1986 Ncaa Death Penalty
Brittany Bustos
Mr. Campbell
British Literature
April 11, 2013
The 1986 Death Penalty: When SMU Was Really Guilty. It’s game night: the two opposing teams fight for a spot to play every college football or team player’s dream: a bowl game and the chance to be champions. To create a victorious team, college athletic boosters travel all around the state recruiting the best players to attend their school and play on their team. What goes on behind the closed doors of recruiting world though, can change the way students and spectators look at the game of college football. Athletic boosters who bribe incoming college freshman to play for their university are subject to a punishment called the “Death Penalty”, a punishment for a one season team probation from engaging in any game play. In the early 1980’s, a university from Texas rose from the shadows and soon became the best team in the Southwest Conference, with a 45-4-1 record. What contributed to their victory included complimentary residences and automobiles, with some monetary reward for every win in the season. The Southern Methodist University 1986 “Death Penalty” was a fair punishment because during the season, SMU Athletic Boosters cheated the system by bribing the best players and having government figures getting involved, yet the effects of the death penalty raises speculation about whether SMU was guilty of receiving the death penalty.
The Southern Methodist football team deserved the death penalty because of their athletic booster’s use of bribery to recruit the best players in the nation. Southern Methodist University, a private university located in Dallas, Texas, is not one that many people hear of. Despite being located in a big town with a boom in economy, SMU was a long shot from being the conference champion. They needed someone to bring them back from a shadow of tough losses during the 1960s and 1970s, not to mention the competition they had to face while being in the
Mr. Campbell
British Literature
April 11, 2013
The 1986 Death Penalty: When SMU Was Really Guilty. It’s game night: the two opposing teams fight for a spot to play every college football or team player’s dream: a bowl game and the chance to be champions. To create a victorious team, college athletic boosters travel all around the state recruiting the best players to attend their school and play on their team. What goes on behind the closed doors of recruiting world though, can change the way students and spectators look at the game of college football. Athletic boosters who bribe incoming college freshman to play for their university are subject to a punishment called the “Death Penalty”, a punishment for a one season team probation from engaging in any game play. In the early 1980’s, a university from Texas rose from the shadows and soon became the best team in the Southwest Conference, with a 45-4-1 record. What contributed to their victory included complimentary residences and automobiles, with some monetary reward for every win in the season. The Southern Methodist University 1986 “Death Penalty” was a fair punishment because during the season, SMU Athletic Boosters cheated the system by bribing the best players and having government figures getting involved, yet the effects of the death penalty raises speculation about whether SMU was guilty of receiving the death penalty.
The Southern Methodist football team deserved the death penalty because of their athletic booster’s use of bribery to recruit the best players in the nation. Southern Methodist University, a private university located in Dallas, Texas, is not one that many people hear of. Despite being located in a big town with a boom in economy, SMU was a long shot from being the conference champion. They needed someone to bring them back from a shadow of tough losses during the 1960s and 1970s, not to mention the competition they had to face while being in the