The NCAA Division II Committee on Infractions has penalized Missouri Western State for major and secondary violations in its women’s basketball program. This case involved ineligible participation of a women’s basketball student-athlete during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years.

Penalties for the violations include two years of probation, a vacation of records, recruiting restrictions and athletics scholarship reductions.

In this case, a women’s basketball student-athlete had exhausted her eligibility before enrolling at Missouri Western State, yet competed for two academic years. Before enrollment at the university, the student-athlete spent 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2003-04 playing for a team in an overseas professional league. After coming to the United States, the student-athlete spent the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons competing at a community college.

As a part of a 2008 investigation into possible NCAA rules violations in the women’s basketball program, the current head women’s coach examined the student-athlete’s file and was the first to notice the three-year “gap” in the student-athlete’s records between her 2000 graduation from high school and her 2003 enrollment in community college. The student-athlete did not include the prior participation on her NCAA General Amateurism and Eligibility Form for International Students, and no one from the university investigated her academic or athletics activities from 2000 to 2003.

When reviewing the case, the committee noted that the student-athlete had substantial playing time during the two years she competed while ineligible at the university and was a contributor to a number of victories.

This case also involved a secondary infraction involving extra benefits, which is discussed further in the public report.

The penalties in this case are as follows:

• Public reprimand and censure.
• Two years of probation (July 8, 2009 to July 7, 2011).
• The university shall vacate all wins in which the student-athlete competed while ineligible. The vacation shall apply to all regular-season, and postseason conference or NCAA championship play. The student-athlete’s individual records shall be vacated as well. Further, the university’s records regarding women’s basketball, as well as the record of the head coach at the time the vacated contests were played, will be reconfigured. This vacation will be recorded in all publications in which women’s basketball records for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons are reported, including media guides, recruiting material, electronic media and institutional and NCAA archives. Any public reference to these vacated contests should be removed from the athletics department stationary, banners displayed in public areas and any other forum in which they may appear. This vacation also applies to any institution that employs the former head coach in the future.
• Reduction in and women’s basketball athletics scholarships by one to nine during the 2009-10 academic year.
• The university may not recruit any international student-athletes in women’s basketball from June 24, 2008, through June 23, 2010.
• The university shall return its 2006-07 conference championship trophy to the conference office.

The members of the NCAA Division II Committee on Infractions who reviewed this case are Wendy Taylor May, chair, senior associate athletics director, University of California, San Diego; Bruce Kirsh, athletics director and vice president, Franklin Pierce University; Jean Paul Bradshaw II, attorney, Lathrop & Gage L.C; Bridget Lyons, senior associate director of athletics, Barry University; and Julie Rochester, faculty athletics representative and associate professor, Northern Michigan University.