A look at the the NCAA’s punishment of Florida State for NIL-based recruiting violations.
The NCAA on Thursday announced serious recruiting violations and levied subsequent sanctions against a major college football program in one of the first such cases in the era of name, image, and likeness (NIL).
The organization ruled that Florida State assistant coach Alex Adams, the school’s offensive coordinator, violated recruiting rules stemming from a 2022 recruiting trip that involved a prominent NIL-related booster and one of the school’s NIL collectives, which were also punished.
The news was announced in an official, detailed report by the NCAA.
In doling out its punishment, the NCAA gave Florida State two years probation and announced a five-percent reduction in scholarships over the next two academic years. The school has also been docked seven official recruiting visits.
According to the NCAA, Atkins “facilitated an impermissible recruiting contact between a transfer prospect and a booster, according to an agreement released by the Division I Committee on Infractions.”
Atkins was found to have committed two Level II violations, which will result in a two-year show cause penalty levied against the coach by the NCAA.
A show-cause penalty against a coach means that any school who might wish to hire said coach would be required to explain its reasoning to NCAA officials.
Atkins also received a three-game suspension to begin the 2024 season.
From the NCAA’s official statement: “During the (2022) meeting, the booster encouraged the prospect to enroll at Florida State and offered him an NIL opportunity with the collective worth approximately $15,000 per month during his first year at the school.”
Atkins joined the staff at Florida State in 2020 after Mike Norvell accepted the school’s head coaching job. Norvell guided Memphis to a berth in the Cotton Bowl against Penn State in 2019. Atkins was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022.
Clemson is scheduled to visit Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in 2024.
