REPORT: Why MSU Rival's Scandal Could be 'Last Explosive NCAA Case'
Michigan State's most hated rival, Michigan, has been in a negative spotlight for years now, as the Connor Stalions scandal has continued to poke its head as the NCAA looks to reach a resolution.
The NCAA Committee of Infractions held its hearing concerning the investigation this weekend. Surprisingly, Stalions was spotted outside the hearing and was assumed to have attended, per Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde.
Finally, this saga will be nearing an end. With what result? That remains to be seen.
Fortunately -- or unfortunately, if you're a fan of the drama -- this level of a scandal may never occur again in college athletics; at least that's what ESPN's Pete Thamel believes.
“The interesting thing from the macro here with this case, Dan (Wetzel), is this may be remembered as the last explosive NCAA case that we ever see," Thamel said during his recent appearance on ESPN's "College GameDay Podcast."
"Enforcement, as we know it, generally is going to be shifted to the new organization, with the new CEO, and a lot of that stuff is right now being 'socialized' to use a good buzzword for how it’s all going to go: NIL Go, Deloitte. I was told the other day that in these presentations that they’re doing at these conference meetings, for example, that the deadline for the case to be decided for a student-athlete is 45 days. I mean, you couldn’t even clear your throat for 45 days in this current slog.
“And there’s a lot of ifs. I’m not going to downplay that. Now, the NCAA will still have an enforcement staff. They’ll deal with academic stuff and different things under the purview. But in terms of ... academic stuff -- and there will still be academic fraud and that type of thing. That’s not going to go away -- But I think, too, Dan ... this is one of the smartest things the NCAA has ever done is getting enforcement out of its building.
“Because it was the least effective, least popular, and most toxic part of that organization. And a lot of the NCAA’s bad reputation over the years, especially under Mark Emmert as it toiled and was kind of rudderless and directionless and impotent, the face of the NCAA’s unpopularity was often this process and how it worked, right? Because it was fairness to kids, it was this, it was that.
"So, the tenor that I’ve gotten is ‘Good luck, college sports associates. Good luck, new CEO. You can take the bullets,' because this all sounds good, Dan, until the first big punishment comes. We know the ripple. We know what it feels like. We know how it’s going to go. So, there is a lot, I think, earnest people trying hard, but there’s also a lot of wait and see from people who have lived a lot of these cases.”
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