SMU Football receives the "death penalty"

Sports Scandals

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The "death penalty" refers to the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) power to force United States academic institutions not to compete in certain sports. It is the most severe punishment that a school can receive. It has only been implemented twice--against the University of Kentucky basketball program for the 1952-53 season (before the current criteria for the "death penalty" took effect) and against the Southern Methodist University football program for the 1987 season.

SMU football had already been placed on three years' probation in 1985, but in 1986 faced allegations that players were being paid. The alleged violations were: 21 players allegedly received approximately $61,000 in cash payments, with the assistance of athletics department staff members, from funds provided by a booster. Payments ranged from $50 to $725 per month and occurred while SMU was on probation. Also, SMU officials lied to NCAA officials about when the payments stopped.

As a result:

The 1987 season was cancelled.
All recruits and players were allowed to transfer to other schools without penalty.
All home games in 1988 were cancelled, but SMU was allowed to play their seven regularly scheduled away games so that other institutions would not be financially affected.
SMU was banned from bowl games and television in 1988 and 1989.
The team's existing probation was extended two more years, to 1990.
SMU lost 55 new scholarship positions over 4 years.
The team was only allowed to hire five full-time assistant coaches, instead of the typical nine.

The infractions committee cited the need to "eliminate a program that was built on a legacy of wrongdoing, deceit and rule violations" as a factor in what is still the harshest penalty ever meted out to any major collegiate program. It also cited SMU's past history of violations; at the time SMU had been on probation seven times, more than any other school.

SMU ultimately cancelled the 1988 season as well, claiming it could not field a competitive team so soon after such a severe penalty.