NCAA hits Ohio State with bowl ban, other sanctions

(Reuters) - The NCAA on Tuesday barred Ohio State University's football team from post-season play in 2012 as punishment for a scandal over players accepting cash and discounted tattoos in exchange for signed Buckeyes memorabilia.

The NCAA also publicly reprimanded and censured Ohio State, put the team on three-year probation beginning immediately and cut the number of football scholarships the school can offer through the 2014-15 academic year.

An NCAA probe of Ohio state began a year ago after law enforcement authorities searching the suburban Columbus, Ohio home of a tattoo parlor owner, discovered a cache of OSU football memorabilia.

NCAA investigators subsequently discovered that several players on OSU Coach Jim Tressel's 2010 team, including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, had traded the memorabilia. The probe found that they traded championship rings and uniforms for cash in violation of strict rules governing amateur college athletes.

Pryor and several other players were suspended and Tressel resigned.

Gene Smith, Ohio State's Athletic Director and Associate Vice President, said on Tuesday the school was "surprised and disappointed" by the NCAA's decision but would not appeal "because we need to move forward as an institution.'

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Greg McCune)

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Penn State football program value damaged by scandal: report

(Reuters) - Penn State held onto the No. 3 position in Forbes' rankings of the most valuable college football programs this year, but is expected to drop in the future because of a sex abuse scandal, the magazine said on Thursday.

The University of Texas held the top spot with a football program value estimated by Forbes at $129 million over the past football season, followed by the University of Notre Dame at $112 million and Penn State at $100 million, Forbes said. Forbes said Penn State made a profit of $53 million on football in the last season.

"It seems almost certain that Penn State's reign as a top-earning program is coming to an end," Forbes said.

Former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with molesting 10 young boys over more than a decade, including incidents at the university's facilities. Sandusky has maintained his innocence.

Penn State trustees fired legendary football coach Joe Paterno and the university president in November for not telling police after they were informed about one alleged incident. Two former senior university officials have been charged with lying to a grand jury about what they knew about allegations against Sandusky.

Penn State's program could lose $20 million to $30 million in the long term as a result of the scandal, according to Patrick Rishe, a Forbes contributor and Webster University economics professor, the magazine said.

The loss of alumni contributions and game-day income could reach up to $10 million per year and the team also is already losing some major high school recruits who have decided not to play football for Penn State, Forbes said.

Forbes cited Cars.com and other companies pulling their ads from telecasts of Penn State games after the scandal broke, but said other major sponsors have remained.
(Reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Greg McCune)

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