By JACKSON WANG
Sports Editor
Published August 30, 2011
The Miami Hurricanes’ football program could be facing the death penalty after a Yahoo! Sports’ 11-month investigation found players receiving impermissible benefits from former University of Miami booster, Nevin Shapiro.
Shapiro, who is currently serving 20 years in a federal prison for coordinating a $930 million Ponzi scheme, told Yahoo! Sports at least 72 athletes have received thousands of impermissible benefits from him between 2002 and 2010.
At least seven coaches from both the football and basketball program were implicated in the scandal during Shapiro’s eight-year tenure as booster at the University of Miami.
Shapiro supposedly provided cash, goods, prostitutes, and various favors, including parties on his yacht.
Shapiro has released several pictures of himself with many current and former players at the University of Miami. Many players have come forward stating they have received impermissible benefits from Shapiro and some had even gone on record with Yahoo! Sports during their 11-month investigation.
If all of this proves to be true, then the University of Miami could face the ultimate punishment in college sport?the death penalty.
When a college sports program is handed the death penalty, they are banned from competing in that particular sport for at least one year. The death penalty is typically handed down when a college program repeats a violated rule. This punishment can be handed to any college sports program at any level.
The death penalty has been used only five times in college sports.
One of the most talked about scandals that led to the death penalty was the Southern Methodist University football program during the mid-1980s. ESPN’s 30 For 30 made a film about the whole SMU football scandal called Pony Excess.
SMU boosters were paying the top high school athletes to come play at their school. These boosters were making payments to several student-athletes over a period of time.
In 1985, SMU was placed on a five-year probation for recruiting violations. What put SMU under the ultimate penalty was continuously violating rules after 1985.
As a result, the 1987 season was canceled and SMU was on probation until 1990. The probation included a ban from bowl games and live television games, as well as the loss of 55 scholarship positions over four years.
The death penalty affected the SMU football program for over 20-years. Since 1989, SMU had only two winning seasons and only defeated two ranked teams. SMU would only return to a bowl game in 2009 when they faced Nevada. In that game, SMU defeated Nevada in a 45-10 rout.
If the investigation finds that many of the coaches, and possibly administrators, were aware of Shapiro’s actions, then Miami will have been found to have repeatedly violated NCAA rules. This would most likely lead to the Miami football program receiving the death penalty.
If the Miami Hurricanes do receive the death penalty, they could be facing several years of losing just like SMU did after their punishment.
