Nick Saban fires back at Big 12 commissioner's 'cheating' comments

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby opened up Big 12 Media Days with a bang Monday, taking aim at enforcement throughout the NCAA by making the case that "cheating pays" and those who want to get away with it can.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban made the rounds through ESPN's "Car Wash" Tuesday and was asked about Bowlsby's comments. Saban took issue with Bowlsby's claims of cheating and believes accountability has been stressed, at least in the SEC.  

"I don't see that," Saban said, via al.com. "I don't know where people get these opinions. Like I think the compliance in our league is actually better than it's ever been. I think [SEC commissioner] Mike Slive, that was one of his babies when he came in, he was going to make sure that we had a clean league and people did it the right things. 

"When you don't walk the walk in our league, you're going to get called down by our conference offices as much as the NCAA."

One of the big points raised by Saban is that it's harder to keep possible violations from becoming public. Players are very open about both the recruiting process and life on campus through social media, which makes potential infractions visible even without an investigation.

"But I don't see players getting bought. I don't see players getting extra benefits any place," Saban said. "I think recruiting is so transparent now, I think most people are scared to death that they would get caught publicly - not by the NCAA, not by the conference office.

"But even if you have illegal contact with a player, he tweets that you talked to him. So that's a violation. I mean, it's so transparent, you almost have to do things correctly because I don't think anybody needs to catch you. I think the public would catch you."

Saban made the case that a coach puts his career in jeopardy by violating NCAA rules, that infractions are more likely to keep someone from getting a job than their win-loss record. It's simply too big of a risk to take. He also couldn't help but take a subtle shot at the Big 12 by saying Bowlsby's comments may have to do with with some conference jealousy.

"You're always looking for a reason and one of the easiest excuses is to say the other guy did something illegal," Saban said, "which I don't buy into that."