Ohio State’s day in N.C.A.A. court is supposed to come Aug. 12, but it is likely to be later than that. If there has been one consistent thing about N.C.A.A. infractions cases over the years, it’s the glacial pace in which they are investigated and decided. And the continual trickle of new information about Buckeye misdeeds will probably force the N.C.A.A. to delay its timeline.

After Tressel and Ohio State get their day in front of the N.C.A.A., it will become clearer whether the recent calls from the new N.C.A.A. president, Mark Emmert, for stiffer penalties for cheats are a reality or just white noise in the face of another scandal.

What’s known in the Tressel case is that he misled the university and the N.C.A.A. about his knowledge of his players receiving improper gifts, essentially allowing star players who should have been ineligible for at least a portion of last season to take the field. And what’s known about Ohio State is that the university seemingly did everything possible to save its coach, first suspending him for only two games and then slowly nudging him down the plank as the allegations and negative publicity loomed larger.

The Buckeyes’ athletic department and university administrators acted only when the laugh track for their penalties became too loud. Who can forget Gee, when asked if he would consider firing Tressel, saying, “I hope he doesn’t fire me”?

Two issues will figure prominently in how culpable the N.C.A.A. finds Ohio State. The first is how the university explains reports that dozens of players received deals on cars from a local dealership. If Ohio State consistently turned a blind eye to something that was an obvious extra benefit for its players, it could result in serious repercussions.

The university, especially Gee and Smith, will also have to explain why it initially decided to suspend Tressel for just two games when his lying and cover-up appeared worthy of his being fired from the start. In an era when lying to the N.C.A.A., as in the cases of Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant and the Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, has become a mortal sin, Buckeyes administrators will have to justify why they thought Tressel should have missed only games against Akron and Toledo. That’s a punishment essentially comparable to having an N.F.L. coach miss preseason games.

The assistant Luke Fickell, a former Buckeye, will be the interim coach this season, with the soundtrack of his season revolving around whether Urban Meyer, Jon Gruden, Gary Patterson or Bo Pelini will become the permanent coach in December. Ohio State, even with probation all but inevitable, will always sit alongside Florida and Texas as one of the country’s three marquee jobs.

But a huge factor in who Ohio State will be able to lure will be just how hampered the program is by the N.C.A.A. Ohio State is staring at significant N.C.A.A. sanctions, the severity of which will define its program and N.C.A.A. enforcement in the months to come.