Colorado coach Dan Hawkins woke up this morning having never produced a winning season in his three years at the helm of the football program in Boulder. He might go to bed tonight with at least one winning season and a bowl win to his credit.

OK, I’m joking. But why not have a little fun with this for a moment?

The University of Alabama must vacate an unspecified number of wins in football in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons after the NCAA Committee on Infractions announced today that 16 different sports programs at the school were guilty of improperly obtaining free textbooks for student-athletes during that time period.

The violations involved 201 student-athletes obtaining approximately $40,000 in books. Seven of those athletes were football players, including the four worst offenders, said Paul Dee, the chairman of the committee.

At least four of the seven football players known to have been involved in the scandal played in the 2007 Independence Bowl against the Buffs in Shreveport, La. Running back Glen Coffee, offensive linemen Antoine Caldwell and Marlon Davis and defensive back Chris Rogers all played a part in beating the Buffs that day, ending Hawkins’ second year with a 6-7 record.

It is not clear if the Indenpdence Bowl will be one of the games the program must vacate. The truth is, Colorado doesn’t retroactively change its record books with these things happen. I was stunned to learn that some actually do.

So nothing will officially change here in Boulder. Hawkins’ record is still 13-24 in three years, but some might take solace in knowing that the Buffs lost a hard-fought game that day to a team apparently using ineligible players.

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