Ohio State Gives Up 2010 Wins, Sugar Bowl Title

It all stems from players selling memorabilia for cash
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 8, 2011 4:41 PM CDT
Ohio State Gives Up 2010 Wins, Sugar Bowl Title
This Jan. 4, 2011, file photo shows Ohio State players holding up the Sugar Bowl trophy after beating Arkansas 31-26.   (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Ohio State is vacating its wins from the 2010 football season, including its share of the Big Ten championship and the Buckeyes' victory over Arkansas in the 2011 Sugar Bowl. (Sorry, Arkansas, you don't get the trophy, either.) Responding to the NCAA's investigation of a memorabilia-for-cash scandal that cost former coach Jim Tressel his job and led to star quarterback Terrelle Pryor leaving school, the university also said today it is waiving a $250,000 fine imposed on Tressel and changing his resignation to a retirement.

Through the school, the ex-Buckeyes coach said that he is taking responsibility for the NCAA inquiry, which developed after it was learned Tressel failed to report players receiving improper benefits. The university also is putting the football program on probation for two years, which means there would be harsher penalties if any further wrongdoing is discovered. The response to the NCAA doesn't mean Ohio State's woes are over. The governing body for college sports could still impose tougher sanctions, such as a ban on post-season play and a reduction in scholarships, in the wake of an August hearing. (More Ohio State Buckeyes stories.)

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