If you've been following Cleveland sports for awhile you may remember the old joke "The NCAA is so mad at the Kentucky basketball program that they are going to give Cleveland State two more years of probation". This of course was after Kentucky was caught red handed paying players to play for the Wildcats after a UPS package broke which was being sent to one of their recruits with a sizable amount of money inside. Cleveland State, of course, was put on probation for housing Manute Bol and another would be recruit for two weeks inside an area motel. Hardly the worst offense in the NCAA history but the college sports governing body threw the book at them two years removed from their Cinderella run in the tournament in 1986. The penalty was so harsh that CSU was kicked out of their conference during their probation of three years, unheard of till this day. The historically rich University of Kentucky received the same penalty of three years but remained in eligible for conference play for an offense much harsher and being caught with the proverbial murder weapon. The penalty levied against Cleveland State would help send the once upstart basketball program into a tailspin that lasted nearly two decades before being rescued by current head coach Gary Waters.

So the question begs, does the NCAA treat lesser schools differently than schools that play in powerhouse conferences such as the Big 10, Pac 10, and SEC? Just as Mid-Majors never get invited to the Big Dance which makes you see inferior big conference schools playing in college basketballs marquee event, the answer is yes. The The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm conducted a study that proved that, yes indeed, BCS schools get off lighter when it comes to probation than smaller schools and they really throw the book at historically black colleges who break the rules. The Birmingham News writes:

Universities from automatic-qualifying Bowl Championship Series conferences receive lighter NCAA probation penalties than other Division I schools, according to a study released Tuesday by a Florida attorney who defends smaller schools against the NCAA.

The Michael L. Buckner Law Firm, which recently represented Alabama State in its NCAA case, also found Football Bowl Subdivision schools go on probation for fewer years than Football Championship Subdivision schools. And the results suggest historically black colleges receive harsher probation penalties than other Division I schools, Buckner said.

Buckner reviewed 54 cases in which the NCAA Committee on Infractions handed down probation between Jan. 1, 2005 and Sept. 2, 2009.

The NCAA, of course, contends they are a judicous agency releasing a statement that read:

"Attempts by others to compare cases without consideration of the details of the violations involved are misleading and lead to erroneous assumptions."