Deseret News | Reader comments: BYU volleyball: NCAA puts Cougars on 3-year probation

Reader comments
BYU volleyball: NCAA puts Cougars on 3-year probation

Not the standard | 1:47 p.m. March 11, 2008

I had a BYU coach tell me once that the NCAA sets its standards by whatever BYU does, that BYU was the NCAA's model school, and that BYU could do wrong. Well, I guess that coach was wrong.

Sean | 1:46 p.m. March 11, 2008

Well, you got the headline right.

However, Brigham Young was not placed on probation. The University was. The article isn't worded well.

Anonymous | 1:49 p.m. March 11, 2008

Does this affect post-season eligibility at all?

Comments continue below

Anonymous | 1:56 p.m. March 11, 2008

Are YOU fully invested?

Not anymore. What a shameful embarassment for BYU: The Lord's University!?

Whoa | 1:57 p.m. March 11, 2008

Opppssss. Someone is not living right on and off the field. Luckily they have not found anything yet about Football and we dont really care about volleyball anyway.

Typical | 2:04 p.m. March 11, 2008

BYU tries to separate itself as different and better than every other school. BYU fans will no doubt justify this in their minds and still think BYU holds itself to a higher standard. The truth is that BYU's fans, boosters, and administration are as corruptible as those they look down upon.

Not the first time | 2:13 p.m. March 11, 2008

This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Multiple violations were discovered in Men's Soccer in the late 80's and, rather than face sanctions, BYU pulled the NCAA program, essentially giving itself the death penalty.

Anonymous | 2:17 p.m. March 11, 2008

BYU fan here. Thanks for the negative attention Boosters! You crack me up! Who would give extra benefits to volleyball players! What a joke!

Mike R. | 2:42 p.m. March 11, 2008

Why do you think that the coach got canned?

Confusing | 2:36 p.m. March 11, 2008

The article is confusing. I think you need a good tax attorney to understand the IRS tax code and you need a good compliance attorney to understand the NCAA violations. I believe there are many. I do not excuse BYU for this but I also believe that it would be fairly easy to violate if you weren't vigilant. The University needs to scrutinize the process carefully and then disclose exactly what happened. I think the Deseret Morning News makes this sound like a felony when it may not be. Sad for BYU Volleyball fans but deserved if the code was violated.

SC | 2:36 p.m. March 11, 2008

Sean Sean Sean

The University is frequently refered to as Brigham Young. Just as we refer to Utah, San Diego State, Gonzaga, George Washington, etc. without always attaching the University to it in our speech. It happens so often it is ubiquitous.

Secondly, the volleyball program was placed on probation if you want to split hairs. Not the entire athletic dept and certainly not the entire university.

title 9 | 2:43 p.m. March 11, 2008

Actually, the dropping of the soccer program had more to do with title 9, than it did for infractions.

Chirs P. | 3:17 p.m. March 11, 2008

The details of the violations are on the NCAA.org website. Take a read through them to get a sense of what amounts to NCAA violations. This isn't a situation where coaches were taking tests for the students or where someone was given a new Mercedes. These were more technical violations--rides to the airport, loaner bicycles, and booster behavior towards defecting cubans.

In the report, the coach and University were blamed for not having good oversight of all this--which has been an issue since 1998 (long before the fired coach was even hired). BYU tries to place the blame on the fied Coach based on a statement in the report. Thatï¿½s probably why he was fired, IMO. BYU was trying to preserve their reputation knowing that the NCAA would probably want some blood given the history of the problem.

Anonymous | 3:26 p.m. March 11, 2008

everyone makes mistakes, my heck. BYU and its people aren't perfect. The fact that you people try so hard to find something wrong with a quality university is rather pitiful.

Re: Typical | 3:22 p.m. March 11, 2008

I'm a Utah alum and a BYU fan. I've seen both sides and the majority of BYU fans don't look down on other people. That's a broad stereotype and your own insecurity if you feel that way. It's just the same as saying that all Utah fans are drunken, crude, and obnoxious. Oh wait, that's pretty much true. Bad example.

ron | 3:28 p.m. March 11, 2008

heck, anon..I will watch for the post the next time your school makes headlines. I don't think it will be long.

Chris P. | 3:32 p.m. March 11, 2008

Anonymous said: "everyone makes mistakes, my heck."

Why didn't BYU have this same attitutede towards the fired coach?

What goes around comes around, maybe?

Mistakes | 3:33 p.m. March 11, 2008

Yeah, everyone makes mistakes, like taking out one of your players for a burger to help him through a difficult period following the death of his father...But we're all understanding of those situations, right?

BYU Alum | 3:36 p.m. March 11, 2008

My whole time at BYU I felt as though the University was investing too much in sports and not enough in the actual students. I was told repeatedly that the sports program is a great PR tool for the church. Unfortnately, at least to me, 90% of the PR tends to be negative. I for one think the true Lord's University wouldn't even bother with sports. But what do I know?

ron | 3:55 p.m. March 11, 2008

Hey folks, the rest of the story. The name Ted Leland a name that is known on the west coast and affiliated with Stanford and pacific, two of those tough competitors of the school named and who have been trying to get something on the said school is on the commitee for violations. Yes byu, you got caught, but now I see why there were more penalties added on.

hey typical | 4:01 p.m. March 11, 2008

Do you look up or down on Cougar fan?

