Tag: ncaa violations

What NCAA violations ruling means for Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce

What NCAA penalty for violations means for Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce

Thursday the NCAA came down hard on Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce for recruiting violations during COVID protocols. Here is what ESPN’s report stated was Pierce’s violations.

Most of the violations were related to what the NCAA referred to as a “scheme” orchestrated by Pierce to circumvent restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pierce facilitated impermissible recruiting contact with 35 prospects, including “tryouts, football facility tours and entertainment.” It was also determined he directed an assistant to engage in tampering with a player enrolled at another school and traveled out of state to observe and meet with prospects during a recruiting dead period.

In response to these violations, the NCAA has slapped Pierce with an eight-year show-cause order for what they say was his role as “the ringleader in orchestrating the recruiting violations.”

Among those who were recruited by ASU during that time include Washington QB Jayden Daniels and Raiders CB Jack Jones.

This isn’t a good look for Pierce to be sure. And more negative press and distraction for the Raiders.

Outside of that, the NCAA’s penalty will not affect Pierce as an NFL coach or the Raiders.

What it means for him personally if at any point during the next eight years, he wishes to return to the college ranks as a coach, he would first have to serve a one-year suspension which includes no contact with any of the program’s coaches or players during that time.

This is just the beginning with ‘suspicious wagering activity’

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

When reports surfaced that the Ohio Casino Control Commission was looking into suspicious wagering activity, many wondered if this was a one-time event or just the tip of the iceberg. It appears that it is the latter.

The probe into the suspicious wagering activity ended with the firing of Alabama baseball head coach, Brad Bohannon.

“Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne announced he has initiated the termination process for head baseball coach Brad Bohannon for, among other things, violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees,” said Alabama in a press release. “Bohannon has been relieved of all duties and Jason Jackson will serve as the interim head coach. There will be no further comment at this time pending an ongoing review.”

It wouldn’t be long before we saw more reports surface about teams being investigated. On Monday, two more schools were reportedly dealing with investigations stemming from wagers being made. In the state of Iowa, both Power Five schools were reporting violations.

The Iowa Hawkeyes provided information on their potential violations through a press release.

The University of Iowa and the Department of Athletics are aware of the sports wagering investigation and are fully cooperating. We have alerted the NCAA of the potential violations and we have hired outside counsel to assist in the investigative process.

The athletics department provides education on NCAA rules regarding the the prohibition of sports wagering as well as the potential consequences.

According to the release, the university received information on 111 individuals. That number included 26 student-athletes across baseball, football, men’s basketball, men’s track and field, and men’s wresting. One individual is a full-time employee of the UI Department of Athletics.

Iowa State released a statement on Monday afternoon as well.

“Iowa State University and its Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is aware of online sports wagering allegations involving approximately 15 of our active student-athletes from the sports of football, wrestling and track & field in violation of NCA rules. The university has notified the NCAA and will take the appropriate actions to resolve these issues.”

NCAA rules prohibit athletes, coaches and staff from betting on amateur, collegiate and professional sports in which the NCAA conducts a championship.

What remains to be seen is how the NCAA will handle any punishments for all parties involved. One thing you can be sure of, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Joseph mistakenly breaks NCAA rule in Tuesday press conference

Nebraska football interim head coach Mickey Joseph’s mouth may have acted faster than his brain did during a press conference on Tuesday.

Nebraska football interim head coach Mickey Joseph’s mouth may have acted faster than his brain did during a press conference on Tuesday.

The subject of Joseph’s mistake was Malachi Coleman, a 4-star recruit and the highest-rated recruit in the state of Nebraska who recently committed to the Huskers over the weekend.  Coleman is a senior wide receiver for Lincoln East High School.

During the press conference, a reporter interrupted Joseph’s answer to another question, saying “You got Malachi this weekend.” Seconds after the reporter apologized for interrupting, Joseph responded to the question.

“I’m just joking. You’re so uptight. But, no, right, we got Malachi.”

So is it a big deal?

According to an NCAA bylaw, a school “may not comment generally about the prospective student-athlete’s ability or the contribution that the prospective student-athlete might make to the institution’s team; further, the institution is precluded from commenting in any manner as to the likelihood of the prospective student-athlete committing to or signing with that institution.”

On Saturday, Coleman committed to the Huskers, but is not able to sign his letter of intent for the team until Dec. 21.

