National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Jan 5, 2010 12:05:37 PM

The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee has upheld the vacation-of-records penalty for Florida State that the Division I Committee on Infractions levied in March 2009.

The appeals committee decision means that Florida State must vacate wins in which 61 student-athletes in football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's track and field, men's golf, baseball, and softball competed while ineligible during 2006 and 2007.

The case involved academic fraud, impermissible benefits and unethical conduct by three former academic support services staff members – a learning specialist, an academic advisor and a tutor at the University Athletics Academic Support Services – all of whom gave improper assistance to student-athletes.

In addition to the vacation of records, other penalties for the violations included four years of probation, scholarship reductions and show-cause penalties for the former staff members.

Florida State in its written appeal said the vacation-of-records penalty was excessive and should be overturned. Florida State officials also claimed the Committee on Infractions did not appropriately weigh the school's cooperation during the investigation and corrective actions when determining the penalties.

The appeals committee, though, affirmed the penalty, stating in its report, "The cooperative efforts of the university clearly did not outweigh the aggravating factors in this case – the nature, number, scope and seriousness of the violations."

The vacation-of-records penalty includes regular-season and postseason contests and any NCAA championship competition. It is up to the institution to determine the contests in which the ineligible student-athletes participated and then report those vacated records to the NCAA national office. Individual records of the student-athletes and head coaches in those sports also must be vacated. 

In addition to the university's appeal, the former learning specialist also appealed the findings that pertained specifically to her. She asserted that those findings should be set aside as contrary to the evidence presented to the Committee on Infractions, and that they did not constitute violations of NCAA rules.

The appeals committee in its report found no basis on which to overturn those findings.

The members of the Infractions Appeals Committee who heard this case are Noel M. Ragsdale, University of Southern California, chair; Susan Cross Lipnickey, Miami University (Ohio); Jack Friedenthal, George Washington University; David Williams II, Vanderbilt University; and William Hoye), Institute for the International Education of Students (Hoye served as a substitute on the committee for Chris Griffin, who recused himself from this case).