As expected, the Ohio State men's basketball team avoided serious sanctions by the NCAA Infractions Committee. The Buckeyes have been placed on three years probation and must pay back around $800,000 to the NCAA. But OSU will face no further postseason bans, or loss of scholarships.
The NCAA held a teleconference Friday morning to announce the violations that were committed by Ohio Stateâs menâs basketball team during the tenure of former head coach Jim OâBrien (1998-2004).
Citing âfailure to monitor,â Ohio State was placed on three years probation, but will not face any further postseason bans, or loss of scholarships (OSU issued a self-imposed one-year postseason ban last season, and removed two scholarships). The NCAA will erase the Buckeyesâ NCAA Tournament records from 1999-2002 â including the â99 Final Four â and Ohio State also must pay back the majority of tournament revenue from those years.
The following is a statement from an NCAA spokesperson:
http://ohiostate.scout.com/2/507341.html
What do you think Sweatermess was run off for???? Tatoogate!!!!
N.C.A.A. Calls a Two-Year Foul on Syracuse
The Big East athletic directors will decide next week whether to allow the Orangemen to compete in the conference post-season tournament. 'As Good a Season as We Can'
Jim Boeheim, the Syracuse men's head basketball coach for the last 16 years, said that he was disappointed by the penalties. "I'm obviously disappointed for the seniors who will not get into the N.C.A.A. tournament," he said.
"The university has been totally supportive of us and we're going to try to have as good a season as we can."
There was no indication that Boeheim was aware of the violations when they occurred, but he nonetheless was singled out for criticism by David Swank, the dean of the University of Oklahoma Law School and chairman of the N.C.A.A.'s infraction committee.
"I think the basketball coach should have been aware some of these problems were occurring," he said. "There were some things that could have indicated some problems. Had there been a little more attention to those problems initially, the rest of this would not have occurred."
Syracuse becomes the 24th school to go on probation this year, joining such major schools as Missouri (in basketball), Oklahoma State (football), Michigan (basketball), Maryland (basketball), Texas A & M (basketball), Illinois (basketball) and Auburn (basketball and tennis).
"Although one violation is one too many, there was no pattern to the violations here," said Kenneth Shaw, the Syracuse chancellor. "This is not a maverick athletic program."
By N.C.A.A. standards, the penalties levied against Syracuse, while tough, were hardly as severe as they might have been had Syracuse not cooperated in the investigation.
For one thing, the association did not ban the Orangemen from television appearances. Television revenue constitutes a major portion of income for athletic programs, and a one-year broadcast ban on basketball could devastate a program like the one at Syracuse, which relies on television exposure to attract recruits to the upstate New York campus.
"As far as television is concerned, Syracuse has asked the N.C.A.A. not to do anything that would adversely affect student-athletes," said Swank. He said the N.C.A.A. agreed a TV ban would affect present student-athletes and thus would not be imposed.
As part of its cooperation with the N.C.A.A., Syracuse launched its own investigation last January and sent its findings to the N.C.A.A. in a 1,700-page report. In the report, a former student-manager of the basketball team said he told Boeheim, in the 1980's, that Christmas cards distributed to some team members contained $50 in cash. The manager said Boeheim became upset, stated that the practice would not be tolerated and said that he would deduct $50 in meal money allowances.
But, according to the report, Boeheim told Syracuse investigators that he never had such a conversation.
"As far as cash gifts, there was a substantial question whether the coach was aware of it," Swank said, noting that he did not recall that particular passage in the Syracuse report. "I don't think that the coach had personal knowledge of that. I think he would have have taken action." Could Have Been Worse, Says Swank
Swank said that the Syracuse program was not out of control. "I don't think that's true," he said. "There were some problems in the basketball program; I would not describe it as a program out of control.
"There was a lack of institutional control, and the university's policies did not always control what was going on in the basketball program."
Among other basketball violations cited by the investigation were these:
*Rob Johnson, a Syracuse basketball enthusiast, was allowed to counsel players. Johnson provided improper transportation, meals, lodging, game tickets and gifts to recruits.
