By David Hill
NBC MIAMI

Former UM booster Nevin Shapiro’s allegations that he povided impermissible benefits to scores of student athletes over an eight-year period could lead the NCAA to levy harsh sanctions against the Canes football and basketball teams. The size and scope of the ongoing scandal are larger than any other in the recent history of college athletics.

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However, it appears the NCAA could shy away from some of the harshest punishments at its disposal, including a television ban or the so-called “death penalty,” which would force UM to shelve its football program for a year.

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Julie Roe Lach, the NCAA’s vice president for enforcement, told the New York Times Wednesday that internal NCAA discussions regarding punishment (should Miami be found guilty of any rule-breaking after the NCAA investigation is complete) have focused more on postseason bans and suspensions for coaches.

“I have not heard it turn much to television bans or the death penalty,” she said of discussions to the Times. “The majority of the ideas or support I keep hearing relate toward suspensions or postseason bans being the most powerful.”

The NCAA used the death penalty only once, against Southern Methodist University’s football team in 1987. No team has received a television ban since 1996, according to the Times.

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