Thoughts on FSU and the NCAA “NIL violations” case

Is anyone surprised at the hypocrisy of the NCAA?

As Florida State fans are wondering if Coach Norvell will stay or depart to Alabama, Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated dropped a bombshell report on FSU. According to Dellenger, Florida State is expected to be sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations as it pertains to name, image and likeness(NIL). The report states that at a spring 2022 recruiting event, offensive coordinator Alex Atkins is alleged to have driven a recruit and his parents to a meeting with a leading representative of Rising Spear, FSU’s main NIL collective at the time. The recruit is believed to have been former Georgia offensive lineman Amarius Mims.

For his role in the alleged incident, Alex Atkins is being given a two year show cause which means if he is hired by another school in the next two years the hiring school will have to explain the decision to the NCAA. He will also be suspended for the first three games of the 2024 season. FSU will have additional penalties of scholarship reductions, prohibited recruiting communication, reduced official visits among other restrictions.

As for my thoughts about this matter, I cannot say I’m surprised that the NCAA chose to act in a completely hypocritical manner. How can the NCAA be OK with Michigan breaking rules as it pertains to competitive fairness, yet hammer Florida State for the innocuous sin of driving a recruit to an meeting with an NIL collective? The crazy thing is, FSU didn’t even land the alleged player!

For perspective, Alex Atkins is being suspended the same amount of games as Jim Habaugh was. Jim Harbaugh is alleged to have oversaw an operation of illegally recording opposing ‘s sidelines in order to record signals. This effort was funded by boosters in order to gain a competitive advantage. Atkins allegedly drove a recruit and his family to a meeting with an NIL collective.

The whole purpose of the NCAA was to regulate college athletics, and to ensure that there would always be a level playing field. How is driving a recruit to an NIL meeting worse than illegally recording an opponent’s sideline to gain a competitive advantage? Unfortunately, we will never know the method to the NCAA’s twisted madness.

It is truly a shame that this is where college football is at today. Fortunately for FSU, the NCAA’s days are numbered. This is just a speed bump on the #Climb for Coach Norvell and his staff.