Yesterday, the most prestigious athletic program at ASU suffered penalties for infractions dating back to 2004. The ASU baseball team, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, was sanctioned by the University as a result of an investigation that led to the forced resignation on legendary head coach Pat Murphy.
As a result of recruiting violations committed by the baseball program over a five-year period from 2004-2009, including over 500 impermissible phone calls, the baseball team will vacate 44 of the team’s 49 wins in 2007, and by default the team’s 2007 Pac-10 title. Additionally, the program will suffer future consequences.
The baseball team will not be allowed to make recruiting phone calls during July 2010 and July 2011, will have the number of prospect visits allowed reduced from 25 to nine in 2010-11, and two scholarships will be stripped from the program, no later than in 2011-12.
The good news is that this year’s team, currently sporting a 31-4 record and the consensus No. 1 team, will not be affected.
But that is where the good news ends. These sanctions were handed down by the university. The baseball program still has to appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions later this summer, and could potentially receive more penalties from the committee. Though the school’s sanctions could be viewed as a preemptive effort to soften whatever punishment the NCAA may hand down in the future, the threat of additional sanctions looms.
While sanctions are never a good thing in any sport, for the sanctions to come against the most successful program in the University, and quite possibly the most successful program in college baseball history, is a pill that is hard to swallow.
So, as students, fans, supporters and Sun Devils, what should we do?
We don’t know what the future will hold. Some schools are able to survive sanctions and maintain success (i.e. Alabama football), and with ASU’s clout as a national powerhouse, it is very possible that the sanctions will hardly be noticeable and the program will maintain its stature.
But another, more nightmarish scenario, is equally as likely. Players transferring en masse, coaches called to testify under oath and good recruits staying away at all costs. One needs only look at Indiana basketball, another college powerhouse, to see what could happen.
Which scenario will play out?
We don’t know.
But here is what we do know: This year’s team will continue its season as planned, and as it makes its way through the final portion of the regular season, we must come together to support this group of young men.
The group of players taking the field right now, wearing the maroon and gold, did nothing wrong. The coaching staff, as currently constructed, did nothing wrong, as those alleged to have committed the infractions are all gone.
This group of 32 players and four coaches puts on the Sun Devil uniform every day — a uniform whose letters have been dragged through the mud — and wear it with pride, playing hard every day and winning with regularity.
It’s time for the Sun Devil community to come together. We don’t know what the future of the baseball program may hold, but what we know is the current crop of players and coaches has a great chance to win a national championship this year, and it is our responsibility to throw our support behind this group of men of all ages and let them know that no matter what, they are Sun Devils, and we love and support them.
The past may be sullied and the future may be bleak, but the present is in good shape. This could be the last time we get a chance to see ASU on top, so lets make the most of it.
It’s time to rally around our boys on the diamond, and help them reach the mountaintop.