Joseph was understandably excited about Coleman’s commitment, smirking after his statement. When leaving the press conference, he asked Nebraska media relations workers if what he said was against the little-known NCAA policy. Shortly afterwards, Joseph contacted Nebraska’s compliance department to notify them of his error.

Joseph’s comment was far from a major recruiting violation, so major sanctions are not likely. Infractions are handled on a case-by-case basis and outcomes are typically decided within six to eight weeks.

“Some penalties, such as public reprimand and censure, are commonplace,” the NCAA’s infraction enforcement process states.

Joseph and the Huskers will face Illinois at home on Saturday, Oct. 29.

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BREAKING: NCAA finds that LSU committed recruiting violations under previous staff, faces one year of probation

The NCAA found that former offensive line coach James Cregg and an unnamed recruiting staffer had impermissible contact with recruits in September 2020.

The NCAA found on Thursday that the LSU football program committed several Level II violations under the previous coaching staff. In a press release, it announced one year of probation — albeit, with minor penalties — for the Tigers football team.

The violations stem from impermissible contact with recruits from former offensive line coach [autotag]James Cregg[/autotag] and an unnamed recruiting staffer. In September 2020, during the NCAA’s temporary COVID-19 recruiting dead period, Cregg and/or the staffer met with recruits and their families while on campus.

Per the temporary dead period, players were not allowed to have in-person contact with coaches or undertake official or unofficial visits. However, they were permitted to organize informal visits to campus, so long as they didn’t have contact with the coaching staff.

The NCAA found that Cregg and the recruiting staffer violated these rules by meeting with players. Cregg allegedly gave one player a box of LSU gear from his house, which is also a violation.

Here are the details:

In September 2020, the mother of a football prospect arranged an informal visit to LSU’s campus for 14 prospects. Football coaching staff were aware that a large group of prospects planned to visit campus, and the day before the prospects arrived, school compliance staff met with football staff — including the former assistant coach and former assistant director of recruiting — to review NCAA recruiting rules, emphasizing that staff could not have any in-person contact with recruits. The mother of one prospect planned to relocate to Baton Rouge if her son attended LSU and requested recommendations for potential neighborhoods to visit. The former assistant coach recommended several neighborhoods including his own, provided directions to his neighborhood, and arranged to greet the prospect and his family as they drove through the neighborhood, thus violating dead period rules. During that encounter with the prospect and his family, the assistant coach also provided the prospect with a bag of used LSU gear he had gathered from his house before he left, which violated NCAA rules prohibiting recruiting inducements.

The following weekend, that prospect and his family returned to LSU’s campus on a previously planned trip. During this second visit, the former assistant director of recruiting picked up the prospect and his girlfriend from their hotel and drove them to the stadium for a tour, which violated NCAA rules for in-person contact during a dead period and also violated countable coaches rules because of the off-campus recruiting contact by a noncoaching staff member. The free transportation to campus also violated NCAA rules prohibiting recruiting inducements. Later that day or the following day, the former assistant director of recruiting returned to the prospect’s hotel and delivered several items of used LSU gear for the prospect, again violating NCAA rules prohibiting recruiting inducements.

During that second trip to Baton Rouge, the prospect and his family again drove through the former assistant coach’s neighborhood. The assistant coach was in contact with the prospect’s mother as they approached and stood outside his home to meet the family for a brief conversation — another violation of NCAA rules for in-person contact during a dead period. Both the assistant coach and assistant recruiting director acknowledged that they knew their conduct was impermissible.

“Although the [committee] has encountered more egregious conduct in past cases, the violations in this case represent intentional misconduct that should be of concern to the membership,” the Division I Committee on Infractions panel said in a statement. “The COVID-19 recruiting dead period was intended to protect the health and safety of prospects, student-athletes and institutional staff. It also leveled the playing field for recruiting at a time when government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions varied across the country.”

The NCAA acknowledges that it has seen more severe infractions, and the penalties are reflected of that. LSU will pay a small fine and face minor recruiting limitations, all of which were self-imposed. The only non-self-imposed penalty was a three-year show-cause order for Cregg.

The show-cause allows for Cregg to be employed by an NCAA institution during the period, but he cannot engage in off-campus recruiting activities without approval.

Here’s the full rundown of the penalties

  • One year of probation.
  • A $5,000 fine (self-imposed).
  • A limit of official visits for football to 55 during the 2022-23 academic year (self-imposed).
  • A one-week prohibition against unofficial visits in the football program prior to the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year (self-imposed).
  • A one-week prohibition against recruiting communications in the football program prior to the start of the 2022-23 academic year (self-imposed).
  • A reduction of seven evaluation days in the football program during the fall 2021 evaluation period (self-imposed).
  • A three-year show-cause order for the former assistant coach. During that period, any NCAA member school employing him must restrict him from any off-campus recruiting activities unless it shows cause why the restrictions should not apply.

