What kills me is that we are playing let's make a deal on this at all. The NCAA had certain academic progress rules in place. Those rules are flawed, as has often been discussed on this board and elsewhere, but let's set that aside for the moment. UConn fell short of those rules during a four year period and was punished by losing two scholarships. The failure to meet the rules was punished.
The NCAA now says we are changing the rules to provide for a post season ban. That's a new rule. However the NCAA says that it will use prior years, for which UConn has already been punished, to determine who should receive the brand new punishment. UConn mathmatically could not meet the new standard with the prior years the NCAA is using even with perfect scores. The NCAA was aware of UConn's scores before implementing the new rules. So when the NCAA ratified the new rules, it knew, or ought to have known, that they would have the effect of postseason ban on UConn regardless of how well UConn performed. How is that fair?
Let's say that you are driving one night. It is getting late and you want to home so you drive in excess of the speed limit. You realize that there is a risk that you might be caught and might get a ticket, but you do it anyway. You are stopped by and officer and issued a ticket. You pay the fine. A year later the state decides that all speeders should have their cars taken away from them. They pass the law and apply to anyone who's been caught speeding over the past two years. The police come to your home and take your car. You tell them that you've been a model citizen since and haven't driven above the speed limit. It doesn't matter. They take your car.
That's what is happening to UConn here. It isn't appropriate and we ought to fight it. By the way, the language at end of Herbst quote is a signal to the NCAA, that we will fight it, if they don't take this deal.
