Olive Garden sends Oklahoma players free pasta

The Olive Garden decided to capitalize on a marketing opportunity when the restaurant caught wind of one of the funniest sports stories of the week. Back in May, the Oklahoma football team self-reported a minor NCAA infraction after their players ate more pasta than their were supposed to at a banquet. The team wanted to be sure the overindulgence didn’t constitute improper benefits.

On Friday, the players who were involved in “PastaGate” were treated to all the pasta they could eat when Olive Guard sent them a bunch of free food.

“#PastaGate has its advantages,” offensive lineman Gabe Ikard wrote on Twitter. “Shout out to @olivegarden for hooking us up with 4 full bags of food!”

In order to “sanction” themselves after their players strapped on a feed bag, Oklahoma had the three athletes who were involved donate $3.83 (the cost of the extra pasta serving) to the charity of their choice. Those few dollars are going a long way.