All is well in Hoosier land

We -- the fans, students and future alumni -- are truly blessed to be part of such a prestigious athletic program here at IU. Amid the allegations and scandals of the last week, all of which were dealing with Division 1 basketball programs, we can proudly stick our chests out and hold our heads up high about one thing: We are clean -- at least we think.\nI might sound extremely naive to some, but why look for the bad things when we have an untarnished image? I'm not saying that under-the-table payments, academic fraud or sports betting are not happening, but I'm not saying they are -- as far as we know. \nBut, I feel deep down that IU has had and forever will have a clean program. With the impression that Bobby Knight left on this University with his no-nonsense attitude, it would take a scandal of epic proportions to bring down this program. \nAs we look back on the past two weeks, college basketball had a shadow cast on it entering what is the greatest three weeks known to man -- The Tournament. This isn't what March Madness was supposed to mean.\nCome March 16, there will be four basketball programs that get to watch the selection show knowing their names won't be called because of rules violations.\nFirst is the Fresno State men's basketball team, which was notified last week that because of academic fraud violations it would be prohibited from participating in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, even though the team won the conference regular season championship outright. \nAnd Fresno State thought their dawg-days were over with Jerry Tarkanian.\nThen came St. Bonaventure's men's basketball team making a mockery of team sports. After forfeiting six conference games because of playing with an ineligible player, the Bonnies were banned from playing in the Atlantic 10 tournament as punishment. In an unheralded move, the majority of the team's players pledged not to compete in the team's last two games in protest of the school's decision. This cost opponents Massachusetts and Dayton precious game time and a major loss of revenue. St. Bonaventure did reimburse the schools for lost money, though -- I'm glad they are so compassionate.\nBut, the story does not end there. \nWithin the last 96 hours, the president of St. Bonaventure resigned and the team's coach, athletic director and an assistant coach were all suspended. What is most shocking is that the school's president resigned because he knew about the ineligible player.\nBut one thing that we at IU will never see is our players choosing not to play. They feel honored and privileged to wear the cream and crimson with Indiana across their chests. This is the difference between IU and most other schools in the nation. St. Bonaventure should revoke the scholarships of all those who chose not to play. Why would a school pay for a player who chooses not to do what he is supposed to? It should also fire its coach for his submission to the players' protest. Mike Davis would never do that. He would never need to do that.\nThen there is Villanova.\nThe school suspended 12 players for using a school long distance access code, just a few days before a game against No. 5 Pittsburgh. Here's the tricky part: Since there are 12 players on a team, if the school kept all 12 suspended, it would not have had a team to compete. So, Villanova reinstated seven to play the game. And those seven showed that size does not matter, bringing Pitt down to the final seconds, almost pulling off a stunning upset. \nBut that's not the point.\nHere at IU, our players have cell phones.\nThen the grandaddy of them all: Jim Harrick Sr. and Georgia. \nMan, what a crook -- but one hell of a coach.\nYou would think that Georgia knew what it was getting after Harrick was fired at UCLA for faking an expense check. He just smells fishy.\nTo make an extremely long story short, Harrick and his son are accused of being involved in another case of academic fraud, and this time the athlete happened to come forward.\nNow Harrick is suspended with pay, his son Jim Harrick Jr. was fired, their star player declared for the draft, and the school won't allow the Dawgs to play in the SEC or the NCAA tournament. Georgia would have been a major contender in each tournament. As my mother always said, "Cheaters never prosper."\nPhew, (wiping the sweat off my brow).\nI didn't think that would ever end. \nWhat a sad state college basketball is in now. It's unfortunate to see what was once the purest example of competition, not just on the court, but between schools, hit another low.\nHere at IU, we should be thankful that our athletes do their own homework, coaches aren't shady, and we don't play with ineligible players. But what else would you expect from a school with one of the best basketball programs in the nation, and with the integrity of the cream and crimson behind it?\nIt's coincidental that with all the unethical happenings going on, the man who set the clean-program precedent, The General himself, who some say is far from ethical, won't except his $250,000 salary because he feels he did not coach to his potential. This shows his soft side and everything that is good and well in college sports.\nAnd we all know where he used to coach.\nAll is well in Hoosierville.