How Should Ole Miss Fans Feel After NCAA Ruling On Tennessee Violations?

Was Tennessee's punishment too light? Was Ole Miss' punishment five years ago too severe?

If you're a fan of the Ole Miss Rebels, discussing NCAA sanctions probably gives you bad flashbacks.

Although the Ole Miss football program is in a much healthier state than it was five years ago, a short amount of time has progressed since the Rebels were at the brunt of an NCAA investigation. Ole Miss received a two-year postseason ban (one year of which was self-imposed) while scholarship reductions and transfers essentially gutted the team's roster.

News emerged on Friday that the Tennessee Volunteers' day of NCAA reckoning had come, stemming back to "hundreds" of violations committed under then-head coach Jeremy Pruitt. ESPN has reported that the grand total of NCAA violations reached over 200, and the school was fined $8 million and will face a total reduction of 28 scholarships alongside a five-year probation.

The key missing ingredient in this punishment? A postseason ban.

Bowl bans are bad for programs for a multitude of reasons, but I will highlight two. On one hand, trips in the postseason are rewards for your players and fans, regardless of how "small" the bowl game itself is. On the other, if you are under a postseason ban, you do not receive your conference's allotment of bowl money at the end of the season that is dished out to each school.

An $8 million fine is a lot, and it is a severe penalty, but should Tennessee have gotten a postseason ban like Ole Miss, Mississippi State and other programs across the country have in the past? Having over 200 violations seems as good a cause as any.

Steven Willis of the Locked On Ole Miss Podcast also shared this view on Friday.

"I honestly think the NCAA owes Ole Miss an apology," Willis said. "The two-year bowl ban, it is tough to be the school where they don't do that anymore. Apparently, they don't do a bowl ban anymore."

What do you think? Should Tennessee have received a multi-year postseason ban? Or, at the very least, was Ole Miss' punishment five years ago too severe?

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You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.

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