As an alum of SMU and a staunch follower of the athletics program, particularly men’s football (well, starting again this year) and men’s basketball, I am inherently biased. No matter the decision that the NCAA levied after its 18 month investigation, post announcement I knew that I would immediately rationalize why the punishment was too harsh and plead the case for a lesser penalty. With that said, I acknowledge that the penalties against Coach Brown and the SMU program are generally fair. Suspending Coach Brown for 30% of this coming season’s games was admitted by SMU’s President Turner to be consistent with the NCAA’s new initiative to hold coaches accountable for program infractions. And, the loss of three scholarships per season over three years also seems consistent with the punishment handed out to Syracuse for its men’s basketball program’s recent transgressions. ...

Major sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, NCAA March Madness tournament, and the Masters were a huge part of my life while I was growing up in Atlanta – and they certainly continue to be so today. In some respects, these events were similar to holidays in that the entire family would oftentimes get together, with additional friends and relatives, to cheer for their favorite athletes and hope that their respective teams would end up as champions. ...