At a time when few things shock us around the college football world, this has to be a bit surprising. Tom Roeder of the Colorado Springs Gazette is reporting that the Army football program committed multiple infractions of NCAA policies by enticing recruits with alcohol and women.
In documents acquired by Roeder and the Gazette, there is evidence that team officials put recruits on a so-called party bus with cheerleaders, used booster money to throw an alcohol-based party and even used cash to lure recruits.
Here is some information from the report (via Deadspin.com).
Booster money allocated for the evening was handed across the bar and alcohol came back. Cadets said they ordered “beer towers” containing quarts of the beverage and allowed recruits – high school athletes – to drink their fill.
Some cadets reported having as many as seven drinks in 90 minutes before a wild bus ride home. Some of the hosts handed leftover booster money to the recruits, the report found. West Point said it has no accounting of how much money was spent or how it was spent that night.
The ride home was raucous.
“The trip consisted of the (charter) bus driver allowing the music to play very loudly, dancing in the aisles, strobe lights flashing iPhones to reflect the club-like atmosphere.”
The investigator also found that two female cheerleaders began making out amid the bus party, adding a sexual charge to the scene. The cheerleaders also kissed a football player and a recruit.
U.S. Military Academy reported these violations, which have reportedly taken place over the past 10 years, to the NCAA back in January.
West Point had this to say about the alleged violations in a statement.
Although seen as a minor infraction by the NCAA, the U.S. Military Academy takes this very seriously and adjudicated this at the highest level of the disciplinary code.
This is surprising considering that military programs across the landscape of college football have been somewhat immune from recruiting scandals in the past. The pool of recruits they choose from are much different, with less competition, than the Florida State’s and Alabama’s of the world.
It remains to be seen what action the NCAA might take here, but reports are indicating that West Point attempted to cover up these violations before self-reporting earlier this year.
Photo: NBC Sports