… when a university sports team attains professional levels of criminality.

Only a few get there, and the University of Toledo’s basketball team is one of them.

Six former University of Toledo athletes and two Detroit businessmen were indicted yesterday for alleged involvement in a point-shaving scheme, U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg said.

The eight, including three former basketball and three former football players, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit sports bribery by a federal grand jury in Detroit. Six of the defendants also were charged with unlawful use of interstate facilities.

The 20-count indictment alleges that the businessmen, aged 52 and 76, paid money and offered other incentives to the athletes to fix the score of some games between December 2004 and December 2006, the court papers said. The men then wagered between $10,000 and $44,000 on 17 University of Toledo basketball games for a total of about $407,500.

“The charges shine a light into the dark corner of illegal sports book-making and reveal the unfortunate consequences that the influence of money from betting can have on the integrity of both athletes and athletic contests,” Berg said in a statement.

Yes, as if big time university sports weren’t ugly enough with its own over-compensated coaches, criminal players, academic cheaters, and post-game rioters, Toledo’s upped the ugly by making an outside alliance with organized crime.

“This case is an example of how organized crime can influence intercollegiate athletics,” said FBI Special Agent Andrew Arena. “These charges are an important step in maintaining the integrity of intercollegiate athletics and a message to the athletes who decide to participate in such activities.”

In response to all of this, Toledo’s embarrassing president does a
Richard M. Joel. Like Yeshiva’s president when confronted with the fact that his university for years placed its financial destiny in the hands of Madoff and Merkin, Toledo’s president says So what? Who cares? Ancient history. Our sports program is currently clean as a whistle and you better believe it. La la la. Great weather we’re having, huh? And how ’bout that Manny Rodriguez? I mean… uh… forget it…