Gets 4-years Probation!The NCAA slapped FAMU with four years of probabtion for "lack of institutional control and approximately 200 other violations in 15 sports." The probation will end on January 31, 2010.
Other penalties include:
Public reprimand and censure.
A reduction in grants-in-aid in all 15 sports on the following schedule: baseball grants are reduced by three in 2005-06; grants in men's and women's basketball, women's bowling, softball and women's volleyball grants are each reduced by one in 2005-06; football grants will be reduced by six in 2005-06, two in 2006-07, three in 2007-08 and three in 2008-09; men's and women's swimming each reduced grants by two in 2005-06; grants in men's tennis are reduced by 1.5 in 2005-06; men's track is losing one grant in both 2005-06 and 2006-07; and women's track is losing two grants in 2005-06 and one in 2006-07.
Football practice time was reduced by 20 hours in 2005-06.
All contests and records involving ineligible student-athletes in the sports of baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's bowling, softball, men's and women's swimming, men's tennis, men's and women's track and cross country, and women's volleyball between the 1998-99 and 2004-05 academic years shall be vacated. The institution must continue to develop a comprehensive educational and testing session on NCAA rules, and arrange for an NCAA compliance review within one year.
"The result was an environment that allowed for violations of NCAA legislation," said Josephine Potuto, vice-chair for the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions. "Numerous bylaws were misinterpreted, large numbers of student-athletes were certified improperly and many student-athletes competed while ineligible."
The specific violations against FAMU:
67 student-athletes competed even though they did not complete the required 24 credit hours in a given year.
34 student-athletes competed despite not meeting NCAA progress-toward-degree requirements.
More than 100 student-athletes practiced and competed before completing required NCAA paperwork.
22 practiced and competed before their high school transcripts were reviewed and they received certification of their academic eligibility.
One student-athlete was allowed to compete despite not choosing a major prior to her third year of enrollment.
One student-athlete competed without meeting minimum grade-point average requirements.
The NCAAs verdict clears the way for former head football coach Billy Joe to pursue his lawsuit against the University to recover the remaining two years salary left on his contract when he was fired last June by interim A.D. E. Newton Jackson. The NCAA did not find that Joe had committed any major rules violations as the University had asserted.
The NCAA went easier on FAMU than the University's own self-imposed penalties. FAMU offered a reduction of 28 football scholarships, 14 each in 2006 and 2007. Under the NCAAs penatly FAMU would lose only six scholarships in 2005-06, two in 2006-2007, three in 2007-2008 and three in 2008-09.
The NCAA also did not hit the FAMU men's basketball team with the same harsh self-imposed penalties the University offered. Under FAMU’s self-imposed penalties the Rattler men’s basketball team was ineligible for post-season competition. Therefore if the University relents, the team could be eligible for post-season competition this year should the win MEAC Tournament.