Schools self-report minor infractions to the NCAA every year, most of which the public never hears about. Most of the violations have to do with recruiting players, but every now and then a team like the Oklahoma Sooners will report an eating violation.
Earlier this week, Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman shared a list of minor infractions that Oklahoma’s athletic programs have self-reported over the past 18 months. The football team’s revelation that three student-athletes ate too much pasta is by far the most entertaining.
Violation: Three current student-athletes received food in excess of NCAA regulation at a graduation banquet. The three had graduated from the school but returned for an additional season of competition. The players were provided pasta in excess of the permissible amount allowed. Resolution: The three were required to donate $3.83 each (the cost of the pasta serving) to a charity of their choice in order to be reinstated. The department provided rules education to applicable athletics department staff members.
Now that’s hilarious. The NCAA later thanked Oklahoma for their honesty and commitment to minding the rules, but said there is no penalty for large portion sizes.
Just to clarify… there are no NCAA rules regarding portion sizes, though we appreciate Oklahoma's commitment to play by the rules.
— NCAA (@NCAA) February 20, 2014
The players who were involved joked about their charitable donations on Twitter.
@GabeIkard @SportsCenter that was some great pasta! We felt we ate more than $3.83 so we donated $5.
— Austin Woods (@AwesomeWoods_50) February 19, 2014
Does it sound crazy? Sure, but I guarantee programs have been penalized for less. I don’t blame Oklahoma for playing it safe.
H/T Dr. Saturday
