National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Mar 5, 2010 3:33:49 PM

Mississippi State University basketball student-athlete Renardo Sidney must sit out the remainder of the current season and 30 percent of the 2010-11 season, according to a decision announced Friday by the NCAA academic and membership affairs staff. 

In addition, Sidney must repay $11,800 in benefits received from preferential treatment. The sanction for 2010-11 is estimated to be nine games.

Mississippi State declared Sidney ineligible for violations of NCAA ethical-conduct and preferential-treatment rules. The ethical-conduct violations pertained to providing false or misleading information throughout the eligibility process.

Sidney and his family benefited by using funds from a nonprofit organization for personal gain, according to the facts presented by Mississippi State. The academic and membership affairs staff determined that those funds would not have been available were it not for the student-athlete's athletics skills and reputation. Other preferential treatment included hotel accommodations and other travel expenses, as well as free athletics gear and training.

"Our members have made it crystal clear that student-athletes who receive impermissible benefits, either directly or indirectly, and who lie to the NCAA must be held accountable," said  Kevin Lennon, vice president for academic and membership affairs. "This case is about more than a single student-athlete. One of our core responsibilities is to ensure a level playing field for all student-athletes and their teams.  No team or individual should have an unfair advantage."

The NCAA made repeated requests for specific information related to Sidney's eligibility beginning in April 2009. However, Sidney and his attorney failed to promptly and accurately reply to the requests, which caused multiple delays in resolving the case.

In contrast, the NCAA received the final reinstatement request with all agreed-upon facts on February 26 and rendered its decision within a week.

The staff considers a number of factors when deciding each case. Those include the nature and seriousness of the violation, any impermissible benefits received, the student-athlete's level of responsibility, any mitigating factors presented by the university, applicable NCAA guidelines and any relevant case precedent.

The staff considered all factors presented by Mississippi State in its review of the situation.

Mississippi State can appeal the decision to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, an independent committee composed of representatives from Division I member institutions and athletics conferences. That committee can reduce or remove the conditions, but it cannot increase the conditions imposed by the staff.