Louisiana-Lafayette hit with NCAA penalties, to vacate 22 football wins

Coach Bill Lewis · March 3, 2016

I post this here to simply inform those who were impressed with the recent success of ULL football.

Quote:
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette must vacate 22 wins, including two New Orleans Bowl titles and the shared 2013 Sun Belt Conference championship, it was announced Thursday.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions' ruling is a result of an investigation into alleged improprieties committed by former football assistant coach David Saunders, as reported by The Advocate.

The University will vacate eight wins from the 2011 season, four from 2012, eight from 2013 and two from 2014.

According to the findings, Saunders acted alone in falsifying ACT scores of five prospective student-athletes, per KATC.

"While it is disappointing to vacate these victories and championships, we finally put this chapter behind us and will continue to grow our championship football program," Louisiana-Lafayette athletics director Scott Farmer said in a statement.
"We stand behind the integrity and accomplishments of coach Mark Hudspeth, members of his coaching staff and each of our student-athletes who played football during the Hudspeth era."
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2016/...ith_n.html

FirefightnRick · March 4, 2016

Wow!

Rick

UNT86 · March 4, 2016

1) I really hate a cheater

2) If they had not cheated, we would have had 6 wins in 2011 and been bowl eligible

3) I really hate that almost every site that keeps records will still show that they won in 2011 and not that they had to "vacate" all those wins. As evidence, look at when Miss St had to forfeit to us. I would love to find any sports information site that shows that Miss. St. had to forfeit to us.

4) I really hate a cheater.

UNT90 · March 4, 2016

6 hours ago, UNT86 said:

1) I really hate a cheater

2) If they had not cheated, we would have had 6 wins in 2011 and been bowl eligible

3) I really hate that almost every site that keeps records will still show that they won in 2011 and not that they had to "vacate" all those wins. As evidence, look at when Miss St had to forfeit to us. I would love to find any sports information site that shows that Miss. St. had to forfeit to us.

4) I really hate a cheater.

I don't want a forfeited win.

Win on the freaking field!

VideoEagle · March 4, 2016

6 hours ago, UNT86 said:

3) I really hate that almost every site that keeps records will still show that they won in 2011 and not that they had to "vacate" all those wins. As evidence, look at when Miss St had to forfeit to us. I would love to find any sports information site that shows that Miss. St. had to forfeit to us.

Football data warehouse shows forfeits.

http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/active/n/north_texas/1975-1979_yearly_results.php

Ben Gooding · March 4, 2016

Weird how the NCAA can make hasty decisions when it's not the P5.

oldguystudent · March 4, 2016

Does this go back far enough to prove that Todd Dodge belongs in the UNT hall of fame and should be granted a retroactive ten-year extension?

foutsrouts · March 4, 2016

Ouch! Any top transfers that want to play for a squeaky clean program that doesn't win?

Greenrex · March 4, 2016

At least we've finally developed a clear strategy for winning.

Arkstfan · March 4, 2016

Fascinating that the NCAA discovered the assistant was dirty while at Ole Miss and started backtracking his career and landed on the Cajuns.

Even though the investigation of his dirty practices started at Ole Miss and thus has been "investigated" longer, the NCAA doesn't have enough information yet to make a ruling on what happened at Ole Miss.

All animals are equal, some are more equal than others.

jredallas · March 4, 2016

So, that makes the record from Mac's first year in 2011 6-6 now?

Cr1028 · March 4, 2016

1 hour ago, Arkstfan said:

Fascinating that the NCAA discovered the assistant was dirty while at Ole Miss and started backtracking his career and landed on the Cajuns.

Even though the investigation of his dirty practices started at Ole Miss and thus has been "investigated" longer, the NCAA doesn't have enough information yet to make a ruling on what happened at Ole Miss.

All animals are equal, some are more equal than others.

Yep, Chris Vaughn, another Ole Miss assistant implicated in the violations was let go after spending two years on Charlie Strong's staff at Texas. He was instrumental in signing a top prospect in Brandon Jones for the Horns. He chose the Horns over a "whose who" list of power programs. Texas will never be investigated. Write it in stone. He magically stopped playing dirty when he came to Texas to coach with that core-value having "treat women with respect" non-adulterer Charlie Strong.

foutsrouts · March 4, 2016

1 hour ago, jredallas said:

So, that makes the record from Mac's first year in 2011 6-6 now?

