Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby believes "cheating pays" in the NCAA due to the lack of enforcement. Bowlsby gave his pessimistic assessment of the NCAA on Monday during the annual Big 12 state-of-the-league address.
Bowlsby thinks cheating is too easy for teams to do with how the NCAA is currently operating.
"Enforcement is broken," he said, via the Des Moines Register. "The infractions committee hasn't had hearing in almost a year, and I think it's not an understatement to say cheating pays presently. If you seek to conspire to certainly bend the rules, you can do it successfully and probably not get caught in most occasions. So we need to get [NCAA vice president for enforcement] Jon Duncan some help and support. ...
"But right now, if you want to cheat, you can do it and you can get away with it. There are benefits for doing that. And that needs to change."
Bowlsby admitted he didn't believe cheating was widespread in the NCAA, but he did acknowledge it wasn't overly difficult for a team to cheat if determined to do so.
"I don't think it's rampant, I don't think that at all," Bowlsby said of cheating. "I think our coaches and programs are of high integrity, and I don't have any concerns on a local basis.
"But I think those that conspire to do things that are intended to get around the rules have less resistance to it now than they (had). They've gotten very sophisticated. It's easy to move money around. There are lots of people outside of universities that are handling things, and they can't be compelled to testify even if they get caught."
Bowlsby seemingly proposed giving the NCAA more power to enforce the rules.
"Absent (the power of subpoena), you can't compel anybody to participate in an investigation," he said. "(The NCAA) is in the battle with a BB gun in their hands, and they're fighting howitzers."
While a number of coaches, such as Alabama's Nick Saban and South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, disagreed with Bowlsby assessment, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy was at least one who agreed with the Big 12 commissioner.
"I am convinced there are teams that are cheating that are saying, 'Catch me if you can,'" Gundy said, via ESPN.
