The only football program currently part of the Big East that has received a big hit from the NCAA is Miami, which ended up using the penalties to its advantage.

Below is a list of programs cited for major violations since the NCAA made its strongest statement yet against cheating, the SMU "death penalty" case in 1987. ESPN.com rates the severity of those penalties on a 0-5 scale, with 5 as most severe.

Miami
Year: 1995
Violation: School awarded $412,000 in excessive financial aid as a result of improperly calculating off-campus room and board stipends for 141 football and undetermined number of other athletes. Also, an athletics department staff member allegedly provided extra benefits to approximately 60 to 77 student-athletes by assisting them in fraudulently obtaining a total of $212,969 in Pell Grant funds. School also violated drug-testing procedures.
Major penalties: 1-year bowl ban, and reduction in new scholarships that could be given out to 18 in '95, 12 in '96 and 14 in '97 (down from the usual maximum of 25).
Severity of sanctions: 3
Notable: Butch Davis and the Hurricanes needed the rest of the decade to recover from the damage done during the era of coach Dennis Erickson. But the smaller-than-usual recruiting classes provided the foundation for the successful teams of the past two years because of the experience those players received earlier in their careers.

Pittsburgh
Year: 1993
Violation: Allegations involved improper meals given to athletes and a range of minor recruiting violations including giving too much entertainment money to athletes serving as hosts to prospective recruits on official campus visits.
Major penalties: None. Reduction in campus visits to 60, from 70, for one year.
Severity of sanctions: 0
Notable: Pitt emphasized that penalties should be minimal because violations were from 1980s.

Syracuse
Year: 1992
Violation: Representatives of the university's interests provided free or reduced-costs meals to athletes. Team financial-aid limits were exceeded.
Major penalties: None.
Severity of sanctions: 0
Notable: Violations were minor and lumped in with larger case made against basketball program.

Virginia Tech
Year: 1987
Violation: Under AD and coach Bill Dooley, football program was accused of awarding too many scholarships for several years. At one point, Tech had 114 players on scholarships -- 19 over the NCAA limit at that time.
Major penalties: Loss of 18 scholarships
Severity of sanctions: 2
Notable: Told that he wouldn't be retained, Dooley quit and sued Virginia Tech, eventually winning a $1 million out-of-court settlement. During the scandal, the school president and Dooley's successor in the athletics director's job also resigned. Gov. Gerald Baliles criticized the athletics department during the school's commencement ceremony. New coach Frank Beamer was left to pick up the pieces.