I'm sure that Mac is updating his coaching resume as we speak.

jredallas · March 4, 2016

8 minutes ago, foutsrouts said:

I'm sure that Mac is updating his coaching resume as we speak.

Well, it is one less losing season on that resume now. :) Maybe RV will decide to re-hire him for one game and retroactively play a fantasy bowl game for that season since the team Hit6 before Hit6 was even a thing.

MeanGreenTexan · March 4, 2016

2 minutes ago, jredallas said:

Well, it is one less losing season on that resume now. :) Maybe RV will decide to re-hire him for one game and retroactively play a fantasy bowl game for that season since the team Hit6 before Hit6 was even a thing.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I actually think "vacating" a win just means that the game was "never played". So, instead of 5-7, we'd be 5-6, and still have a losing record. If a team "vacates" a win, it doesn't mean the other team gets the win.

Aldo · March 4, 2016

6 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I actually think "vacating" a win just means that the game was "never played". So, instead of 5-7, we'd be 5-6, and still have a losing record. If a team "vacates" a win, it doesn't mean the other team gets the win.

Yeah we still lost those games.

jredallas · March 4, 2016

3 minutes ago, Aldo said:

Yeah we still lost those games.

Bummer

UNT90 · March 4, 2016

2 hours ago, Arkstfan said:

Fascinating that the NCAA discovered the assistant was dirty while at Ole Miss and started backtracking his career and landed on the Cajuns.

Even though the investigation of his dirty practices started at Ole Miss and thus has been "investigated" longer, the NCAA doesn't have enough information yet to make a ruling on what happened at Ole Miss.

All animals are equal, some are more equal than others.

Situations like this are another reason for a class action anti-trust suit against the NCAA by the G5.

When will they realize that whoring for scraps will never work. I know one university that embraces the whoring.

greenb.o.g. · March 4, 2016

Vacating wins is the dumbest punishment the NCAA can dole out.

What's the big bad NCAA going to do? Send a rep to Lafayette to reclaim the bowl trophy? Oh wait ... I forgot, the bowls aren't even owned by the NCAA. They're just "sanctioned" by them.

No records should change.

letsgiveacheer · March 4, 2016

4 hours ago, Ben Gooding said:

Weird how the NCAA can make hasty decisions when it's not the P5.

So true, What has been going on at North Carolina is ridiculous but still nothing from the NCAA. The "Carolina Way" indeed.

untjim1995 · March 8, 2016

On March 4, 2016 at 6:54 AM, Arkstfan said:

Fascinating that the NCAA discovered the assistant was dirty while at Ole Miss and started backtracking his career and landed on the Cajuns.

Even though the investigation of his dirty practices started at Ole Miss and thus has been "investigated" longer, the NCAA doesn't have enough information yet to make a ruling on what happened at Ole Miss.

All animals are equal, some are more equal than others.

I'm reminded, for the umpteenth time, of the famous Jerry Tarkanian quote about the NCAA penalizing Cleveland State to show everyone how tough they are when they know Kentucky is cheating. Ole Miss is cheating, so let's put powerhouse ULL on probation...

I really, truly wish they would just finish it up and completely pull away from the non-P5s and play their semi-pro games. The rest of us can actually enjoy real college football played by actual college students, not pros-in-waiting.

I know so many of you will say that would be awful for us, but we made our bed decades ago on this stuff. And, even after coming back to I-A in 1995, our attendance isn't terribly different than it was back then, even with a brand new stadium and a more recognizable conference. We aren't ever going to be on that level, financially or by fans. That doesn't mean we have to drop down, it just means that we shouldn't ever be playing football against these p5 behemoths that pay us to get bent over a barrel every year. The sooner those days are gone for UNT, the better it will be--even if that means the AD will have to actually hustle to raise funds to pay for non-revenue sports, something that the current one is committed to doing every year he can, since it's easy money.

Ben Gooding · March 8, 2016

8 hours ago, untjim1995 said:

I'm reminded, for the umpteenth time, of the famous Jerry Tarkanian quote about the NCAA penalizing Cleveland State to show everyone how tough they are when they know Kentucky is cheating. Ole Miss is cheating, so let's put powerhouse ULL on probation...

