01/20/2010
The NCAA announced penalties for the Georgia Southern men's basketball program Wednesday as a result of a 13-month- long investigation into major violations.
A release issued by the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions stated that the men's basketball program will be put under probation for two years, effective immediately, have scholarships reduced and recruiting restricted and vacate all wins in which two academically ineligible student-athletes competed over the course of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.
The penalties stem from the actions of a former assistant coach and former director of basketball operations whose "unethical conduct" included academic fraud and the provision of false and misleading information. The committee also found that the university failed to monitor its' men's basketball program.
"The unprincipled behavior of former members of the men's basketball staff forces our entire athletics department to face the consequences of their actions," said Georgia Southern director of athletics Sam Baker. "We want to field successful programs, but it is imperative we accomplish these goals in the correct manner."
The former assistant coach received a five-year show-cause order and the former director of basketball operations received a two-year show-cause for his involvement.
The details of the two individuals' involvement in the violations, conducted during the 2007-08 academic year and the 2008 summer and fall terms, showed that the assistant coach "provided substantial portions of course work, and in some instances completed course work, for two men's basketball student- athletes."
The NCAA's account of the violations went on to say that the assistant went as far as to provide papers, essays, and tests for both student-athletes and that he directed the former director of men's basketball operations to be responsible for one of these student-athletes' required course work. The details of those violations included that individual writing two or three papers, eight to 10 pages in length, and spending many hours in the library researching topics.
Finally, the committee also found the former assistant coach knowingly furnished the NCAA with false and misleading information about his involvement in and knowledge of the academic fraud allegations when questioned by the university and NCAA enforcement staff on two separate occasions.
"My expectation is that Georgia Southern will strive for excellence both on and off the court while meeting or exceeding the high expectations set by the NCAA," said Georgia Southern president Brooks Keel. "I am confident that we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that an incident of this nature does not occur at Georgia Southern again. We accept the decision of the NCAA and are anxious to move forward."