In the 1980s, a Ute assistant football coach was found to have provided a ride for recruit Jason Buck from Rexburg, Idaho, to nearby St. Anthony. It seems Buck (who ended up at BYU) had missed his ride and couldn't find a cab in a town of 15,000 residents.

Now the Johnny-come-lately Cougars are finally getting into the act.

That isn't to say horror stories of cash, cars and other sordid matters don't occur. Former Baylor basketball coach Dave Bliss reportedly paid $40,000 in tuition for two players and solicited another $80,000 from boosters. He also failed to report failed player drug tests. After one player was murdered by his teammate, Bliss tried to talk his team into telling investigators that the victim had paid for his tuition by dealing drugs.

To its credit, the NCAA handed Bliss one of its harshest penalties ever.

Clearly, the honor system alone isn't enough.

But somewhere along the way, the governing body kept adding items until its rulebook became as thick as a curb and as complicated as the California tax code. Nowadays a recruit can't sneeze without permission.

Smiling at a checkout clerk? That's a violation of Section A, Article III, Paragraph 13.

BYU certainly shouldn't be elated about being on probation. It's never good to get called into the principal's office.

But in joining other schools that have heard the gavel of the NCAA, it should remember this is nothing unusual. In fact, it was inevitable. Like winter colds and jury duty, almost everyone eventually takes a turn.

---

E-mail: rock@desnews.com