The problem I have with this frame of logic is that they did the same to us -- dragged out our investigation for 8 years, IIRC. Then, they dropped the hammer on top of that.
The sanctions hung over our program for nearly a decade, then we got the double whammy at the end, with penalties that were excessive, out of whack with precedent, and which haven't been levied since.
If they'd gone through that 8 year process and then fined us $5000 and docked us a single scholarship for 3 years like they did with Louisville, I don't think our fanbase would be worked up. But instead, we got blitzkrieged. And then when programs got nailed for infractions that are far worse than what we were alleged to have done, they got off lightly.