When West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee reads the reports of what's happening at Baylor, he has to feel as repulsed as most.
A sexual assault scandal has rocked the campus in Waco, Texas, and, specifically, the Bears' football program. Multiple state and federal lawsuits have been filed against the school's handling of issues involving football players. Fired have been BU president Ken Starr, football coach Art Briles and athletic director Ian McCaw. And the unseemly details continue to be uncovered.
This week though, finally, the Big 12, which includes WVU and Baylor, took action. Twenty-five percent of future revenue distributions from the conference will be withheld pending an outside review of BU's compliance with Big 12 bylaws and federal Title IX regulations. League commissioner Bob Bowlsby said $10 million of an estimated $34 million payout per school has already been distributed, but that Baylor would be docked $6 million of the remaining $24 million owed for this fiscal year. He added that the withholding would continue into 2017-18 until the review is complete.
Initially, there was criticism. There have been calls for measures as extreme as booting Baylor from the league. Is the above enough punishment?
On Thursday, the Gazette-Mail asked WVU's Gee, a Big 12 board of directors member, about that and the process.
"We have been working closely with Baylor ever since the issues arose," Gee said in an exclusive interview. "They've been reporting to the board the progress they've been making. At our last meeting, this past Friday, it was determined that though they are making progress and working very hard, the Big 12 needed to independently verify the progress being made."
Gee was asked specifically if the league's measures are enough.
"I'm very much in favor of what we're doing," he said. "We want to help Baylor. We want a competitive Baylor. I think sometimes we see an overreaction. I think with Penn State [and its sexual abuse scandal] there was a significant overreaction by the NCAA that they've now corrected more or less.
"We should hold each institution to a high standard. But we should help make that happen, not punish someone just to make us feel good about punishing someone."
Philadelphia law firm Pepper Hamilton made 105 recommendations to Baylor as part of its investigation into the handling of sexual assaults. A BU spokesman has said 80 of the recommendations have been completed and put into operation.
Gee said he's trying to support the effort.
"First, I'm a great admirer of Baylor and continue to be," he said. "I think one of the lessons learned here are sometimes institutions can become isolated within. Specifically, athletic departments can become isolated from the rest of the institution. Then there are powerful forces on top of that. They built a new stadium at Baylor. They had a coach that took them to new heights. So one can get caught up in all of that.
"I know," he continued. "I've been part of it. I know the kind of pressures that can occur from friends and people who want to win. Every West Virginian wants to win here. So the university needs to make sure the athletic department is a part of the university and not separate from it."
Gee pointed to his athletic directors at Ohio State, his former school, as well as WVU. Gene Smith at OSU and Shane Lyons in Morgantown both were given titles of school vice president.
"Their first responsibility is to the university," Gee said.
The WVU president was asked if actions have been taken in Morgantown in light of Baylor's scandal.
"I think every university president would be very wise - if they haven't already done so - to take a look at both this and the Penn State reports," he said. "You have to say, 'What did we learn from this? What can we learn from what they discovered? How can we make sure that doesn't happen here?'
"I always tell everyone I work with that the real challenge of running a university, particularly one with a dynamic athletic program like ours, is to ask the second question. The first question is what happened? The second question is why and what are we doing about it? I think there have been self-examinations by a lot of us."
Gee said he's hopeful the Big 12's action toward Baylor helps with that school's examination.
"It's an ongoing process, but I think the Big 12 is doing exactly the right thing," he said. "It's demanding response, but doing it in a way that's helpful rather than draconian."
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.