SMU has a history of sanctions where as NC does not. Example :
The
Southern Methodist University football scandal (also known as
Ponygate) was an incident in which the
football program at
Southern Methodist Universitywas investigated and punished for massive violations of
NCAA rules and regulations. The most serious violation was the maintenance of a
slush fund used for "under the table" payments to players from the mid-1970s through
1986. This culminated in the NCAA handing down the so-called "
death penalty" by canceling SMU's entire
1987 schedule. SMU was allowed to return for an abbreviated
1988 season, but opted to sit that season out as well after school officials determined it would be impossible to field a viable team.
The severity of the penalty left the SMU football program in ruin. The Mustangs had only one winning season over the next 20 years and failed to make another bowl game until 2009. To date, it is one of the most severe penalties ever imposed on a
Division I program, and the only time the NCAA has canceled a football-playing school's entire season at any level.