The Biggest Scandals In College Sports

In the wake of the Penn State scandal, BuzzFeed has an interesting (but typo-filled) look at what previously were the 10 biggest scandals in college sports history.

The Penn State debacle puts them all to shame. (The Columbian weighed in with a Talking Point in Friday’s paper). That aside, here are some other thoughts about the list:

— The point-shaving scandal that engulfed City College of New York and other schools in 1951 is little-known today but was a landmark point in college basketball history. Kentucky, which had won NCAA titles in 1948, 1949, and 1951, ended up canceling its 1952-53 season. Can you imagine that today?

— I might have included the mugging perpetrated by the Minnesota basketball team in 1972 against Ohio State. But that was just one moment in time, rather than a lingering conspiracy.

— The scandal that resulted in SMU football receiving the Death Penalty ranks No. 1 on the list. One of the most amazing facts about the corruption is that it went all the way to SMU Board of Governors chairman Bill Clements, who was about to leave the position after being elected governor of Texas.

— Kudos to Michigan basketball for breaking the South’s stranglehold on the list. Nine of the 10 scandals feature Kentucky or schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana or Florida. USC football probably deserved consideration; it did result in the vacating of a national title and a Heisman Trophy.