Q&A With FSU Case Chairman

The NCAA Committee on Infractions' decision to make FSU vacate its records for the fall of 2006, spring of 2007 and fall of 2007 dominated a Q&A with Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Commission Dennis Thomas, the acting committee chair for the FSU case.

Confusion reigned as the media tried to get Thomas to be specific on how the vacated games will be determined. FSU has 90 days from Friday to identify those student-athletes or, if there is an appeal, when that appeal process ends.

It was clarified in the news conference that because bowl games are not NCAA-sanctioned events, money would not have to be returned for FSU's participation in the 2007 Music City Bowl.

A vacating of records would not affect the records of FSU's opponents and would only affect FSU's wins.

Here are some excerpts from Thomas' answers to questions he fielded during the 45-minute news conference. Note: Reporters from a handful of state media outlets, including the Tallahassee Democrat, and from other parts of the country participated in this interview session.

Thomas: "The institution would have to determine the student-athletes who participated while ineligible.

Q: The committee doesn't have that information?
Thomas: "The institution is responsible for going back and identifying student-athletes who actually participated in the different sports while ineligible. The institution is responsible for going back in identifying the student-athletes who participated in 2006 (academic year) and possibly 2007, the fall of 2007 academic year.

Q: Even if one ineligible player participated in any of those games, those wins are vacated for either of those years?
Thomas: Yes. ... Those team records would have to be vacated.

Q: I just wonder if the committee in general was aware of the gravity of accessing a forfeit penalty in football given that it may involve one of the all-time records. (FSU coach Bobby Bowden trails Joe Paterno in all-time wins by one. At jeopardy are 14 wins accumulated over the 2006 and 2007 seasons.)
Thomas: The committee does not get into whether or not you have a famous athlete or famous coach and a record is involved. The committee adjudicates the facts and really reviews the facts as presented.

Q: Can I get a little more clarity on the vacating? I talked to the university vice president and the response was "our position was we didn't play ineligible players so we shouldn't be losing games." That's the university's position and that seems to conflict a little bit with your thinking that they are going to go back and start vacating games.
Thomas: "I can only speak to what we (understand) here is that any ineligible student-athlete that has participated, the committee has rendered there will be vacation regarding those games that student-athletes participated in that were ineligible."

Q: You're leaving it to the university, is that correct?
Thomas: "It's on the university to identify who those student-athletes are or were who participated while ineligible. I have stated that on several occasions."

Q: One of the most difficult aspects of this whole process is identifying these students. How concerned are you guys that Florida State is going to be able to do that in 90 days?
Thomas: We have the utmost confidence in Florida State being able to identify those student-athletes who actually participated while ineligible.

Q: The university's contention is that as soon as they found out about this they did not play players and they worked with the NCAA to hand down the 30-percent suspension. Is that where the timeline (for ineligible players) begins? When they knew who the players were or does it begin before they got involved in the self-reporting?
Thomas: "There was no evidence that indicates Florida State knowingly played ineligible players..."

Q: What if in 90 days Florida State comes back and says, 'We're not vacating any victories.' -- what happens then?
Thomas: "I'm not going to get into what Florida State has said to you or other reporters. ... And clearly I state again it's up to Florida State University to identify those student-athletes that participated while ineligible.

Q: You're saying as soon as a player cheats, that he's ineligible whether the school knows it or not? They have to vacate the game?
NCAA spokesperson Stacey Osburn answered the question: Correct.

Q: If an athlete competes in a game or event and it's later found out he should have been ineligible, does it matter what he did. If he signed with a sports agent and should have been ineligible -- should those games be vacated or is this a special case?
Osborn: No, this isn't a special case.

Q: So whenever an athlete does something against the rules and should have been ineligible, then the school has to vacate games?
Osburn: For equity purposes for all of our institutions the rules are as soon as a student-athlete violates an NCAA rule that effects their eligibility, they are ineligible at the time of that violation until they are reinstated.

Q: I want to clarify a statement that you made earlier that you guys had no evidence that the university knowingly played inelibble athletes. Is that correct?
Thomas: Yes, that is correct.

Q: The student-athletes clearly incurred a penalty - 30-percent loss of his or her season. Is going back after they were penalized on that front and having them vacate performances, an additional punishment and is that very common?
Thomas: "...once a student was determined to be ineligible and if they did indeed participate in games while they were ineligible, those games or individual records would be vacated."

Q: Florida State, after working with the reinforcement staff re-interviewed student athletes and essentially offered this deal to take this deal and moved. If Joe Smith had won the 400-meter dash at the NCAA championship he vacates that record and is penalized the second time for a second offense.
Osburn: The student-athlete reinstatement process -- that is a process that is completely separate. A vacation of record from the Committee on Infractions, that is an institutional thing. Student-athlete reinstatement is an individual penalty. You can't get benefit from participating while ineligible.