04/25/24
August 20, 2009
Memphis to vacate Final Four season: Memphis comes up smelling like a Rose, Derrick Rose. Memphis will be forced to vacate the record 38 victories from its Final Four season of 2007-08 under former coach John Calipari because of NCAA violations, The Commercial Appeal reported.
posted by irunfromclones to basketball at 02:59 PM - 15 comments
Was what Kelvin Sampson did that much worse?
posted by drezdn at 03:48 PM on August 20, 2009
I just have to say this:
What a stupid turn of phrase, "vacate the Final Four season" is.
Memphis, upon returning home found that it's belongings were strewn about the sidewalk and a court order to vacate it's Final Four season was posted on the door.
Maybe the person who came up with this wording has had their intelligence vacate their brain.
posted by THX-1138 at 04:37 PM on August 20, 2009
That's the stupidest of all punishments. Take away scholarships. Take away post-season eligibility. Taking away something in the past is crap because no one really remembers that it was taken away anyway.
posted by bperk at 05:17 PM on August 20, 2009
Just finished watching John Chaney tear a strip off Calipari, too bad there was intervention ....
I agree with the Memphis record being removed from the books, but the NCAA really needs to impose a ban on coaches who commit the crimes. The school has it's program damaged beyond repair while the cowardly criminal runs away as fast as he can ... with no NCAA penalty whatsoever.
Kentucky, you've been slimed !!!
posted by cixelsyd at 08:09 PM on August 20, 2009
I agree cix- They threw the book at Memphis, but the real criminal walked. The only way for the NCAA to stop this once and for all is to ban the coach. That would bring this kind of cheating to a screeching halt. Until the smarter rodents figure a way around it again.
posted by irunfromclones at 11:20 PM on August 20, 2009
If Calipari's contract included performance and results-based incentives, shouldn't he have to return that money to the university if the wins are wiped out?
Kentucky has supposedly been very gun-shy of controversy and the potential for dirty business since the Eddie Sutton shakeout. Them jumping into bed with Calipari should be interesting.
Between Calipari and Pitino, the anointed state of Kentucky has become choir boy central.
All this is probably going to help Tom Crean recruit the best regional talent for his IU team. Heck, Bob Huggins should be able to get a few guys, too.
posted by beaverboard at 11:56 PM on August 20, 2009
It's clear there is really no difference between professional sports and NCAA Division 1 sports like football and basketball. It's "win at all costs," and that obviously includes breaking rules and cheating. These hoop coaches like Calipari will find any way to get the guy they want in the lineup, and ridiculous consequences such as this do nothing to halt such infractions.
posted by dyams at 08:24 AM on August 21, 2009
As a UMass Alum, it is nice to have company as schools that have been screwed over by Coach Cal.
Whats the over under on how long it takes before a post season appearance at UK will need to be vacated? I put the over under at 5.
posted by Demophon at 09:37 AM on August 21, 2009
That's the stupidest of all punishments. Take away scholarships. Take away post-season eligibility. Taking away something in the past is crap because no one really remembers that it was taken away anyway.
So punish current and future students for what a former coach and player did? That doesn't seem fair.
Suspend the coach for one year, put the entire program at Memphis under heavy watch and have it stricken from the record book. It's the only thing that punishes the right people.
posted by dfleming at 11:19 AM on August 21, 2009
Was what Kelvin Sampson did that much worse?
Actually, yeah! Sampson was told that this type of situation better not take place or his job would be on the line and what did he do, he allowed it to happen under his watch.
With Calipari, it's just crazy that catching someone cheat is hard enough but to catch the same guy twice is nuts...and isn't this the second Final Four appearance that was taken away from him? Yikes.
I bet that Memphis isn't doing away with the money earned from their Final Four appearance though.
posted by BornIcon at 11:21 AM on August 21, 2009
For the record, I won the Final Four office pool that year, and I had Memphis going all the way to the finals. Nice payout!
I will not be "vacating" my winnings. (note to any IRS agents, "nice payout" is a relative term, not worth your efforts, really)
posted by dviking at 12:09 PM on August 21, 2009
Has Kentucky responded to any of this?
Seriously, knowing that whatever they accomplish will be tagged "Kentucky (*Calipari)" must be turning some of that blue to red. Althetes, alumni, fans, and administration must feel they've been screwed -
At least over at Louisville the coach only screws the fans ....
posted by cixelsyd at 01:59 PM on August 21, 2009
Suspend the coach for one year, put the entire program at Memphis under heavy watch and have it stricken from the record book. It's the only thing that punishes the right people.
Do you really think Calipari is the one responsible for making eligibility decisions? If so, then Memphis definitely needs a more severe punishment. That would be completely dysfunctional. It is the responsibility of the university to make sure that the players are eligible to play, not the coach. The players that played that season not named Rose are just as blameless as the current players. The NCAA needs preventive punishments. Retroactive punishments are pretty poor at preventing the next violation.
posted by bperk at 05:04 PM on August 21, 2009
I suppose the record books will only show a Final Three for that season, eh?
I agree that its ridiculous for Calipari to not take a hit. I think people should be pressing the NCAA bigwigs for explanation of why this is so every time a school is found to have violated the rules.
The preventative problem is that these processes are run by humans and humans can be subverted. Most humans at least some of the time. @bperk, I feel you but if you think at your age that the coach doesn't have a big--albeit unofficial and off the record--say then I'm disappointed in you.
Look at the recent Madoff scandal. There are theoretically systems and processes in place with much higher levels of robustness than college admissions and he got away with the shit for 20 years or more.
So you catch people when you can and (I hope) update the processes if possible to close the gap.
posted by billsaysthis at 06:23 PM on August 21, 2009
Wow, let Memphis take a hit and Calipari isn't even around anymore? What a joke. Boot Calipari for a year or two, without pay, if you want this stuff to stop. Tell me he didn't have any idea about the rules violations! Ridiculous.