Univ. of Maryland President Wallace Loh last week said that he “'would think' that the NCAA investigation into UNC-Chapel Hill would ultimately lead to the NCAA levying the so-called 'death penalty' against the university," according to Andrew Carter of the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER. Loh made the comments during a UM senate meeting last Thursday. An individual who identified himself as a member of the UM faculty "asked Loh how he could be certain that the university is 'protected from the corrupting influence of athletics.'" In response, Loh "made an unprompted reference to UNC." Loh said, “As president I sit over a number of dormant volcanoes. One of them is an athletic scandal. It blows up, it blows up the university, its reputation, it blows up the president. For the things that happened in North Carolina, it’s abysmal. I would think that this would lead to the implementation of the death penalty by the NCAA. But I’m not in charge of that" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 4/11). A Maryland spokesperson last night said Loh's comments "are not a reflection of personal beliefs about the university (North Carolina) or its leadership." A UNC official said "(c)learly, Dr. Loh misunderstands the facts of the case, and how NCAA bylaws apply to those facts" (Baltimore SUN, 4/11).
WORDS OF THE WISE: As part of a college sports roundtable in the current SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, ESPN.com’s Dana O’Neil said of UNC, “The NCAA has long argued that it has no jurisdiction on the academic worth of a class. The NCAA has painted itself into a very unique corner because people want blood for this. ... I don’t think they’re going to get it.” Yahoo Sports’ Pat Forde said, “Almost everyone agrees that there was incredible academic fraud that went on with their players and teams that won national titles. Which rule does it fit into? How can you punish them? If they skate, people are going to go crazy.” USA Today’s Dan Wolken noted "part of the theater that makes this so entertaining" is that SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey serves as Head of the Committee on Infractions, and UNC has "already signaled that they’re going to play that card should they get punished” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/10 issue).
