Mammoth Blog

- In the rebuttal it filed on Tuesday to the NCAA, Florida State argued once again why it shouldn't be forced to vacate victories in the aftermath of a widespread academic fraud scandal and the university described as "woefully inadequate" the NCAA Committee on Infractions' rational that led to the disputed penalty.

FSU's rebuttal is the latest step in an ongoing appeals process that might not end for months. The university in April submitted to the NCAA its original appeal. The NCAA Committee on Infractions last month responded, arguing strongly why the vacation-of-victories penalty should stand. And then the university filed its rebuttal to that response. The rebuttal had been due to the NCAA by today.

As was the case in its original appeal, one of the university's primary arguments in its rebuttal is that the Committee on Infractions failed to give proper weight to FSU's investigative efforts and self-imposed corrective actions in the wake of a scandal that involved 61 athletes and three former university employees.

In its rebuttal, FSU wrote, "The rationale offered for the imposition of penalties did not include a discussion of substantial mitigations and was, accordingly, woefully inadequate."

Florida State also contends that the vacation penalty should be reversed because of an agreement the university in the fall of 2007 reached with the NCAA's Enforcement Staff and Student-Athlete Reinstatement Staff. That agreement allowed those athletes who might have been implicated in the academic fraud scandal to admit wrongdoing and serve a suspension equivalent to 30 percent of their season.

The agreement was designed to convince implicated athletes to come forward and endure a less stringent penalty in return for their honesty. The university is now arguing that the vacation-of-victories penalty "contradicts the central idea of [FSU's] agreement with the NCAA."

"To continue to regard student-athletes as ineligible for a window of time prior to their reinstatement contradicts this agreement," FSU wrote in its rebuttal.

Further, the university argued - as it had in its original appeal - that the records of innocent coaches and athletes be shielded from the vacation penalty.

Both the Committee on Infractions and Florida State are attempting to convince the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee, which will ultimately decide whether to uphold the vacation-of-victories penalty. At stake are victories from the 2006 and 2007 seasons - including two national championships in men's track and as many as 14 victories in football.

If Florida State is forced to vacate the football victories, then it would likely end coach Bobby Bowden's pursuit of retiring the most victorious coach in major college football history. Bowden, 79, ended the 2008 season with 382 career victories, one behind Penn State's Joe Paterno.

The Committee on Infractions also placed Florida State on four years' probation and forced FSU to cut approximately 19 athletic scholarships, six of those in football spread over three seasons. The university, though, is only appealing the vacation-of-victories penalty.

FSU President T.K. Wetherell said recently the university is prepared to take its case to court if the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee doesn't eventually reverse the vacation penalty. source>>>