Clements's second term was hurt by actions he took at SMU. On March 3, 1987, Clements admitted that he and the SMU board of governors had approved a secret plan to pay 13 college football players using money from an alumnus. The NCAA shut down the SMU football program for the 1987 season. They did not have a team in 1988 as well. The shutdown and other sanctions hurt the team for many years. The College of Bishops of the United Methodist Church investigated the scandal. The discovered Clements had met with athletic director Bob Hitch, and agreed that the payments had to continue.