Imagine your teenager acting up, so you tell him he's grounded. But this time you're royally ticked, so you take it to another level, confiscating his cell phone and nixing his driving and TV privileges, too.
It's overkill for sure, but you want to make your point.
That's not far from what Southern Methodist University is doing to its football program. The school that became famous for its NCAA-imposed "death penalty" in 1987 has installed a plan that again could cripple the program, this time from its own academic overzealousness.
It has been a long time since football fans in Utah heard from SMU. Though the Mustangs were in the old WAC of the 1990s, they didn't draw much attention. That's because the 16-team conference didn't involve playing every team annually. SMU played Utah and BYU twice apiece when the WAC was the nation's largest conference.
But the last time SMU appeared on the football radar was in the 1980s, when it was nationally ranked. The cheating and bribing had become so egregious, the program was shuttered by the NCAA. It was the harshest penalty ever imposed.
That led to a 25-year bowl absence.
But after hiring June Jones from Hawaii for the 2008 season, SMU is finally being taken seriously again. Last season, the Mustangs hammered Nevada in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, a watershed moment in the program's recovery. Some polls have SMU picked to win the western division of Conference USA this year.
Yet in an effort to maintain academic standards, the school could be nudging its football program right back off the map. Last month, two recruits were denied admission for academic reasons, even though they had signed letters of intent. It's not as though they were academic liabilities. Both Darryl Jackson's and Jeremy Hall's grades and test scores were good enough to gain admission by NCAA requirements, but not good enough to get past SMU's Faculty Athletic Admission Subcommittee.
Jackson had offers to play at Pac-10 and Southeastern Conference schools. Hall had offers from WAC and Sun Belt teams. Both players were offered scholarships by SMU that were later rescinded.
Academic integrity is admirable and desirable, but unreasonable roadblocks aren't. Most schools follow the NCAA's standard academic admission guidelines, but SMU's requirements are more stringent.
The Dallas Observer noted that offensive lineman Ben Gottschalk was denied twice by SMU, even though he qualified to attend Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school. The article also noted that even Rice — in one study the 17th-rated university in the country — uses the standard NCAA eligibility guidelines for athletes.
If the standards are so high at SMU that it can't attract good players, why have football in the first place?
The rejection prompted Hall's prep coach to tell the Brenham (Texas) Banner-Free Press that he would warn future recruits of potential similar occurrences.
Much as the academic snobs hate to admit it, sports enhance universities. Michigan, USC, Texas, Notre Dame and other highly rated schools have thrived off the publicity their athletic teams bring. It may be annoying, but it's reality — good schools often get the word out through athletics. The University of Utah's admission to the Pac-10 isn't just a good sports move, it's also about being associated with prestigious academic schools.
Meanwhile, SMU is caught between living down its renegade reputation and resurrecting its football program. The issue has become so hot that boosters are in rebellion and Jones has balked for months at signing a contract extension. Jones and SMU's president are reportedly meeting over the admissions issue to see if a compromise can be reached.
The issue has divided fervent fans and hard-core academics. Small wonder. The football program ruined itself years ago, and lenience is an invitation to trouble. At the same time, SMU's administration is so set on screening that it is bypassing perfectly acceptable student-athletes.
Setting high standards is fine, but keeping qualified athletes out is an invitation to another quarter-century of dismal football.
On the bright side, the business school couldn't be better.
e-mail: rock@desnews.com