Florida State coach Bob Braman's track and cross country programs were arguably the most severely hit by the vacating of wins penalty stemming from an academic misconduct scandal that involved 61 student-athletes in 10 sports.

The men's team lost the 2007 NCAA outdoor track and field championship, the middle of three straight titles.

"It's just a bad thing all around, but it's a lesson to be learned,'' he told the Times. "Whatever you do, it could have consequences.''

It should be re-iterated that none of the FSU coaches were involved in the scandal that centered predominately around one online class. That's according to both the school's and the NCAA's investigation. Braman issued this statement through the school to provide some perspective:

"Obviously we’re disappointed with the NCAA’s vacation of wins and how it affects our Track & Field program.  None of our athletes that were involved in the academic misconduct case needed the course in order to be NCAA eligible so it’s unfortunate that certain student-athletes made wrong choices when they clearly didn’t have to.

Our Men’s Track & Field program is learning a very painful lesson. The vacation of a National Title is certainly more punitive than perhaps the loss of regular season wins in a non-championship type season, but that is the potential outcome when student-athletes make poor decisions.
 
We understand and accept the NCAA’s penalty, but want to point out that without any gained eligibility we gained no unfair advantage over our opponents.  We would have won that Title with or without that on-line course. 

"I’m very proud of our academic history of our Track & Field teams.  In the past five years we’ve had the most Academic All-Americans in Track & Field of any school in the country.  Highlighted, of course, by 2006 NCAA Shot Put Champion and Rhodes Scholar Garrett Johnson.  We also have regularly been at the top of the ACC in number of All-Academic Track & Field performers, and in fact led the ACC in Men’s and Women’s All-Academic honorees in both Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field last year.

"We as coaches will double our efforts to instill only the finest values in our athletes and provide them with exemplary leadership in athletics, in the classroom and in life.''