NCAA Notified After Oklahoma Players Overindulge on Pasta

The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, penalizes schools for a wide variety of seemingly petty actions.

In many cases, schools are compelled to self-report a possible infraction and often err on the side of caution due to the comical nature of the NCAA rulebook.

A minor rules violation self-reported by the University of Oklahoma has recently gone public, and it is utterly absurd, providing yet another example of how the NCAA runs its store.

Three Sooner student-athletes attending a graduation banquet “were provided pasta in excess of the permissible amount allowed.”

Yes, you read that correctly. And the NCAA wonders why it's mocked for such things.

Several questions immediately spring to mind. What would constitute a permissible amount of pasta, or any dish, for that matter? Are there different portion parameters for seafood? And who arbitrates this silliness? Is there an individual administrator who handles all food consumption cases, or is it broken down into categories?

The mind boggles.

One more question. How did it even occur to someone in the Oklahoma complaince office that such a violation had even been committed?

Anyway, the school dutifully reported this ghastly error in judgment. The players involved were actually obligated to donate the cost of the pasta serving, which was a scandalous $3.83, to a charity of their choosing in order to maintain eligibility.

The NCAA was even compelled to clarify this particular violation, explaining that there is no actual rule governing portion sizes. The fact that Oklahoma even felt this needed to be reported speaks volumes to the complete farce that is the NCAA rulebook. Making light of the endless scenarios that constitute a minor violation has become so commonplace that they're just accepted as a necessary reality, when they are anything but.

The hypocrisy of the NCAA is comprehensive, although a group of players is trying to challenge it through unionization. The money machine continues to churn, while players are subjected to this trivial nonsense. Obviously, rules and safeguards should be in place, particularly in regard to recruiting, but does the NCAA really need to be this rigid and unreasonable?

If only the graduation banquet had been buffet-style.