For all the talk of the death penalty, and what Penn State got sanctioned with, (and what they didn’t get sanctioned with) one penalty would have hit PSU very hard had it been applied- a television ban.
Penn St. athletic director David Joyner was at Big Ten Media Day, and he discussed how much tv coverage of the team means to his program:
“I think #1 the players want to play on tv. That makes it exciting. It’s national, national exposure for recruiting. Whatever happens, nothing against the print, but that’s not immediate; and when you’re on television and players can watch, high school players can watch what’s going. And it’s a tremendous opportunity for them to see what we’re doing. It’s very important in those aspects. Makes a big difference,” Joyner said.
Penn State is not like SMU- they won’t have to experience a year without football. And they’re not like the fictional team in “Necessary Roughness” (one of the greatest college football movies of all time), in which they’d have a media blackout. (Obviously, the Texas State Armadillos were inspired by the real life SMU Mustangs of the 1980s)
No, for Penn State life goes on without the financial damage and brand tarnishing a television ban would have done.
“It would be another rock in the pack that we would have to carry. We’re very grateful, we’re very happy that we’re playing on tv,” Joyner continued.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Chicago Tribune.com, Fox Sports, MSN, Walter Football and Yardbarker
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too