IDClark | 3:58 p.m. March 11, 2008

Man the timing on this is interesting--Just as the cougs get ready to travel to UCLA. Will Al Scates be able to contain himself?

Big Al (Donï¿½t get me wrong, I canï¿½t stand the man but he is the best coach in the NCAA, not to mention menï¿½s volleyball) has had it in for BYU for some time. He has criticized the fans, the officials (BYU has the same ones every home match) and the eligibility of a couple of players (who were cleared). He has been actively critical of some of the foreign players calling them ï¿½professionalsï¿½. His comments on BYU have led to at least one league censure.

I see this as an appropriate slap on the wrist for a relatively minor rule violation.

BYU volleyball | 4:06 p.m. March 11, 2008

Wow! Didn't know BYU had a men's volleyball team!

Fired? | 4:10 p.m. March 11, 2008

Coach Peterson was NOT fired. He resigned. Probably under pressure because the University immidiately announced that it was under investigation, but he was never fired. Let's not commit libel folks. BYU's Men's volleyball program is the most successful at the school. Which other team has 3 national championships in the last 10 years other than the dance team?

NCBYUFan | 4:21 p.m. March 11, 2008

This is why I am glad I don't live in SLC. This argument of good school bad school, good church bad is sophmoric. Give me the NC Duke rivalry where when it's over it's over and no one cares which church you do or don't go to. Awwww to be First in Flight!

Not Surprised | 4:19 p.m. March 11, 2008

CHEATERS!!!

Live right | 4:29 p.m. March 11, 2008

Not living right on and off the court = No magic happens.

Uh oh, there goes BYU's shot at a national championship in any sport this year.

Agree with Confusing | 5:06 p.m. March 11, 2008

1) BYU wasn't "caught"--they admitted their own violation of the rules.
2) The rules are very complex and confusing, and most likely there was no intention to violate them.
3) Good lesson learned, and all BYU (and Utah) sports teams should be sure to be more vigilant about keeping the rules in the future.

Double Standard | 6:51 p.m. March 11, 2008

Bad News! Let's not soft pedal this. Is BYU going to abide by standards or not? Are we caving into putting pride first? If we think that people are ignoring this - think again. People are looking for excuses to accuse Mormons - and here we go again.

Golden | 7:12 p.m. March 11, 2008

Fired? Said:
"Which other team has 3 national championships in the last 10 years other than the dance team?"

That would actually be the Women's Cross Country team (3 NCAA championships in 5 years) with a handful of runner-up finishes as well.

The V-ball and W XC are far and away the most sucessful programs at the school.

Get off it | 7:23 p.m. March 11, 2008

Look I love the BYU- Utah rivalry just as much as the next guy, but please do not bring religion into this! Yes, BYU is a 98% mormon school. Everyone and their dogs knows that. Yes they made a pretty big mistake and are getting penalized for it. Yes they deserve to be penalized for it and I think this self-imposed violation is the right thing for the Y to do. So lets leave the whole "living right" conversation out of this. Quite frankly I think god could care less who won a BYU volleyball game. And Ute people, dont talk bad about BYU's football team and so on. At least BYU takes responsibility for their actions. What happened a few short years ago when a certain Ute QB had had relations with an undraged girl? Oh thats right, Whittingham pretended that never happened

Conejo | 7:44 p.m. March 11, 2008

What a bunch of cheaters. First BYU sends all of their players on missions so they can work out, practice, and get more mature, then they set fire to San Diego so the football team would have more time to prepare, now they have apparently been paying for the legal fees of Cuban volleyball players so they will defect to the United States. It is time BYU is just kicked out of the NCAA for these blatant violations. Anything they accomplish is just the result of cheating anyway!

Re: Conejo | 7:52 p.m. March 11, 2008

I'm glad to read someone has a sense of humor about this situation.

Patchell Clean | 8:46 p.m. March 11, 2008

The good news here is that the assistant at the time and current head coach came out of this investigation clean. Otherwise, I suspect he would have been forced to resign as well. He has the team playing well at a critical point in the season! Go cougs!

Get off it..What? | 8:52 p.m. March 11, 2008

When has byu taken responsibility for their actions?

Go cougars | 9:23 p.m. March 11, 2008

BYU is the king of the hill. The pac 10 boys have been trying to get something on them for years. Cougar athletics rock! They did no wrong here. This is a vendetta.

Texas Cougar | 10:46 p.m. March 11, 2008

Whether this is a major or minor incident, it is getting significant coverage here in Texas. The local 10 PM ABC News Anchor (Dale Hansen)just told his viewers about the BYU Volleyball Program mis-step and ridiculed the University for the actions of those involved. If we at BYU hold ourselves up as a "City on a Hill" we need to be willing to take the occational negative publicity that comes with it; especially here in TCU country where we sometimes appear "holier than thou".

