At the end of the day, it would be naive for the NCAA to believe that Jim Tressel withheld information to them without getting some sort of a connivance from the OSU's athletic department. The NCAA knows for certain that OSU's athletic department is behind everything and it won't be easy for them to just get off the hook, so if the NCAA reeeeeally care about their dignity more than money, they have enough weapons to hit OSU's football program hard, regardless how the OSU handles its head coach. I just doubt if the NCAA is willing to pull the trigger. After all, with USC being down for a few more years, knocking down another big school will just make them lose a fortune.
I agree there's more than enough there to hammer OSU. But OSU did self-report, and they're naturally pleading ignorance of Tressel's actions, hence the fine and suspension and "don't you do that again" finger-wagging. That letter suggests that the NCAA is not completely going along with this dog and pony show, so if OSU doesn't self-impose significant penalties over this, the NCAA may do it for them. It's not the implicit protection of big-money programs that's the issue anymore. It's the brazen public display of this practice that played out with Cam's eligibility and the non-suspended suspension of those OSU players. What the NCAA has to worry about now is not just the PR backlash, but the Pandora's box it has opened for every other school to emulate. The NCAA has essentially stated its position to be that parents can legally act as de facto agents for their kids and shop their services. That genie is out of the bottle for everyone to do out in the open now. USC is raising holy hell, and rightfully so, since the NCAA has been telling them for 5 years that "the parent is the player" with regards to benefits. There's more at stake for the NCAA than merely salvaging their laughable reputation.
The overhyped little football game they play after Rose Bowl Parade already sucks. Imagine what they will do without USC or Ohio State available. Nebraska may slide into the Big 10 at the perfect time.
