For those of us who believe the NC$$ errs when it punishes the
teams (meaning the players) with forfeitures and
disqualifications, rather than the "grown-ups" (coach, athletic
director, university president, etc.), Deron's question is an
easy one:  Of course those of us who have held a negative view of
the Maine program since its "troubles" came to light would see it
differently with one of the perceived causes of the problems
gone.
 
But let's be fair to Walsh (I can't believe I wrote that).  I
confess to knowing few facts, and most of them come from my
friends at BU, who are even less objective than I am.
Nonetheless, it is safe to say that whatever happened was not the
work of one man.  I doubt the infractions could have occurred
without the Coach's knowledge, or his affirmatively looking the
other way and ignoring his responsibility to his players as an
educator (yes, college coaches have responsibilities different
from those of professional coaches).  But others above and below
him on the University food chain had to have done the same.  (OK,
Wayne, even though you may not care about the opinion, I guess we
agree on at least that point.)
 
Deron's question is really closely connected to the debate about
scholarships, and the comment I saw this morning about "winning
at all costs."  The operative word in "intercollegiate athletics"
is "intercollegiate."  I love to see the Terriers win, and have
since I was a BU undergraduate.  But I would hate to see them win
if it meant that the players came away with nothing from the
experience other than improved hockey skills, because that isn't
what a university is about.  Even students who major in
engineering (and look for jobs in engineering) take courses in
other areas and gain cultural and maturing experiences that, we
all hope, make them better adults.  Athletes who hope to be pros,
or coaches, or phys. ed. teachers (as opposed to those who want
to do something completely unconnected to their athletic
experience in college) need the same breadth.
 
Jack Parker is a great coach because he appreciates this fact,
not because his teams win games (in my view, he was a great coach
even when they had losing seasons).  There are others (Berenson
comes to mind, from what I have read):  I don't know Shawn Walsh
-- never met him -- for all I know, he may be, too).  But the
coach can only be great in this way if the people he works for
let him (or insist on it).
 
But I ramble . . . .
 
Saul Morgenstern, BU'74
Go BU - 1995 Top Dogs of College Hockey (with apologies to The
Boston Globe)
 
"Sooner or later you have to separate what is right from what is
merely legal."  - Tom Robbins, Still Life With Woodpecker