Sports fan | 10:46 p.m. March 11, 2008

Hopefully, the church will discontinue sports at BYU and quit embarrasing its members

Lito | 11:12 p.m. March 11, 2008

People who live in totalitarian states should know that it is a violation of the NCAA rules to leave their country and family behind and expect any compassion or assistance from our citizens.

Perhaps we should drop informational leaflets from a B-51 bomber onto Cuba so this never happens again.

JPC 53 | 11:22 p.m. March 11, 2008

Tommie Holmoe should be a big help to BYU getting through this since he knows first hand about breaking NCAA rules. No other school would have him, but he was current with his tithing so BYU overlooked his cheating and hired him.

lezoave | 11:44 p.m. March 11, 2008

BYU's national championship hopes this year are well intact... they're currently #1 and have a critical road swing ahead of them. As long as this doesn't distract the players, they should be fine and hopefully BYU can hang another Championship banner from the Smith Fieldhouse.

The violations aren't a death-knell for BYU Volleyball. Will it be harder the next few years? Of course. But I expect BYU to still be competitive, and I don't think it'll hurt recruiting at all either.

And the argument about which BYU team is better seems awfully silly. I'm very proud of every BYU team that excels, no matter what sport.

Ben | 12:03 a.m. March 12, 2008

First of all, the haters in the room need to take a step back and realize how stupid they are making themselves look.

It seems that this is a case where the NCAA had warned about pre-enrollment proximity to the campus in the past, and when there was a violation thereof they were forced to take action (to make clear to other institutions to be wary of this).

Additionally, to all those accusing the university of cheating, the charges are the equivalent of 'negligence.' This means that the NCAA isn't accusing the school of actively breaking the rules, but rather that they should have been aware of what was going on. The one exception to this case is when the coach "facilitated the provision of bicycles" (which is laughable--that language would make it appear that even loaning a player a bike would be an NCAA violation; ridiculous).

One final note: in men's volleyball, the conferences aren't the same. In fact, the Pac 10 doesn't exist in men's volleyball. It's the Pacific Sports Federation or something like that.

Go Cougs.

Chris P. | 1:42 a.m. March 12, 2008

The former coache's press release is rather intersting to read (posted elsewhere on this site) Despite the lack of un-ethical conduct or intent to cheat by the former coach, it appears BYU turned their backs on him and forced his resignation.

The forced resignation doesn't seem really prudent, fair, or in line with the values allegedly espoused by the Univiersity given Coach Peterson's years of dedication to BYU and otherwise clean record as an NCAA coach.

We're not talking cheating scandles and free convirtibles here. Instead, english lessons, a ride to the airport, a wage that was $2 an hour more than standard, etc.

The NCAA probably needed to act given BYU's challenges with international players dating back to 1998 once the issue was raised--sure. But did BYU's administration have to ruin a good and honorable Coach's career over this to give the impression that it took the violations seriously?

A call for reason | 3:22 a.m. March 12, 2008

I am a BYU fan, but when Utah's basketball team lost a full scholarship because Majerus bought Keith Van Horn breakfast at the airport the day Van Horn's father died, I didn't hate the University of Utah; in fact, I was proud of Majerus. I never labeled him as a cheater. Here, BYU's volleyball team gets a lesser fine (read: It wasn't as serious as buying a kid a McMuffin), and we have Ute fans denegrading BYU. A rush to judgment only reveals a weak mind.

Matt | 9:07 a.m. March 12, 2008

Obviously the infractions were not as serious as some here would have you believe. If they had been serious, they would've been stripped of one of their National Championships, which was actually being discussed and pushed by some of the coaches in the MPSF.

Shameful | 10:17 a.m. March 12, 2008

Wow, what great comments. Does anyone use the phrase Harvard Athletics unless you have attended an Ivy League school? So why not focus on the educational advantages BYU could offer rather than on the athletics that has simply placed the LDS Faith in a light, from time to time, that is not indicative of the faith as a whole. Athletics, at BYU, in my humble opinion, should be second to education. I am almost embarrassed when one states that the Athletics at BYU serves as a missionary tool for the LDS faith. I would prefer that my faith, the LDS Faith, be recognized world-wide for academics. I would be curious to know how many people world-wide recognize Harvard for its educational opportunities as opposed to the favorable light BYU athletics projects on the LDS Faith.

Lastly, no one is perfect, that is correct, and as indicated in this article, corruption can and will happen everywhere, including BYU. However, lessening the scope of importance from athletics to education would resolve a lot of the problems and antagonistic behavior that accompanies this problem. Please don't argue with me regarding the $$ that is received by athletics, if so see supra, Harvard

something | 1:17 a.m. May 31, 2008

So, let me get this straight... If you think the rules are ridiculous, and you only break them in minor ways, then there is nothing wrong and you're not cheating? Of course... That must be correct because BYU did it and no one at BYU would ever cheat to win.

Rules are rules. That's what sports are all about. If you want to participate in the NCAA you need to abide by their rules whether or not you think you are above them because they are worthy of ridicule.

BYU athletics and their conceited, self-righteous, prideful fans are an embarrassment to the LDS faith. They should drop them like they did at Ricks.

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