The Mysterious Case of Ron Weaver

In 1995, the University of Texas gave a man named Ron McKelvey a full scholarship to play football. McKelvey then went on to play defensive back in all twelve regular season games for the Longhorns and would have played in the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech on New Years' Day 1996 if it hadn't been for one problem: Ron McKelvey was not Ron McKelvey; he was Ron Weaver, a 30-year-old man who had already played out his college football eligibility. Had he not outed himself to a reporter it's highly unlikely anyone would have ever found out. The school and coaching staff claimed they had no idea they were playing an ineligible player. Was that and is that even possible? And what bigger questions does the incident raise? Did race play a part in any of it? In any event, after the dust settled, only one thing was certain; the only person punished was Ron Weaver.