Baylor not likely to receive Penn State-esque sanctions from NCAA

The NCAA response to Baylor’s sexual assault scandal has yet to be determined, but all indications point to less involvement than the governing body had in the Penn State sexual abuse scandal four years ago.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the NCAA “won’t exert its executive authority to impose sweeping sanctions against the school for broad institutional failings, and will instead follow its normal investigative process.”

That’s a far cry from the heavy sanctions the NCAA placed on Penn State after former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was charged and convicted of multiple counts of child sexual abuse some of which occurred on the Penn State campus. About a month after Sandusky’s conviction, the NCAA heaped unprecedented sanctions on the school, which included, five years of probation, a four-year postseason ban, the vacating of wins and a $60 million fine among other penalties. The penalties appeared to be part of an agenda by NCAA president Mark Emmert and because there was no traditional NCAA investigative process, Penn State trustees fought back against the sanctions and some were ultimately rescinded.

Since the sanctions were handed down, there’s been rampant discussion about whether the NCAA overstepped its bounds in doing so. That’s probably why the NCAA is taking a step back Baylor. Sure, the NCAA will use its investigative process to determine whether Baylor athletes “received preferential treatment through the school’s disciplinary process,” which would be considered impermissible benefits under NCAA rules. Moreover, the school is facing several Title IX lawsuits from victims and there’s the continuing negative press as more and more details about how the school handled the assaults continues to be revealed.

And now Baylor’s program is starting to suffer on the field as well. After starting the season 6-0, the Bears have lost their last two, including a 62-22 blowout by TCU. During that game, fans were selling and wearing shirts in support of former coach Art Briles, who was fired amid the scandal. That support has drawn criticism from media, fans, victims and even former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer. According to the Dallas Morning News, Switzer said a coach should be held accountable for his players’ actions.

“In an athletic program, the coach has got to be held responsible for the actions and behaviors of his players. Even though we can’t spend 24 hours a day with the 100 players that are out there…it’s our job every day, coaches do do-good talks all the time,” Switzer said.

All of these things together have produced a measure of strife in recruiting. The Bears have just two recruits in the 2017 class, which is last in the Big 12 and not even ranked among Rivals’ top 100 schools.