Miami Hurricanes vs. Ohio State: Who won the sanctions game?

Owing to the long-running, visible nature of Shapiro’s violations, the university could be on the hook for a lack of institutional control.

The price: The true severity of the consequences for the program won’t be apparent until the NCAA wraps up its investigation, which could take several months. But the punishments handed down so far have been directed at players, in the form of suspensions and repayment for improper benefits.

According to the NCAA, the most severe punishments went to defensive lineman Olivier Vernon, who was suspended six games and forced to repay $1,200 in restitution for receiving handouts as a recruit. The other implicated players owe less. Ray Ray Armstrong owes $788; Dyron Dye, $738; Jacory Harris, $140; Sean Spence, $275; Travis Benjamin, $150; Marcus Forston, $400, and Adewale Ojomo, $240.

But what does Miami stand to lose in the long run? The University of Southern California’ s Trojans, who endured their own scandal last year over players receiving improper payment, were banned from postseason bowl play for two years, and lost an estimated 30 athletic scholarships (10 per year for three years).

The University of Miami’s website shows freshman tuition at $36,962 per year, plus fees. So if the football program were to lose 10 full-ride scholarships per year, that’s a $369,620 annual loss in money to recruit players.

Then there’s the postseason money. The ACC conference, of which Miami is a part, gets an automatic bid to the BCS Orange Bowl, which has a $17 million payout to be distributed among members of the participating conference. If Miami is banned from postseason play, they would lose their share, as well as any payout they would get from a lesser bowl game. If they were eighth place in the ACC conference, the worst possible placing to receive a bowl bid, Miami would go to the Military bowl in Washington, D.C., and receive an estimated payout of $862,500. The payouts only go up from there.

Final Score:

Ohio State: approximately $13, 208, 605, (mostly Jim Tressel’s salary).

Miami: $3,931 so far, in player restitutions. But when the NCAA completes its investigation, the losses to the program could be in the millions.

– The Monitor's new digital edition debuted Sept. 13. Now readers can view our weekly print magazine on their computers or iPads.

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