I am personally disappointed in the settlement, not because of the wins - while I agree that vacating them was petty and largely meaningless, it is not nearly the biggest issue to me. I am disappointed because all of the internal communications coming out indicate that Emmert and the NCAA knew that they did not have standing to all of this, and knew that internal support for a death penalty was minimal, and yet they strong armed Penn State into sanctions because they were concerned that if they didn’t, the NCAA would look bad.
Emmert is terrible. The NCAA is ridiculous. They needed to be hit harder, so that it could be shown that they were not doing what they were supposed to be doing, and it does not seem like anyone else was going to show them for what they are.
Oh, and for those who think that sounds like a reason to go after Penn State, you are 100% correct… which is why the courts have convicted one former coach, indicted 3 former officials, and overseen lawsuits in the tens of millions. The NCAA had neither cause nor right to pile on to that.