*From 1983-90, boosters and university officials provided players with free meals at local restaurants at least 22 times.
*Athletic Director Jake Crouthamel failed to prohibit Syracuse from holding team meals and entertaining recruits at a Syracuse restaurant owned by booster Fred Grimaldi, though Crouthamel had been warned Grimaldi had provided free meals.
*Recruits were given free clothing and allowed to play recreational games against varsity and former varsity players while visiting the campus.
By taking yesterday's action, the N.C.A.A. put Syracuse's athletics program on probation, meaning the university will have to report on a regular basis that it is complying with regulations. Shaw said the university would accept all penalites.
No penalties were assessed against football and women's basketball because of the relatively minor infractions by those programs.
However, the school's wrestling and men's lacrosse programs will have their scholarships reduced.
The Syracuse case was the first that the N.C.A.A.'s committee on infractions has heard under the new summary-disposition process, in which the school conducts an internal investigation, then submits a report acknowledging violations and suggesting penalties.
In this case, the N.C.A.A accepted the findings, but not the penalties that Syracuse had proposed.
For example, rather than a limitation on post-season basketball, the university offered to contribute $364,000 to charity. "We could not accept that penalty," Swank said. Syracuse had recommended one year of probation, but the infractions committee increased it to two. Syracuse had not recommended any limits on post-season competition, but the N.C.A.A. imposed one year.
Swank said that without Syracuse's cooperation, the penalties would have been much more severe.
Still, the university has been dealt a stunning blow. 3-Game Ban for McRae
In a separate case, Coach Jim Boeheim announced that the N.C.A.A. has ordered center Conrad McRae to sit out the first three games of the season for participating in more than one sanctioned summer basketball league. McRae, from Brooklyn, played in a New York City league as well as a league in Syracuse, an infraction that Syracuse reported to the N.C.A.A. in September.
It is second time in two years that McRae has been suspended for violating N.C.A.A. rules.
West Virginia placed on two years' probation
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The NCAA said Friday it has accepted West Virginia's self-imposed sanctions that include two years' probation for major rules violations under former coaches Rich Rodriguez and Bill Stewart.
The report by the NCAA infractions committee said three failure-to-monitor violations occurred involving out-of-season coaching and the use of non-coaching staff to work with players.
Under the sanctions released Friday, the Mountaineers will lose a scholarship for the upcoming season and have recruiting restrictions and staff reductions. The probation doesn't include postseason play.
"I am pleased that the committee accepted the self-imposed penalties the university proposed, without imposing any additional ones," West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck said in a statement. "The university has already taken corrective action and put new systems in place to address all the issues raised."
The infractions committee didn't decide if the Mountaineers failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance with NCAA rules, an initial allegation made by the NCAA last year. Rodriguez avoided the same finding during an earlier, separate investigation at Michigan, which in May 2010 admitted it had committed a series of violations related to practice time and coaching activities. Michigan fired Rodriguez in January.
The case was resolved through the summary disposition process instead of a formal hearing.
The NCAA said WVU exceeded coaching staff limits when it allowed staff members, graduate assistants and a student assistant coach to participate in coaching activities both on and off the field. That included five video graduate assistants who monitored or conducted skills-development drills and attended position meetings where they worked directly with coaches.
"Their participation qualified them as countable coaches and the program therefore exceeded its allowable number of coaches," the NCAA said.
That led to the failure-to-monitor violations levied against Rodriguez, Stewart and the school.
Rodriguez and Stewart have acknowledged failing to adequately monitor the duties and activities of the staffers involved, and WVU also acknowledged failing to properly monitor the activities of Rodriguez, Stewart and their staffs, the NCAA said.
The probation involves the 2011 and 2012 season and will end in July 2013.
WVU and Syracuse fans have nothing to say against Cal now
LWC Wrote:WVU and Syracuse fans have nothing to say against Cal now
They never had anything in the first place. WVU and Syracuse shouldn't even be in the same breath at the mention of Kentucky