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College Basketball Scandal
Aired November 07, 2002 - 13:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: One team that will not see action during the March Madness next year is the University of Michigan. The school is punishing it's men's basketball team for a former booster who admits loaning money to gambling players.
CNN's Jeff Flock brings up more on this story, and there are a lot of Michigan fans upset about this, Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some of them think it's unfair that they're going to punish this year's team for the infractions of past year's teams, but that's the way it's coming down right now. University of Michigan announces severe sanctions against it's own team, that in hopes of heading off more severe sanctions, perhaps, by the NCAA, who is yet to rule on this. Perhaps you remember the Fab Four, very successful team back in '92, '93, a couple of Final Four appearances.
This is all about illegal loans made to those four players there. Chris Webber, of course, the most high profile one, now an NBA star with the Sacramento Kings, as well as Robert "Tractor" Traylor, Maurice Taylor and Lewis Bullock, about $616,000 worth of money loaned from this booster to these men, and this has resulted now in these sanctions that the university is imposing against itself, forfeiting the '92 and '93 Final Four appearances, a real serious loss to the university there, as well as all of the victories in the '92,'93 season as well as the '95, '96 season on through the '98, '99 season. This was a very successful basketball program, a lot of victories, all of that.
Then monetarily, $450,000 to be repaid to the NCAA, because they made money for appearing in these tournaments. That money needing now to be repaid to the NCAA, as well as the removal of all of the championship banners that were in the teams hall, as well as now, perhaps most seriously and most importantly to this year's team, declaring this year's team ineligible to participate in the NCAA tournament or the NIT tournament this year. That's where it gets to unfairness, some people are suggesting, in that these players are, of course not the ones seen to be guilty, but the university president sees this as an important step for the university to take, to make sure that it has done all it needs to do to right its ship there. University president is Mary Sue Coleman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SUE COLEMAN, PRESIDENT, UNIV. OF MICHIGAN: There is no excuse for what happened. It was wrong, plain and simple. We have let down all who believe that the University of Michigan should stand for the best in college athletics. We have disappointed our students, our faculty, our alumni, and our fans. This is a day of great shame for the university.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLOCK: And you know, I may have shamed myself by calling them the Fab Four. That would of course be the Beatles. This was the Fab Five, which was the '92, '93 bigtime team at Michigan, but that's the way it's calling out right now, Marty. We'll see what the NCAA will have to say. Is this enough for them , or will there be more severe sanctions before we're done?
SAVIDGE: A very contrite university president there. Jeff Flock, live from Chicago, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 7, 2002 - 13:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: One team that will not see action during the March Madness next year is the University of Michigan. The school is punishing it's men's basketball team for a former booster who admits loaning money to gambling players.
CNN's Jeff Flock brings up more on this story, and there are a lot of Michigan fans upset about this, Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some of them think it's unfair that they're going to punish this year's team for the infractions of past year's teams, but that's the way it's coming down right now. University of Michigan announces severe sanctions against it's own team, that in hopes of heading off more severe sanctions, perhaps, by the NCAA, who is yet to rule on this. Perhaps you remember the Fab Four, very successful team back in '92, '93, a couple of Final Four appearances.
This is all about illegal loans made to those four players there. Chris Webber, of course, the most high profile one, now an NBA star with the Sacramento Kings, as well as Robert "Tractor" Traylor, Maurice Taylor and Lewis Bullock, about $616,000 worth of money loaned from this booster to these men, and this has resulted now in these sanctions that the university is imposing against itself, forfeiting the '92 and '93 Final Four appearances, a real serious loss to the university there, as well as all of the victories in the '92,'93 season as well as the '95, '96 season on through the '98, '99 season. This was a very successful basketball program, a lot of victories, all of that.
Then monetarily, $450,000 to be repaid to the NCAA, because they made money for appearing in these tournaments. That money needing now to be repaid to the NCAA, as well as the removal of all of the championship banners that were in the teams hall, as well as now, perhaps most seriously and most importantly to this year's team, declaring this year's team ineligible to participate in the NCAA tournament or the NIT tournament this year. That's where it gets to unfairness, some people are suggesting, in that these players are, of course not the ones seen to be guilty, but the university president sees this as an important step for the university to take, to make sure that it has done all it needs to do to right its ship there. University president is Mary Sue Coleman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SUE COLEMAN, PRESIDENT, UNIV. OF MICHIGAN: There is no excuse for what happened. It was wrong, plain and simple. We have let down all who believe that the University of Michigan should stand for the best in college athletics. We have disappointed our students, our faculty, our alumni, and our fans. This is a day of great shame for the university.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLOCK: And you know, I may have shamed myself by calling them the Fab Four. That would of course be the Beatles. This was the Fab Five, which was the '92, '93 bigtime team at Michigan, but that's the way it's calling out right now, Marty. We'll see what the NCAA will have to say. Is this enough for them , or will there be more severe sanctions before we're done?
SAVIDGE: A very contrite university president there. Jeff Flock, live from Chicago, thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
