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Message: [QUOTE="FfldCntyFan, post: 5115535, member: 71"] As far as what they did, there wasn't too much difference between SMU and quite a few other schools. As far as how they did it, there was a massive difference and that is what eventually led to the death penalty. The standard operating procedure for buying athletes had always been arms length transactions with a wink and a nod, allowing for plausible deniability from those directly connected with the school. SMU had what they referred to as board meetings with high level members of the football staff, athletic department and administration (school president for a while) meeting with how powered boosters weekly to strategize financial needs to acquire players and payments to players. After getting caught (I believe for the third time in four years) they agreed to basically a plea bargain where they would no longer cheat and accept a death penalty if they broke the agreement. They continued paying some of their players after that (the evidence for the enforcement of the death penalty) then after a number of months decided to no longer pay, which led to the whistle blowing. The board meetings and identifiable planning among school employees is what set them apart. [/QUOTE]