Cregg — who is currently the assistant offensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers — was fired in June 2021 by LSU as a result of the allegations, but at the time, he hadn’t had any accusations officially levied against him. In the Notice of Allegations the football and basketball programs received from the NCAA in March, Cregg was not mentioned.

He sued the university for wrongful termination and won. He was awarded nearly $500,000 just last month.

In the NCAA’s release, it says it also looked into a possible Level III violation against former head coach [autotag]Ed Orgeron[/autotag]. Before the pandemic, Orgeron was reportedly at a high school during a designated evaluation period when he was approached by two prospects.

Orgeron greeted them but said he couldn’t talk further with them. The NCAA found that since the interaction didn’t go beyond pleasantries, no violation occurred.

This isn’t the only issue with the NCAA that the university is dealing with, as further violations against previous basketball coach [autotag]Will Wade[/autotag] also resulted in his dismissal. However, with this issue resolved in a way that shouldn’t impact the program in a major way, there is now quite a big weight off LSU’s shoulders.

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Nebraska accepts penalties for misuse of analyst

The punishment has been announced, and now Scott Frost and Huskers can move on.

The NCAA announced the penalties for the Nebraska Football team regarding the Husker’s misuse of a team analyst during the 2020 season. A statement from the NCAA says that the university and head coach Scott Frost agreed with NCAA enforcement staff that the analyst in question had direct instruction with athletes during practice and film sessions. As a non-coach members of the staff, the analysts are not allowed to coach players. The statement said that Scott Frost was aware of the issue. While he addressed it directly with the analyst, he did not notify compliance staff about a violation and did not continue to monitor the situation appropriately.

As a result of the violations, Nebraska was given Level II-mitigated penalties. They are

  • A one-year extension to the current probationary period (through April 2023).
  • A $10,000 fine.
  • A one-year show-cause order for the football head coach, plus a five-day suspension from all coaching duties during the championship segment of the 2022 football season.
  • A reduction of the number of football countable coaches by one for two days of practice during the spring 2022 season.
  • All noncoaching staff members will be removed from practice and competition for five consecutive days during the championship segment of the 2022 season.

Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts issued the following statement after the announcement of penalties.

“I am appreciative of the diligent efforts of our University of Nebraska staff in working to bring this matter to a close. We have had outstanding collaboration with the NCAA, and I want to thank the NCAA staff for their time and professionalism throughout this process.

“It is important for the Nebraska Athletic Department and football program to put this matter behind us and turn our full attention to the upcoming season. We are pleased with the outcome and believe the negotiated resolution is fair and equitable. At Nebraska we are committed to running an athletic department that is fully compliant with all NCAA rules.”

https://twitter.com/Huskers/status/1521160868997652480

The analyst in question was Jonathan Rutlidge, who is no longer with the program Rutlidge is now a special team coordinator at the Catholic University of America.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinion.

LSU fires coach Will Wade

Wade was cited for five Level I NCAA violations in the Notice of Allegations.

LSU fired fifth-year men’s basketball coach Will Wade on Saturday following the team’s exit in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, according to multiple reports. The news was first reported by CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.

Wade finishes his tenure in Baton Rouge with a 105-51 record. His deepest run in the NCAA Tournament came in his second season in 2018-19, when he took the Tigers to the Sweet 16. The school also fired associate head coach Bill Armstrong.

Kevin Nickelberry, who has served as an assistant for the Tigers since 2019, will take over as the interim coach. Nickelberry previously served as the head coach at Hampton (2006-09) and Howard (2010-19), earning a career record of 145-238.

He was also the head coach of the women’s team at Columbia Union College from 1991-94 and for the Libyan men’s national team from 2009-10.

This news comes just days after LSU was hit with a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA regarding the federal investigation into corruption in college basketball that began in 2017.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, Wade was cited with five Level I NCAA violations as well as with obstructing an investigation by concealing evidence and unethical conduct. The NOA also alleges that Wade and LSU engaged in “planned/schemed/purposeful” cheating.

Per an amendment to Wade’s contract that was added in 2019, the school is permitted to fire him for cause if he is cited by the NCAA, which would mean it owes him nothing.

