NCAA needs to step up enforcement

Tressel has already been punished by the school with a five-game suspension and $250,000 fine for not disclosing

information about NCAA violations by some of his players. He and Ohio State could face stiffer penalties when the

NCAA completes its investigation.

Ohio State’s scandal is one of several in college football that have made headlines and cast a gloomy shadow on

collegiate sports over the past year—and made the NCAA a target for criticism.

Carr gave a blunt assessment of college sports’ governing body.He said it’s up to the NCAA to curtail the rule

breaking.

Mark Emmert, who took over as NCAA president last year, has talked tough in recent months about ramping up

enforcement and putting more bite in sanctions. He said he wants schools that violate the rules to pay penalties

punitive enough to make coaches and others think twice about cheating.

Carr said the NCAA’s reliance on its members to report their own violations puts the organization in a tight spot

because there’s “ample evidence, down through the years that some people are not self-reporting.”

“If you’re going to have a system, that the public, the fans, respect and buy into, than you better have a way of

making sure that those people who are violating the rules don’t prosper,” he said. “You got to invest the money

to have investigators and whatever else you need to do—or they need to deregulate.”

Carr recalled speaking with late NCAA president Myles Brand about enforcement, and Brand saying, “‘I don’t have

the authority to do a lot of these things that people want done.’

“Well, the question is, who does?” Carr said.

Last year, Michigan was hit with NCAA sanctions for violations of practice-time limits under then-coach Rich

Rodriguez, who took over in Ann Arbor after Carr retired following the 2007 season.

It was the first time the Wolverines’ football program had been cited by the NCAA for breaking rules.

Asked whether Rodriguez had tarnished the integrity of Michigan football, Carr said, “I can’t answer that.”He

added, “I think it was a disappointment for everybody.”

In addition to the NCAA problems for Michigan and Ohio State, the football programs at North Carolina, Auburn,

Oregon and Tennessee are also under scrutiny for possible violations.