After what the LSU program went through after the Lester Earl saga, it makes me sick that the NCAA is letting UGA off the hook early. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2075118 Bulldogs (8-20) coming off worst season in 30 years Associated Press ATLANTA -- The NCAA gave Georgia a rare hoops victory Friday, restoring three men's basketball scholarships that were taken away following the scandal that took down coach Jim Harrick. Initially, the Bulldogs were stripped of one scholarship for each of the 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons as part of their four-year probation. The school agreed that wrongdoing occurred under Harrick, but appealed the seriousness of the penalties. At a March hearing, Georgia's delegation asked the NCAA to restore one of the scholarships. Instead, the Division I Infractions Appeals Committee ruled that Georgia should get all three scholarships back -- a major victory for a program coming off its worst season in 30 years. The Bulldogs went 8-20 with a roster that included only seven scholarship players. "This is exciting news for our basketball program as we work to recover from the events of 2003," said coach Dennis Felton, who replaced Harrick. "I'm very grateful that the university had the foresight to pursue the appeal and, obviously, the result proves that effort to be very prudent and worthwhile." Georgia withdrew from the Southeastern Conference and NCAA tournaments in 2003 after allegations made by former player Tony Cole. The school acknowledged that academic fraud occurred in a sham class taught by Harrick's son, assistant coach Jim Harrick Jr. Also, the NCAA ruled that the younger Harrick wired $300 to a person Cole was living with before enrolling at Georgia. Harrick Jr. was fired and his father, who guided UCLA to a national championship in 1995, was forced to retire after a long, successful career that also included stints at Pepperdine and Rhode Island. "Once and for all," Felton said, "we can put this episode behind us and move forward in the building of our great program at Georgia."
I think there is more to this deal than what was reported. I've heard that part of the agreement is that some of the walk-on players, who would have been dropped by the team because of the new recruits coming in, will be retained under the additional scholarships. So this won't help Georgia a whole lot in terms of quality. Georgia's program is a long way from being very competitive.
The NCAA slammed the hammer on LSU not because the violations were serious but because of there many run ins with a very vocal Dale Brown. The sad part is that Brown was right and the NCAA is currupt.
Georgia sucks in basketball anyways so I doubt it will matter. They deserve probation for hiring Harrick