I really, truly wish they would just finish it up and completely pull away from the non-P5s and play their semi-pro games. The rest of us can actually enjoy real college football played by actual college students, not pros-in-waiting.

I know so many of you will say that would be awful for us, but we made our bed decades ago on this stuff. And, even after coming back to I-A in 1995, our attendance isn't terribly different than it was back then, even with a brand new stadium and a more recognizable conference. We aren't ever going to be on that level, financially or by fans. That doesn't mean we have to drop down, it just means that we shouldn't ever be playing football against these p5 behemoths that pay us to get bent over a barrel every year. The sooner those days are gone for UNT, the better it will be--even if that means the AD will have to actually hustle to raise funds to pay for non-revenue sports, something that the current one is committed to doing every year he can, since it's easy money.

I agree. It's infuriating. They make quick and fair decisions when the public thumb is on top of them, see Sandusky & Penn St. They use to make decisions such as this no matter the issue and regardless of who the program or university was, see USC in the early 00's as well as Bama in the late 90's for prime examples. Now, those kind o crimes will virtually go unpunished, example see Miami football team and their current "consequences" for allowing a booster and a well known cheating one to pimp out their players to prostitutes, coke, yachts, etc. See the current UNC debacle, nada. See Auburn keeping a BS program in store when knowingly knowing that athletes are the ONLY ones participating, nada. See the Ole Miss circus, nada. Small town Ole Miss/Oxford press tried to push the agenda that these violations were NOT during the Freeze era when it is now coming to light that the vast majority of the violations were in fact during the Freeze era. See the Louisville situation currently going on, "self ban" joke. See every perrenial top 25 program in the country and the character of players they consistently give "second (but really 3rd, 4th, and 5th) chances." See the academic "help" these guys are receiving at these perrenial top 25 programs. The NCAA has 2 choices, actually govern the entire NCAA as it should be governed OR allow the 30 or so programs to break completely away to pay their players and gtfo of real college football. Teetering on this middle ground is diluting the college football landscape and is dragging about 30 of the P5 programs through the mud and the majority of the G5. It's an absolute joke. How or why the G5 has not stepped in and even TRIED to flex their muscles just goes to show that they are settling with scraps being thrown their way when in reality they could flex up and force real decisions. In other words, the college model and college experience for fans and players alike is being watered down and slowly killed off and it kind of pisses me off.

Quoner · March 8, 2016

40 minutes ago, Ben Gooding said:

I agree. It's infuriating. They make quick and fair decisions when the public thumb is on top of them, see Sandusky & Penn St. They use to make decisions such as this no matter the issue and regardless of who the program or university was, see USC in the early 00's as well as Bama in the late 90's for prime examples. Now, those kind o crimes will virtually go unpunished, example see Miami football team and their current "consequences" for allowing a booster and a well known cheating one to pimp out their players to prostitutes, coke, yachts, etc. See the current UNC debacle, nada. See Auburn keeping a BS program in store when knowingly knowing that athletes are the ONLY ones participating, nada. See the Ole Miss circus, nada. Small town Ole Miss/Oxford press tried to push the agenda that these violations were NOT during the Freeze era when it is now coming to light that the vast majority of the violations were in fact during the Freeze era. See the Louisville situation currently going on, "self ban" joke. See every perrenial top 25 program in the country and the character of players they consistently give "second (but really 3rd, 4th, and 5th) chances." See the academic "help" these guys are receiving at these perrenial top 25 programs. The NCAA has 2 choices, actually govern the entire NCAA as it should be governed OR allow the 30 or so programs to break completely away to pay their players and gtfo of real college football. Teetering on this middle ground is diluting the college football landscape and is dragging about 30 of the P5 programs through the mud and the majority of the G5. It's an absolute joke. How or why the G5 has not stepped in and even TRIED to flex their muscles just goes to show that they are settling with scraps being thrown their way when in reality they could flex up and force real decisions. In other words, the college model and college experience for fans and players alike is being watered down and slowly killed off and it kind of pisses me off.

BREAKING: Ben wasn't alive in the 80s.