Ohio State football: Buckeyes report two minor NCAA violations

In what is becoming an almost yearly occurrence, the Ohio State football team has self-reported another couple of minor NCAA Level III infractions.

The Columbus Dispatch reported on Friday that the Buckeyes were caught using a blocking sled during offseason condition in February thanks to a picture that was posted on the team’s official Twitter account. An individual associated with another school was the one to notify Ohio State when they saw the video.

According to the documentation in the report, the infraction with the sled occurred on February 13. NCAA rules state that teams are prohibited from using equipment such as blocking sleds during certain periods within the calendar year, which is why the use of the sled on February 13 was indeed a violation.

Once Ohio State knew of the infraction, they self-imposed a 30-minute reduction of the use of sports-specific equipment for one week during the month of March.

The second minor NCAA violation occurred last season when a recruit had illegal contact with a former player during a recruiting visit. Apparently, the recruit was taken by a school official across the street from campus to visit a former player at their tailgate during the September 24 home game against Wisconsin.

The tailgate was taking place directly across the street from campus, which made the act a violation. Ohio State responded to the violation by educating the employee on the rules as well as providing a map of the exact location of the campus boundaries. They also reduced contact with the recruit as a means of self-discipline. The employee, the recruit, the former player, or the location of his tailgate were not identified within the report.

Since the Ohio State football program self-reported both instances and since both are minor Level III infractions, there was no disciplinary action from the NCAA. The NCAA no doubt takes into consideration that there are undoubtedly institutions that do not report minor infractions like these, let alone much larger ones.

The goodwill shown by Ohio State was honored by the NCAA with the response of there being no disciplinary action needed.