Ed Ray on Penn State: NCAA discussed death penalty

The NCAA briefly considered giving Penn State University's football program the so-called death penalty, according to Oregon State University President and NCAA Executive Committee Chair Ed Ray.

The committee is the equivalent of the NCAA's board of directors.

Monday morning the NCAA announced "unprecedented" sanctions against Penn State, including a $60 million fine, a four-year postseason ban and the loss of 20 scholarships each year for four years.

The sanctions came in the wake of a damaging report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh about how Penn State handled allegations about child sex abuse by former assistant coach Jerry Sanduky, who was convicted of the sexual abuse of 10 young boys.

Speaking by phone from Bend late Monday, Ray said the NCAA's Executive Committee discussed pulling the plug on the Penn State football program after it received NCAA President Mark Emmert's initial proposed sanctions.

He said the death penalty was quickly taken off the table.

"For a lot of people it's just too blunt of an instrument," Ray said. "No current players, staff or people connected with the football program" were part of the Sandusky cover-up.

After discussion, the 21-member Executive Committee, voted unanimously to approve the final sanctions package.

"It was clear where we came out is where the overhwhelming sentiment was," Ray said.

Ray voted for the final sanctions package, but declined to say if he would have preferred other sanctions.

"I believe that when you?re part of a consultive group you don?t get to say afterwards what you like," he said.

Critics, such as Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz, have said the sanctions, arguably the toughest in NCAA history, amount to "piling on."

Matthew Kish covers banking, finance and higher education.

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