11/05/24
December 01, 2010
NCAA rules Newton eligible to play: The NCAA says Auburn quarterback Cam Newton’s father did indeed shop his son to another school, but ruled the Heisman Trophy front-runner is eligible to play in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Money talks; the NCAA listens.
posted by graymatters at 05:12 PM on December 01, 2010
Yeah, but if Newton's dad ever wants to play NCAA football, he's totally hosed.
posted by Joey Michaels at 07:34 PM on December 01, 2010
Wasn't one of the reasons why Reggie Bush was ineligible was because his parents were accepting benifits? (Among other violations)
posted by sgtcookzane at 08:32 PM on December 01, 2010
Yeh, but Bush was not ruled ineligible until several years later, after the NCAA, the BCS, and the schools had made the money.
posted by graymatters at 09:07 PM on December 01, 2010
I'd be shocked if this closes the book on this topic...
posted by Uncle Toby at 10:41 PM on December 01, 2010
I'd be shocked if this closes the book on this topic... As noted in various media outlets, there is a federal investigation pending with respect to a number of big money Auburn boosters (related to bribery, money laundering, etc.). There is a pretty good run down of all of this from the sports/Cam Newton angle here. (Also see here for an article from a few years back about Auburn's most powerful booster, Bobby Lowder.)
While the investigation is not targeted to football, I would not be surprised if Auburn athletics comes out of this with a black eye of some sort, whether related specifically to Newton or otherwise.
posted by holden at 12:16 AM on December 02, 2010
So Cecil Newton was shopping Cam to the schools Cam was visiting, but Cam didn't know about it? That seems plausible.
posted by bender at 08:43 AM on December 02, 2010
Not.
posted by graymatters at 09:52 AM on December 02, 2010
I think this is going to set a very bad precedent for the NCAA. Do only Heisman prospects get a pass?
posted by irunfromclones at 03:48 PM on December 02, 2010
The really bad precedent is when the NCAA tries to sweep all of this under the rug in the future to justify its position now. It is going to be hard to penalize Newton or Auburn in the future based on what is known now, because they already know it and say it's OK. They might get Auburn on something else in the future, but it will be hard to use anything involving Newton as a basis for penalties.
posted by graymatters at 06:36 PM on December 02, 2010
His father cheated, but that doesn't affect Cam's eligibility? I can translate that. Cam Newton is making us all too much money for us to worry about this now.