FSU Football: NCAA Should Stop Hypocrisy, Give Bobby Bowden His Wins

FSU football was stripped of 12 wins dating back to a cheating scandal over a decade ago – while other schools are getting away with much worse.

This past season, FSU football went to a bowl game for the 36th straight season while winning their 382nd game since the 1976 season, when legendary former head coach Bobby Bowden took over and made the Seminoles into a national powerhouse.

Of course, the NCAA doesn’t recognize either of those numbers after they put the program on probation for a cheating scandal involving athletes from a variety of sports on an online music appreciation course. Championships – including a national title for men’s track – were taken away, records were stripped and wins were vacated…including 12 from Bowden’s impressive resume.

In the grand scheme of things, those wins aren’t a big deal. Bowden still had 377 for his career – 92 of those with the Seminoles – and finished behind another long time coach, Penn State’s Joe Paterno, for the all-time record.

It’s funny we should bring up JoePa’s name on this subject.

Last weekend, Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi asked the question that many FSU football fans have for a while: how did Paterno get his vacated wins back for being a part of something more heinous?

For those who need a quick reminder, Paterno had 111 wins taken away when it was found that he had direct knowledge of sexual assaults on children at the hands of former assistant Jerry Sandusky on the campus of Penn State University. Politicians from that area, seemingly showing they care more about Paterno’s legacy than the children victimized, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA to overturn the sanctions by saying due process wasn’t being followed in the case.

Florida State Seminoles Football

The result? The NCAA, in an effort to avoid a lawsuit, reinstated all of Paterno’s wins – despite findings that he concealed information and may have kept officials from turing Sandusky in.

Bowden, meanwhile, cooperated with officials just like the others people in charge at FSU – who self reported the violation of the online course, mind you – as he told Bianchi:

"“Our case was something our coaches had nothing to do with and had no idea was going on until after it came out. And once it was discovered, our administration did everything in its power to get to the bottom of it.”"

This is also as the NCAA continues to drag their feet on an investigation into the athletics program at North Carolina over an allegedly academic scandal involving around 1,500 players for nearly two decades. Right now, UNC is trying to use a loophole with the course being open to all students – one that could be applied to the same course FSU football players and other athletes took.

Look, those who hate Florida State are going to sit here are say that it’s just sour grapes and we should have been punished for what happened. The second part of that sentence is true: FSU athletics did something wrong and, if that’s the punishment for it, so be it.

The problem is that if you’re going to punish the Seminoles, and in turn Bowden, for the offense…than the punishment needs to be the same or worse for programs and coaches who do the same or, in the case of Paterno, worse. Sadly, the NCAA will do what they want and have no set rules for anything because, quite frankly, there is no checks and balances to stop them from doing so.

Because of that, Bobby Bowden will only be recognized for 292 wins during his time leading FSU football and 27 bowl appearances during his time in Tallahassee – when we all know the truth is those numbers are 304 and 29.