Olive Garden Pastagate earns Oklahoma O-Lineman More Pasta
Olive Garden made the best of a strange situation involving NCAA regulations and three Oklahoma University offensive linemen. Last week The Oklahoman published a list of secondary NCAA violations by Oklahoma University for 2013. The list was reported to the NCAA by The Oklahoma University compliance office and included many small infractions including one regarding Olive Garden’s catering of a graduation banquet.
May 10, 2013 Violation: Three current student-athletes received food in excess of NCAA regulation at a graduation banquet. The three had graduated from the school but returned for an additional season of competition. The players were provided pasta in excess of the permissible amount allowed. Resolution: The three were required to donate $3.83 each (the cost of the pasta serving) to a charity of their choice in order to be reinstated. The department provided rules education to applicable athletics department staff members.
According to ForTheWin, “The NCAA responded by noting that there is no rule governing portion size, but Oklahoma reported the infraction nonetheless.” Despite the fact that no serving size regulation exists the compliance office at OU reported it, the NCAA issued a fine, the players paid it, and Olive Garden gets the free publicity. The football players were required to donate $3.83 to a charity of their choice.
One of the players invloved, Gabe Ikard, participated in last weekend’s NFL scouting combine. According to The Oklahoman Ikard had this to say about the situation, “The response that PastaGate has gotten has been a little ridiculous, but extremely entertaining. The compliance department notified us of the oopsy that the athletic department made,” Ikard said. “It wasn’t that big of a deal, but it was still pretty weird.”
Ikard’s friend and former Bishop McGuinness basketball teammate Daniel Orton lost his mother to Lupus during their senior year in high school. The NFL prospect donated five dollars to the Lupus Foundation of America to fulfill the NCAA requirements and reinstate his eligibility.
When the Indianapolis Olive Garden where Ikard had been eating during the NFL combine weekend found out about the NCAA fine they immediately responded by sending the First Team All-American an extra large family style meal. Now that Ikard is no longer an NCAA student athlete he can eat all the excess Olive Garden pasta he desires. The massive Olive Garden meal included four bags full of breadsticks, salad, desserts and, you guessed it, pasta. The NCAA can’t keep Olive Garden and Gabe Ikard apart forever.
