NCAA’s Inconsistency

It continues to amaze me that the University of Memphis has to vacate their basketball wins and Final Four appearance and Duke does not.  Both teams played with what the NCAA considers an ineligible player.  Both teams were National Runner-Ups.  Yet only one team has to vacate their wins and their Final Four appearance. 

If you remember, Corey Magette was the player for Duke in 1999 who was paid by a former crack dealer and AAU coach, Myron Piggie prior to attendingDuke.  Piggie admitted to the law that he paid Magette and four other players $35,000 from 1996 to 1998.  Magette also eventually admitted that he took the money.  

The only explanation the NCAA gives for not requiring Duke to vacate its wins (besides the “its still being investigated” line) is that Duke was not aware of Magette’s activities and they happened prior to his being a student, therefore Duke cannot be held responsible.  Even in the NCAA’s own findings they do not find that Memphis was negligent in the Derrick Rose case, only that Rose was not an eligible player, yet Memphis has to vacate their wins because Rose was allegedly not an eligible player and Duke does not have to even though Magette was not an eligible player.  Lets see if I have this straight:

Memphis
   Rose ineligible player
   Memphis not at fault for said ineligibility
   Result - Memphis has to vacate wins because
   they played with an ineligible player
Duke
   Magette ineligible player
   Duke not at fault for said ineligibility
   Result - Duke keeps wins and record intact
   because Duke not responsible for ineligibility

Sounds consistent.  Now, I realize that the NCAA has never officially declared Magette ineligible, but we all know that is a Red Herring with the amount of evidence available, especially considering that the basically the only evidence they have to declare Rose ineligible is that his score was higher and one (read it, one) handwriting expert testifies that the handwriting appears to be different.

Kind of makes you say “hmm”, doesn’t it?  It certainly makes anything the NCAA says ring hollow.