In a joint statement from university president William Tate and athletics director Scott Woodward, LSU emphasized that its decision to terminate Wade was not “an acknowledgment of agreement with any of the allegations.”

LSU began the 2021-22 season 12-0 but finished with a fairly disappointing 22-11 record. The Tigers are projected as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will find out their bracket placement on Sunday. But they will have to make their run in March amid a coaching change.

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Hand caught in the cookie jar, Texas A&M football faces NCAA penalties

The NCAA announced on Thursday that the Texas A&M coaching staff violated recruiting rules.

The Longhorns and Aggies may not be rivals on the field anymore, but they certainly battle with each other on the recruiting trail. Continue reading “Hand caught in the cookie jar, Texas A&M football faces NCAA penalties”

What Oklahoma State’s punishment means for the rest of the Big 12

OSU’s basketball program was rocked on Friday, receiving their punishment for NCAA violations. Here is what it means for the Big 12’s season.

Oklahoma State’s basketball program was rocked by the NCAA on Friday, receiving their punishment for violations uncovered by an FBI investigation. A former associate head coach of the Cowboys accepted nearly $22,000 to influence recruits’ college decisions.

Here is the official punishment from the NCAA:

  • Three years of probation.
  • A 2020-21 postseason ban for the men’s basketball team.
  • A $10,000 fine plus 1% of the men’s basketball program budget (self-imposed by the university).
  • A reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by a total of three during the 2020-21 through 2022-23 academic years.

Going into the 2020-2021 season, Oklahoma State seemed as if they had a solid chance of making the NCAA Tournament under head coach Mike Boynton. Now, with a postseason ban, their absence from the postseason will extend to four consecutive years.

Most of the reason the Cowboys were pegged to have success was incoming freshman Cade Cunningham. A point guard from Arlington, Texas, Cunningham was the top overall recruit on 247Sports’ composite. He signed his national letter of intent with Oklahoma State in November 2019.

Now, the possibility of Cunningham leaving the program could be a strong one now that the Cowboys cannot compete in the NCAA Tournament. Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported Cunningham had an offer from the same NBA G-League team which was after Greg Brown. After initially denying the offer, Cunningham would re-explore his options.

Another school possibly in trouble with the NCAA is Kansas. Bill Self’s program was apart of the same FBI investigation as Oklahoma State, but are expected to have harsher penalties.

The Cowboys only committed one violation and still received a postseason ban. For the Jayhawks, they have committed five different violations. While nothing has been reported or announced by the NCAA, if staying consistent, Kansas’ probation and possible postseason ban could prove to be one of the worst the sport has ever seen.

So what does all of this mean for the Big 12 assuming Kansas’ possible punishments does not affect the 2020-2021 season?

As a whole, the conference was looking for a bounce-back season after a disappointing 2019-2020 campaign.

Baylor and Kansas were two of the top three teams in the country last season and were expected to be 1-seeds in the NCAA Tournament had it not be canceled due to the coronavirus.

Past those two squads, the rest of the conference was a fringe tournament team or out completely. Middle tier teams such as Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and West Virginia were inconsistent throughout the year.

Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and TCU all finished with losing records in the Big 12.

Now, the top six of the conference seems as if they have a great shot of making the NCAA Tournament in 2020-2021.

Baylor and Kansas will remain loaded, with both teams expected to keep a majority of their starting lineup from last season.

Yes, the Jayhawks will lose both Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike, but they will be replaced with five-star point guard Bryce Thompson and big man David McCormick.

The middle tier of the conference is where the boost is really expected. West Virginia and Texas Tech are preseason top 25 once again but should be able to maintain the success throughout the year with Bob Huggins and Chris Beard at their respective schools.

Texas is also dubbed as a top 25 team going into the season, as Shaka Smart returns 100% of his production from last season, while also adding five-star recruit Greg Brown.

Despite losing first-team All-Big 12 Kristian Doolittle, all five of Oklahoma’s starters were apart of the program last season. Brady Manek can really shoot the ball, finishing fourth in three-pointers made last season in the Big 12.

Even without Oklahoma State, six Big 12 teams are still expected to make the NCAA Tournament in 2021. If Cunningham stays in the program, the Cowboys will still be a threat to steal wins away from tournament hopeful teams and possibly destroy resumes.

After a 2019-2020 season where there was a real chance only three teams made the NCAA Tournament, the Big 12 has the opportunity to establish itself as the top conference in the country in 2020-2021.

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