The NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions announced its first decision, regarding Miami’s women’s basketball program, in the wake of the new NIL rules established July, 2021. The gist ($$):
- The decision, a negotiated resolution between the school, the coach and the NCAA enforcement staff, included one year of probation and recruiting sanctions.
- It did not require Miami booster John Ruiz to disassociate from the school nor did it punish the two athletes at the center of the case.
- The school self-imposed a three-game suspension on the coach.
- There’s a one-year probationary period, a fine and some recruiting restrictions.
That’s it. Now maybe you’re not seeing a discouraging message being sent to schools about reining in their boosters, but, brother, the NCAA wants you to know you’re all wet about that. No, really ($$).
The panel was troubled by the limited nature and severity of institutional penalties agreed-upon by Miami and the enforcement staff namely, the absence of a disassociation of the involved booster. Further, this case was processed prior to the adoption of NCAA Bylaw 19.7.3, which went into effect on January 1, 2023, and presumes that a violation occurred in cases involving name, image and likeness offers, agreements and/or activities. Based on legislation in effect at the time of submission, the panel cannot presume that activities around name, image and likeness resulted in NCAA violations.
Although the parties asserted that a disassociation penalty would be inappropriate based on an impermissible meal and an impermissible contact, today’s new NIL-related environment represents a new day. Boosters are involved with prospects and student-athletes in ways the NCAA membership has never seen or encountered. In that way, addressing impermissible booster conduct is critical, and the disassociation penalty presents an effective penalty available to the COI.
I’m sure that’s got schools quaking in their boots.
“We didn’t want to put a green light on (that behavior),” COI chair Dave Roberts, USC’s special assistant to the athletic director, told The Athletic.
You didn’t exactly put a red light on it, either.
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UPDATE: Yeah, this didn’t take long at all.
He seems to have gotten the message, alright.
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