by the NCAA. Two little known facts about this tawdry scheme and punishment for SMU are provided by Parkinson. One, because SMU did not field a football team for two years (1987 and 1988) it is often reported the NCAA suspended the program for those two years. Parkinson notes the penalty was only for one year and SMU voluntarily kept the program closed the second year believing they could not field a competitive team. He also documents the school's basketball violations which are usually ignored in media reports, but were important in the decision to give such a harsh penalty because it made SMU have multiple major violations.
When discussing this
case and the others, Parkinson writes in a balanced and fair manner. He states
the facts of each case, he explains the cooperation or lack thereof by each
school (an important factor in determining the result of the case) and what the
Committee on Infractions did with the information provided. His inside look at
the committee was also enlightening and will make a reader appreciate just how
difficult the work can become. For
example, since the Committee does not have powers that some other investigative
bodies have, such as the power to subpoena witnesses, it may be working without
key evidence.
While much of the
reading is excellent, it can also be hard to digest. As one might imagine, the
story of Penn State's assistant football coach who was found guilty of abusing
children is still a difficult read, but even in cases like this, the material
is enlightening as the reader will learn once again the difficulty of reviewing
the infractions done by athletic programs, teams and coaches in order to win
sporting contests. This is a recommended
read for not only college sports fans, but those who work in fields such as
compliance and law for gaining an understanding of this profession in the world
of athletics.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
Hardcover
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