With the news out of Oklahoma that two starting players have been kicked off the team by Coach Bob Stoops, the all-too-familiar  NCAA investigation is soon to follow.  So, to help my fellow college football brethren, I thought I would summarize what's gonna happen next.

The first thing the school will do is disavow itself from association with any of  the parties involved.  This has already happened with the players, expect the booster to be next.  This will be a little harder, because believe it or not these boosters can have a bigger impact on the program than a starting QB or O-lineman.  Damage control will be essential before cutting ties to the booster.   Worries about what else might be revealed or discovered will mean moving slowly, and cause many sleepless nights for Stoops and his staff.

Next, the school will launch an internal investigation.  Once again, this has already begun at OU.  The school will promise to fully disclose any findings, and pledge to cooperate fully with any NCAA investigation.

The NCAA will send some people to snoop around, but they won't begin an official investigation until they receive a report detailing the school's findings.  Meanwhile the school will have hired a big-bucks lawyer who previously worked for the NCAA and is very familiar with investigations.

After the school releases their report, the NCAA will begin to "officially" investigate.  They will be in no hurry, saying that they have several other cases still pending.  Expect the investigation to last at least two full recruiting seasons, during which time opposing coaches will use the cloud over OU  to their advantage through negative recruiting.  They will remind recruits of Alabama's post season ban for similar infractions.  They will say  "You can't compete for a conference championship, you can't compete for a national championship, you'll be spending New Years at home watching games on TV."

Finally, the NCAA will release their report.  The school will at a minimum be found guilty of "Lack of Institutional Control", and placed on probation.  Lack of institutional control is defined as a major violation by the NCAA, and a few scholarship losses may be thrown in. 

Whether OU had any knowledge of wrongdoing or not, whether they could have prevented it or not is irrelevent to the NCAA.  Punishment justifies their existence, and other schools who faced similar charges would be irate if no penalties befell OU.  The NCAA will believe they must penalize OU to send a message to boosters that programs are held accountable for the boosters' actions.

It's sad to see this happen to OU, because Stoops has worked hard to run a clean program and do things the right way.  In the end, it won't matter.