Ohio State erases 2010 wins in wake of scandal

Ohio State said that it was vacating its wins from the 2010 football season, including its share of the Big Ten championship and its victory over Arkansas in the 2011 Sugar Bowl.

Columbus (Ohio): Ohio State said Friday that it was vacating its wins from the 2010 football season, including its share of the Big Ten championship and its victory over Arkansas in the 2011 Sugar Bowl.

The university also said that it was waiving a $250,000 fine imposed on the former coach Jim Tressel and changing his resignation to a retirement. That move contradicts a comment the university president, Gordon Gee, made last month when he said Tressel “will pay the fine.” The university is also putting the football program on probation for two years, which means there would be harsher penalties if any further wrongdoing was discovered. The moves were in response to the N.C.A.A.’s investigation of a memorabilia-for-cash scandal that cost Tressel his job and led to the exit of quarterback Terrelle Pryor. The self-imposed penalties do not mean Ohio State’s woes are over. The N.C.A.A. could still impose tougher sanctions, like a ban on postseason play and a reduction in scholarships after a hearing in August. Athletic Director Gene Smith said he felt betrayed by Tressel when Tressel informed him he had known for months that players had sold memorabilia or traded them for tattoos and cash at a local tattoo parlor without telling anyone at the university, as required under his contract and N.C.A.A. rules. “In the moment, yes, I felt betrayed,” Smith said. “Why not bring that to me? But I’ve gone on.” Officials said Friday they believed they had uncovered all possible violations by football players. “You never know, but we’ve done a lot of due diligence,” said John Bruno, the faculty athletics representative. “We looked weeks to months to find something else and nothing has come up.” Bureau Report