When BP spills oil into the gulf, the DOJ fines it billions of dollars, which punishes hundreds of thousands of people (employees, shareholders, vendors of BP), despite the fact that only a very few people were involved with the extraordinary circumstances upon which the accident occurred.
I don't see why when the highest up representatives at the AD and university engage in a deliberate and concerted scheme to conceal malfeasance for the benefit of the AD and the university, that the football team as a whole should not be punished.
It's not like these people were embezzling money to buy personal watercraft, they were engaged in this scheme to fascilitte winning football games and enrich the University. They did this under the supervision and direction of its board. The entity is absolutely the responsible party here, and should be punished.