The on-field brawl between Miami and Florida International Oct. 14 has brought a recent influx of criticism to Coral Gables, Fla.
Although the fight between the Hurricanes and Golden Panthers was an extreme case, incidents of this nature are not new to the Miami football program.
Many in the college football community are calling on Miami to fire head coach Larry Coker as a result of his failure to control his team on and off the field.
Since the brawl, Miami President Donna Shalala has publicly reaffirmed her support of Coker. But in response to the events of last weekend, the University has made major changes in its policy for the treatment of athlete misconduct on the field.
"We have set new standards," Shalala said. "It's time for me to say to the community and to those who have been sending me e-mails that this university will be firm and punish people that do bad things."
The University has implemented a new "zero-tolerance" policy, which states that any athlete who fights will be dismissed from his or her respective team.
Shalala has been the subject of recent criticism herself. Some have said that the punishments levied by the University against the participants in the fight-12 players were suspended for one game, one player was suspended indefinitely-are not nearly harsh enough. FIU, on the other hand, dismissed two players and suspended 16 indefinitely.
The fight Saturday night has only damaged a reputation that Miami has been trying to clean up for years. Hurricane football teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s were well known for disrespecting their opponents, and although the program cleaned up in the years following that time, critics have suggested the "old Miami" has returned.
In the Peach Bowl last season, Hurricane players scuffled with Louisiana State players in the tunnel following the team's 40-3 loss. Earlier this season, Miami players brought negative attention to the program after stomping on Louisville's logo prior to its game with the Cardinals-a game in which the Hurricanes also were beaten handily.
When Miami teams in the past engaged in similar behavior, critics wrote it off as "swagger" because those teams won. With fans calling for Coker's firing simply because the team hasn't been as successful in recent years, these new image problems only add fuel to the fire.
"I am more excited about being here now than getting ready to play for national championships," Coker said. "I am the right person to be here.... We are going to play well. We're going to play with class and character."
When Miami comes to Durham Saturday to face Duke, it will be without many key players, including running back Charlie Jones, defensive backs Randy Phillips and Brandon Meriweather, and punter Brian Monroe. Some have suggested that because the Hurricanes are playing winless Duke, the one-game suspensions are simply a slap on the wrist.
"In the NFL, if something like this happens, you get fined a game check-might be $100,000," Coker said. "In college football, you miss playing time. The most valuable thing for a college athlete is playing time-that hurts."
Although the suspensions may not affect Miami as it takes on Duke, the Hurricanes are entering a crucial portion of their schedule, with games against Coastal Division leader Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech on the horizon.
"We'll try and put this behind us," Coker said. "We have... six consecutive ACC games. We have to win every one of them."
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