Wherever there is high-level collegiate athletics, it seems scandal and controversy are not far away. Whether or not the connection is causal is disputable, the outsized correlation is undeniable.
In the past decade-and-a-half alone, the Big Ten has been marred by landmark scandals at its most renowned institutions. The wake of those discoveries reverberated across the country and was the catalyst for change across society. And yet, the conference continues to be plagued by unsavory news stories that have only escalated in frequency over the past few years.
The news of former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore's firing and subsequent detainment by police pending an assault investigations is the latest unfortunate news to shock the conference. But even more unfortunate - is it is merely the latest instance in a long pattern of behavior at Big Ten institutions.
Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal at Penn State - 2011
It all started in March of 2011 with an article that revealed former Penn State football assistant Jerry Sandusky was the subject of a grand jury investigation, which would ultimately lead to a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. Fifteen months later, Sandusky was found guilty on 45 counts of child sexual abuse and sentenced to a minimum of 30 years and maximum of 60 years in prison. Joe Paterno, one of the most iconic football coaches in the sport after 45 years at Penn State, was forced to resign midseason in 2011 as a report commissioned by the school and led by former FBI director Louis Freeh indicated Paterno had known about accusations against Sandusky as early as 1998.
Jim Tressel and 'Tattoogate' at Ohio State - 2011
In what was by comparison a droll scandal that same year, another one of the Big Ten's most visible programs was beset by controversy that was mostly notable because of the impact on Ohio State football. Tressel, who had led the Buckeyes to six conference titles in 10 seasons, was made aware in 2010 of an arrangement between key Ohio State players and a local tattoo parlor to trade memorabilia for free tattoos, a violation of NCAA rules that is outright frivolous in today's NIL era. Tressel didn't notify anyone else at the university and allowed the players to play, resulting in more serious infractions for the program. He resigned and was replaced by Urban Meyer, who led the team to an undefeated 12-0 season in 2012 as the Buckeyes were not postseason eligible. Tressel is now the lieutenant governor of Ohio after previously serving as president of Youngstown State University.
Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice player abuse - 2013
Given that controversy has followed Rutgers since the Scarlet Knights announced their move to join the Big Ten in 2012 (and began league play in 2014), they're included here. Former Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice was fired in April 2013 one day after ESPN's Outside the Lines aired video showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players and using gay slurs during practice. The Scarlet Knights' athletic director at the time, Tim Pernetti, found himself in hot water after it was revealed that he'd first seen the footage in November of 2012 which led to him suspended Rice for three games. He resigned just two days after Rice's firing. Rice has since spent a decade working at the youth level as a basketball coach and is now the head coach at Linden High School.
Rutgers AD Julie Hermann's plagued past - 2013
Pernetti's resignation in the aftermath of the video of Rice was a shocking dissipation of the goodwill the athletic director had accumulated after securing Rutgers' landmark move to the Big Ten. As disappointing as his handling of the Rice situation was, things only got worse for the Scarlet Knights after his departure. Less than two months later, Rutgers hired Julie Hermann. Before her first day on the job, the Star-Ledger revealed that Hermann's former players when she was volleyball coach at Tennessee in 1997 had written a letter stating "The mental cruelty that we as a team have suffered is unbearable." All 15 players on the team also stated that Hermann called them "whores, alcoholics and learning disabled" and wrote: "It has been unanimously decided that this is an irreconcilable issue." Despite that revelation, Hermann remained as Rutgers AD until another scandal on this list.
Franklin hired at Penn State after rape scandal at Vandy - 2014
Even just three years removed from the landmark abuse scandal at Penn State, the program looked past serious issues of a similar nature when hiring James Franklin in January of 2014. The summer before Franklin's final season at Vanderbilt in 2013, four players faced charges of sexually assaulting a student on campus. Three of them would be convicted and sentenced to 17 years while the fourth accepted a plea deal. A decade later, a similar situation unfolded at Penn State under Franklin when two players were charged with rape for an incident that occurred over the summer.
Rutgers football coach Kyle Flood grades scandal - 2015
The issues at Rutgers continued to linger under Hermann, and things reached a tipping point. Football coach Kyle Flood had succeeded Greg Schiano after he moved onto the NFL in 2012, and got off to a solid start. But in 2015, six players were arrested on charges of felony assault, armed robbery, criminal restraint, conspiracy, riot, and weapons possession dating back to an incident in New Brunswick. Separately, another player was arrested in Florida on felony robbery charges. Flood was then suspended three games after he was found pressuring a teacher to alter grades for a player. On Nov. 29 of that year, both Flood and Hermann were fired by Rutgers.
Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal at Michigan State - 2016
The Indianapolis Star was the first to break the story on what would eventually by revealed as the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports history, and Michigan State's Nassar was at the center. He was the team doctor of the US Women's Gymnastics team from 1996 to 2014 and was also a team physician at MSU beginning in 1997. He was charged with sexually assaulting at least 265 young women and girls. He has been sentenced three separate times with a combined minimum sentence of 140 years.
Richard Strauss sexual abuse within Ohio State wrestling - 2018
Compared the disturbing scale of the scandals at Michigan State and Penn State, the issues at Ohio State were less current but similarly wide-ranging and shocking in nature. In 2018, Ohio State commissioned an independent investigation into former professor and physician Richard Strauss, who died by suicide in 2005. The report was released the following year and concluded that Strauss had abused at least 177 male student-patients (with 153 being members of 15 sports teams, with the plurality of 48 victims coming from the wrestling program) from 1978 to 1998. The report also concluded that the university knew about the abuse as a early as 1979. Former OSU wrestlers said in 2018 that former head coach Russ Hellickson and former assistant Jim Jordan, now a congressman, of knowing about the abuse and failing to act. Jordan has denied having knowledge at the time; Hellickson has given differing accounts of what he knew.
Death of football player Jordan McNair at Maryland - 2018
Offensive lineman Jordan McNair was preparing for his sophomore season with the Terrapins in 2018 when he suffered heat stroke after an intense workout in late May. Subsequent reports would reveal the Maryland staff didn't take any steps to address McNair's worsening condition during the training session and he arrived at the hospital with a body temperature of 106 degrees. He died two weeks later. Maryland initially reinstated head coach DJ Durkin on Oct. 30 after an investigation contradicted outside reporting and stated there was not a toxic culture within the football program. Durkin was fired one day later in the wake of community outrage over his reinstatement.
Jim Harbaugh recruiting violations during COVID - 2021
Another pivot from the more serious scandals to one that is more notable for the impact on the sport. Harbaugh is essentially barred from a return to college football in the foreseeable future after NCAA issued a four-year show-cause order in 2024. This was not in response to the sign-stealing scandal that undercut the team's national title run in 2023, but was actually a result of Harbaugh having breakfast with prospects and their parents at a diner in 2021 during COVID-era restrictions on recruiting. The NCAA noted “unethical conduct and failure to cooperate with the membership’s infractions process” as the reason behind Harbaugh's ban through 2028.
Mel Tucker misconduct at Michigan State - 2023
The context of this scandal is exponentially more damaging, particularly given it occurred less than a decade after the stain of Larry Nassar still lingered around Michigan State. Head football coach Mel Tucker, fresh off signing a 10-year, $95 million contract, was fired in September 2023 after USA Today broke the story that he had reportedly sexually harassed a rape survivor and advocate who had been brought to campus to educate the football team and serve as an honorary captain.
Hazing within Northwestern football - 2023
What was once one of the feel good stories of the conference turned ugly two years ago when Northwestern's student newspaper reported on a long-standing culture of hazing and abuse that had permeated the football program. Football coach Pat Fitzgerald was an alumni and one of the most prominent players in school history as a two-time All-American linebacker, and he'd been celebrated in his return to Northwestern as a coach with three 10-win seasons during his tenure. He was fired acrimoniously for cause and sued the university in a lawsuit that was settled last month. He was hired as the new head coach at Michigan State last week.
Connor Stalions illegal scouting at Michigan - 2023
The saga of Connor Stalions and Michigan has enthralled the college football world in recent years. The aforementioned sign-stealing scandal ensnared both Harbaugh and his successor Sherrone Moore. A former Marine, Stalions was an analyst on the Wolverines' staff for two seasons after previously serving as a volunteer assistant. The NCAA concluded that Stalions used a network of individuals to scout 13 future opponents a total of 56 times across 52 separate contests. News of his actions broke during Michigan's undefeated 2023 season that ended with a national title.
Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs improper relationship - 2024
Incredibly, there is a third Rutgers scandal involving an athletic director. When Pat Hobbs initially stepped down as AD in August 2024, he cited health concerns. Just days later, it was revealed he was under investigation for an inappropriate relationship with Umme Salim-Beasley, the school's head gymnastics coach. The university's report was released in January and Salim-Beasley was placed on leave and subsequently fired in May. Last month, she filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination.
Sherrone Moore improper relationship - 2025
The sudden revelation of Sherrone Moore's firing as Michigan's football coach has sparked a whirlwind of rumors and speculation. He was fired on Wednesday, Dec. 10 with the university stating it found evidence of an inappropriate relationship between Moore and a staffer. He was detained by police later that day pending an assault investigation. The story is still developing.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Big Ten college sports scandals at Michigan, Rutgers, others adding up