How much does a national championship cost?

Auburn won its first national title in 53 years last season, but it wasn’t exactly a squeaky-clean season for the Tigers.  After all, Auburn star Cam Newton was under NCAA investigation for pretty much the whole season, and some like myself believe that the NCAA should have suspended him and voided Auburn’s season due to the fact that Newton’s father solicited money for his son’s playing services.  Cue the investigation from the HBO series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.  Four former Auburn Tigers–Troy Reddick, Chaz Ramsey, Raven Gray, and Stanley McClover–have admitted to taking money from boosters during recruiting and during their playing careers at Auburn.

Admittedly, most of these alleged violations took place under the reign of former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville and not current head coach Gene Chizik.  That said, Chizik was the defensive coordinator at Auburn during McClover’s career in college, so he might have had an inkling of the problems running rampant within college football.  However, Chizik denies any knowledge of this.

“I’ve got absolutely no knowledge of any of that… and I didn’t have my head in the sand,” said Chizik.  “It’s very sad to me, very sad, that HBO is going to run something that, admittedly, they’ve got no proof.  I think that’s pathetic, and I think it’s pure garbage.”

I don’t think it’s garbage, Coach Chizik.  I think this is what happens behind the scenes at every major college program in pretty much every major college sport.  From runners in basketball to boosters in football, athletes are more than likely getting paid or offered payment for attending certain universities.  Whether they take it or not it’s up to them, but the offers are definitely there.

Tags: NCAA, NCAA football, college football, Auburn Tigers, Auburn, four Auburn players admit to taking money from boosters, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, HBO, investigative reporting, Troy Reddick, Chaz Ramsey, Stanley McClover, Raven Gray,  Gene Chizik, Tommy Tuberville, scandals, college athletics

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