Here's the outrageous list of things Virginia Tech apparently planned to fine football players for
Steve Helber/AP
With the newfound money in players' pockets, Virginia Tech's football program apparently wanted to institute a program where they would levy fines against players for several different offenses.
Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster first alerted media members to it on Tuesday (via Deadspin's Kevin Draper):
#Hokies DC Bud Foster said coaching staff will explore fining players money from cost-of-attendance funds as future disciplinary measure.
- Norm Wood (@normwood) August 26, 2015
Foster said some people got in trouble for having players run at 6 am, so fining players' cost-of-attendance funds has been a topic. #Hokies
- Norm Wood (@normwood) August 26, 2015
#BREAKING: #VaTech players apparently assessed fines for missing meals, practices http://t.co/bHZE0NNRqp #Hokies pic.twitter.com/9j712UL7uA
- RTDSports (@RTDSports) August 27, 2015
According to Mike Barber of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a second TV monitor showed the penalties for improper equipment, which ranged from $100 and four tickets to a game for the first offense, to $400 and four tickets to the next four games for the fourth offense.
Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock claims he had no idea of the plan or practice, saying:
"I had no idea of any of it. Have addressed and will further. It has been discontinued 100 percent. … I don't know of any past practice and I didn't know about this today either. Again, has been addressed and will be further. All of it discontinued immediately."
Babcock told Andy Bitter of the Roanoke Times on Wednesday:
"So what I've done, I've met with coach Beamer, John Ballein, and coach Foster. We talked about it. There has been in place for a number of years, not to this extent, but for a number of years, a little bit of a, and I hate to use the word, but I can't use another one, but a fine system, disciplinary for our players and such. And I think it's come out of bowl type stuff. So I was not aware that we were doing that. It's not against NCAA rules. It's probably more prevalent than people think, but I was not aware of it. So I got up to speed on that. I got up to speed on the fact that certainly anything out of cost of attendance would not be permissible, and I shut it all down."
We've reached out to the school's athletic department and will update this post when we hear back.
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