NCAA Brings the Hammer Down on Public Enemy No. 1: Cal Tech

Cal Tech picked up three years of probation along with vacating a ton of wins and postseason bans in: men’s and women’s track and field; men’s and women’s cross country; women’s swimming; baseball; men’s and women’s fencing; men’s soccer; men’s water polo; men’s basketball; and men’s and women’s tennis.

The main reason? The school has a "shopping" policy (for all students) that lets them sample different classes for the first three weeks before finalizing their class schedule. Since they weren't technically "enrolled" for those three weeks, any student-athlete was technically "ineligible" since they weren't "in class" yet. This led to a "lack of institutional control." At Cal Tech.

So, to recap: the NCAA came down on Cal Tech because their athletes might have been taking a Quantum Physics class for a few weeks before deciding on a Theoretical Applied Mathematics course instead.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Latest%20News/2012/June/California%20Institute%20of%20Technology%20cited%20for%20lack%20of%20institutional%20control

It takes a special kind of stupid to be the NCAA.

 

A quick note: from reading the release, it does sound like Cal Tech has little to no interest in running athletic programs. It would probably be better if they just went to club sports or spent their time hacking into the Rose Bowl scoreboard.

 

Class sampling? Way to go after the hard stuff, NCAA.

Meanwhile, another other Cal ....ipari chuckles at this story.

 

Approves.

 

the NCAA is really good about going after the piddly little stuff that no one cares about. I once covered a D-II school that got in trouble because the football coach was buying pizza for kids at a youth football camp. Their other finding: he paid for an apartment for a wide receiver. . . .who happened to be his son. The NCAA needs some common sense.

 

The NCAA is so mad at Penn State, it's going to give Caltech three years' probation.

 

And now, the starting lineup for YOUR Caltech basketball team!

 

I figured it was for their new center and guard.

 

"Ok guys what do we have? I have reports of Florida players driving Escalades, Auburn players getting houses, Ohio State players getting arrested... What do we think here? What's our next move?"

"Boss, I have two words for you... Cal Tech..."

 

Funny. Meanwhile the NCAA isn't even looking at the no-show courses North Carolina's football players were "attending."

 

Didn't Caltech have a 20-plus-year conference losing streak in basketball? I think the rest of its league will protest if wins over Caltech don't count anymore.