Citing “the university’s cooperation in the investigation, which went beyond standard expectations”, the NCAA accepts the Gamecocks’ self-imposed penalties and slaps a “failure to monitor” label on the program. No post-season ban, though.
This is the part I found interesting:
The committee noted the trend of an increased importance placed on unofficial visits, particularly for football and men’s basketball. Rather than utilizing school-funded official visits, unofficial visits can be utilized to circumvent certain requirements for recruits to provide academic transcripts or test scores before they visit. These expanded recruiting opportunities are often funded by a third party other than the student-athlete’s family and provide coaches with important early access to prospects.
Sounds like the OBC was pushing the envelope and got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Chalk it up as one more thing he did differently from his days as a Gator.
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UPDATE: In case you’re wondering, here’s how the scholarship numbers break down…
Grayshirting just got tougher.