As it has promised it would since the Committee on Infractions handed down sanctions two weeks ago, the University of Missouri filed its notice of appeal with the NCAA on Thursday afternoon. Any school wanting to appeal penalties has to do file that intent within 15 days of the announcement of penalties. Friday would have marked the last day Mizzou could file the motion.
“We believe that the Committee on Infractions abused its discretion in applying penalties to the University of Missouri Athletics program, and we look forward to appearing before the Appeals Committee in the future to present our case,” Director of Athletics Jim Sterk said in a statement released to the media. “Mizzou’s case involved an isolated incident within our program, however, the penalties applied are overly harsh, not in line with established precedent and negatively impact student-athletes who chose to attend the University of Missouri and had nothing to do with the actions of one rogue individual.
“It appears that our cooperation throughout this process went largely unnoticed, which I believe will have a chilling effect and force other institutions to take a different approach in dealing with these type issues, which will not be in the best interest of the NCAA or intercollegiate athletics.”
RELATED LINKS: Q&A WITH JIM STERK | MORE ON MIZZOU'S APPEAL
WALLJASPER: MIZZOU'S NEW APPROACH | PODCAST: INSIGHT ON THE PROCESS
SANCTIONS IMPACT ON RECRUITING | ATTORNEY: APPEAL A LONG SHOT
MIZZOU HAS MOBILIZED | ODOM ON THE SANCTIONS | NATIONAL REACTION
The NCAA must acknowledge the receipt of Missouri's notice in a timely manner (usually a few days). From that point, the school has 30 days to file the actual appeal. Following that filing, a hearing and decision from the appeals committee follows, though there is no set period of time for those things. School officials have said the expect the process to take anywhere from six to 12 months.
The school has retained Michael Glazier from Bond, Schoeneck and King in Kansas City to lead its legal team in the appeal process. In addition, Richard Evrard, also of Bond, Schoeneck and King, and Chris Griffin, based out of Tampa, Fla., will assist on the appeal.
PowerMizzou.com will continue to follow the Tigers' appeal effort and keep fans up with the very latest as this story unfolds over the next few months.
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