The NCAA has charged the OSU football program with additional violations resulting from a booster overpaying players for work they performed. The NCAA finds that booster Robert DiGeronimo  paid more than $2,400 to nine players in 2009 and 2011. The NCAA also charges that OSU failed to monitor DiGeronimoâs interaction with the schoolâs players. A 'Failure to Monitor' charge is the NCAA's 2nd most serious violation behind 'Lack of Institutional Control.' In its response, OSU has offered to give up five football scholarships over a three-year period. OSU has already cut ties with DiGeronimo and it promises to increase education and awareness programs for athletes. The latest allegations are in addition to charges that OSU players traded memorabilia for cash and tattoos at a Columbus tattoo parlor, and that former Coach Jim Tressel failed to notify officials of the violations. Those violations resulted in OSU vacating its 2010 season and Sugar Bowl victory. The scandal also cost former coach Jim Tressel his job and the suspensions of several players, including start quarterback Terrell Pryor who left for the NFL. Read the NCAA Reports
Mike Thompson spends much of his time correcting people who mispronounce the name of his hometown – Worcester, Massachusetts. Mike studied broadcast journalism at Syracuse University when he was not running in circles – as a distance runner on the SU track team.