U Of Miami To Decline Bowl Bid To Get Jump On NCAA Punishment

Palm Beach Post, Jorge Milian

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/hurricanes/miami-hurricanes-will-decline-bowl-bid-hoping-to-1984025.html

CORAL GABLES — Preferring to take its medicine now instead of later, the University of Miami announced Sunday that it will decline a bowl bid this season while it awaits the results of an NCAA investigation into the football program.

The decision means that UM will play its final game of the season Friday against Boston College at Sun Life Stadium (3:30 p.m., ABC).

Players were told of the decision by Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst a day after the Hurricanes gained bowl eligibility by winning their sixth game with a 6-3 victory at South Florida.

By choosing not to accept a post-season bid, UM administrators hope to lessen the impact of impending and potentially severe NCAA sanctions.

“Clearly we’re disappointed in not being able to participate in a bowl game, but we are also one step closer to putting these issues behind us,” coach Al Golden said. “So as sad as we are, it gives us an opportunity to move forward, to move the program forward.”

Eichorst said Sunday that Golden was not part of the discussions on whether to decline a bowl bid. The administration’s goal is to get part of UM’s likely punishment out of the way.

Golden said after Saturday’s game that he expected his team to play in a bowl game.

UM was projected to play in the Dec. 26 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.

This is the second time UM has taken itself out of post-season consideration. In 1995, the school pulled out of the bowl picture – losing a potential Orange Bowl berth – as part of a package of self-imposed penalties for NCAA violations.

Unlike ’95, when UM also reduced its scholarships by seven, the school did not announce any additional self-imposed sanctions. Golden said Sunday he expects to sign 30 players in February.

Whether UM’s move appeases the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions when it considers the Miami case is anyone’s guess. The probe centers on allegations made by former booster Nevin Shapiro, who told Yahoo Sports that he gave 72 current and former football players gifts and services that would constitute NCAA violations.

Lynn Lashbrook, a former compliance director at Missouri, said the self-imposed sanctions are likely to help Miami’s cause.

“I really think initiating self-punishment is the right protocol,” Lashbrook said Sunday. “If you look at the magnitude of the alleged infractions, I think it’s probably good business.

“Any self-initiated punishment probably alleviates the actual consequences of the punishment that would be under serious consideration.”

Players were not available for comment Sunday. Eichorst said the players “as you would expectwere disappointed. We all share in their disappointment.”

The ban is likely to be most painful for seniors such as quarterback Jacory Harris and linebacker Sean Spence. Many of the seniors made up the 2008 UM recruiting class that was ranked No. 1 by ESPN.com but has mostly not delivered on its promise.

“Sad to see my canes season end like this,” former UM cornerback Brandon Harris, now with the Houston Texans, wrote on his Twitter account Sunday. “Good luck to the seniors on y’all next step.”

This will be only the fourth time since 1983 that UM won’t play in the post-season. Aside from ’95, when the Hurricanes declined a bid, they did not qualify in 1997 and 2007.

“There’s good and bad,” said Neil Frank, the former president of the Broward County Hurricane Club. “You want the 15 bowl practices and you feel bad for the seniors that it affects.

“But it’s something you want to get out of the way and not prolong and not have it hanging over the program.”

What could be left hanging over the program is the future of Golden, who was hired last December.

Golden, 42, said in August that his superiors had not made him aware of the Shapiro situation when he was hired. UM officials conceded they knew of Shapiro’s claims months before they named Golden to replace Randy Shannon.

Golden’s agent told CBS Sportsline recently that Golden had options if UM was hit hard by the NCAA.

Golden again tried to squelch talk Sunday that he might have to decide whether to stay at Miami or go elsewhere.

“I don’t have any decisions to make,” he said. “I’m just coaching the Miami Hurricanes and getting the team ready to go against Boston College and moving the program forward, as I’ve said a million times. We really enjoy living here, my family and I.”