That argument doesn't hold water. Is it ever ok to sanction a football team? Only for recruiting violations?
Even recruiting violations hurt unintended parties. Is that ok because it is "football related?" And if that is "football related" in the sense that it is an attempt to illegally improve or get an unfair advantage over the competition so it is somehow ok to have innocent parties harmed by punishment...why isn't a football team bungling a child molestation case not "football related?" By failing to monitor the team, the team had the advantage of not getting this black eye twenty years ago or however long ago it was that this started (or that they had knowledge of these accusations and chose to, you know, tell Jerry Sandusky that he can't coach any more, but he can still hang around and use PSU facilities).
It sucks that current/future students and athletes suffered for the sins of the higher ups (some of whom were football team staff or Athletic Department higher ups). But guess what, this sends the message that universities across the country have to do a better job monitor things or else face stiff consequences. Otherwise, again, the message sent is "We don't care what you do or how terrible your school/athletic department/team is at making sure your representatives, who are our representatives, act in a manner that doesn't run counter to what the NCAA stands for."