by Kent Sterling

If you wouldn't buy a car from Bruce Pearl, why would parents send their kids to play for him?

Clay Travis of CBS Sports tweeted this morning, “Multiple sources close to investigation confirm that UT will receive the official NCAA letter early this week.  Vols will officially release the NCAA letter within 24 hours of hard copy receipt. That will be later this week.”  That contents of that letter, and the subsequent hearing in June will determine whether Pearl returns to Tennessee next year and beyond.

Pearl violated NCAA rules by hosting recruits at a barbecue at his house during an unofficial visit, told the family that their attendance was an NCAA violation and asked they not tell anyone about it, lied to investigators when asked about the barbecue, was told the investigators had a photo that proved the recruit was there, and then tearfully copped to the improper visit.  There is also the issue of improper phone calls – a violation Indiana fans know all too well.  Pearl made 34 of them himself, and his staff many more than that.

That any university would let an amoral oaf like Pearl lead their young men at an institution of purported higher learning is a travesty, and the NCAA not likely to have much of a sense of humor about Pearl’s violation, lie, and convenient contrition is a given.  Tennessee voided Pearl’s original contract when he was docked $500,000 as part of his agreement to continue coaching.  Since then, both sides have claimed that a new deal was being negotiated.

Nothing is being negotiated until the NCAA drops the hammer, and then the weight and force of that hammer will determine whether any new contract is discussed.

Whether Pearl will return to Knoxville for the 2011-2012 season is uncertain, but how could a program withstand a show-cause order for Pearl or even lengthy suspension?

The wheels of justice click along very slowly in Indianapolis, and Pearl and UT will have 90 days following the delivery of the NCAA’s letter to answer the charges, and then Pearl will appear before the disciplinary committee’s meeting in June for a final determination.

This case of multiple violations, followed by a bald-faced lie, followed by a confession shows the dire need for a reform of the entire NCAA disciplinary machine and methodology.  This violation is beyond dispute and has not been disputed.  Pearl publicly admitted his wrongdoing nearly six months ago.  And still he coaches.  The SEC parked Pearl for the first eight games of the conference schedule, but the NCAA continues to slog through its process to finally hold this stooge responsible for their findings.

If the NCAA ever wants to clean up college athletics, and I mean paying more than lip-service by adding even more rules that can’t be enforced, they need to bring meaningful consequences quickly.  Fans saw the seriousness the NCAA showed in the Cam Newton situation where big daddy shopped his son to the highest bidder, but that behavior wasn’t visited on Newton.  The Ohio State football players who sold their championship rings and received free tattoos in exchange for autographs were suspended for the first five games next season, not for the bowl game they were scheduled to play a week later.

And today, the NCAA suspended UConn coach Jim Calhoun for the first three games of the Big East season next year.  What’s wrong with three games this season?  The Huskies have four conference games remaining this season.  What the hell is wrong with those?

Until the NCAA makes clear who is running this show, why – other than because it’s the right thing to do – would any coach follow the rules?  And if no one is following the rules, what is the point of their very existence?

So as the NCAA officials wander Indianapolis looking important and try to appear relevant, rules are being violated by the bucketload by those who are rewarded for the results those violations produce.

The NCAA can choose to provide meaningful oversight and dare the universities who are members to admit their status as de facto minor leagues and form their own organization where logic might reign, or they can admit that the horse left the barn six weeks after the NCAA was founded in 1906 and they are nothing but a collection of clerks empowered to operate the clearinghouse and run championships.

If Pearl has a shred of decency, he will accede to the NCAA’s findings and leave the business of coaching kids once and for all, but until the NCAA rewards that decency, why would a decent man be attracted to coaching major conference basketball or football?