4 FAMU mens athletic teams hit with NCAA APR violations

After showing tremendous signs of success on the court this year, rising to as high as No. 2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) just last week, the FAMU men's basketball team (10-16, 7-4) has now been slapped with a ban on postseason play by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that will prohibit it from participating in next month's conference tournament. The ban is a result of not meeting the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR). 

Three other men's sports were also hit with postseason bands for 2019 due to low APR --- golf, men’s indoor and outdoor track. 

FAMU says the four programs did not meet the NCAA's multi-year threshold score of 930. The seasons that contributed scores to the self-imposed penalty are 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-16 and 2016-2017. The penalties are considered a Level One infraction, meaning that along with postseason ban, the teams will also their practice times reduced to 16 hours per week from 20, with the lost 4 hours replaced with academic activities.  

The latest APR sanctions are the second time in the past four years for basketball and golf, and the third violation in a decade for the indoor and outdoor track programs.