CLEMSON — During his time as Clemson’s head coach, there was never any love loss between Danny Ford and the NCAA.

The NCAA handed the Clemson Football Program two years of probation from 1983-’84. Part of the probation included a loss of scholarships, no live television appearances in 1983 and in ’84, and no postseason bowl game in 1983. Clemson’s self-imposed bowl ban for the 1982 season was accepted by the NCAA as an act of good faith, but the ACC added an extra year of probation, meaning no bowl game for Clemson after the 1984 season, either.

The NCAA came after Ford’s program again in 1989 for alleged recruiting violations, which Clemson denied. Another NCAA investigation, plus issues with then University President Max Lennon led to Ford’s resignation in January of 1990.

So, it is easy to see why Ford did not like the NCAA.

 During his appearance on the Sports Talk Media Network, recently, the retired football coach was very candid on who he blames for all the money issues that are going on in today’s college athletics.

“If the NCAA would not have tried to be right when California sued them for athletes getting money, if they would have given every student-athlete on campus (money)… and treated them the same and gave them (money)… this never would have happened,” Ford said. “No, they want to fight the court system. They wanted to go and say, ‘We are right and we are going to make them prove us wrong.’ So, they just sat there and got what they deserved, and we are in the situation that we are in now.”

That situation is a system that allows players, especially football and men’s basketball players, to be paid money that is comparable or higher than some NFL and NBA salaries, as well as dollars being funded through NIL third parties, while players leave programs every year for bigger payouts and no degrees.

“There is an old saying ‘When you let the horse out of the barn, it is hard to get it back in… When you do not have any control over anybody who works for you or under you, then you got no system.”