NCAA releases decision on appeal

As first reported by PowerMizzou.com this morning, the NCAA appeals committee has upheld all sanctions against Missouri in the NCAA case against the school.

The sanctions against Missouri were originally handed down by the Committee on Infractions on January 31. The school went in front of the appeals committee in mid-July.

In its decision, which can be viewed in its entirety here, the appeals committee said Missouri argued that its case should have been classified as Level-I Standard instead of Level-I Mitigated in the NCAA's violation matrix, which would have eliminated the need for a bowl ban. The school also asserted that the Committee on Infractions relied on a statement from Missouri's summary disposition, which was rejected by the COI. Finally, the school also argued that the postseason ban, scholarship reductions and recruiting restrictions exceeded penalties in previous academic misconduct cases, including those deemed more egregious by the COI.

After 18 weeks, the appeals committee upheld all of the original findings from the Committee on Infractions. The release from the NCAA states that "prompt detection of violations is only a mitigating factor when a university has a compliance system in place at the time of the violations, that could have detected the violations." Further, the appeals committee said that past decisions could not be used to overturn this decision since no two cases are Identical, pointing out that Missouri's violations actually spanned more student-athletes and more sports than some of the previous cases.

Ultimately, while the appeals committee agreed with Missouri's assessment that two additional mitigating factors could have been applied, it did not find that the COI abused Its discretion or Improperly determined aggravating and mitigating factors.

From the report: "While the Infractions Appeals Committee agreed with the university that the two additional mitigating factors could have been applied, it noted that more is required than disagreement with the Committee on Infractions panel’s outcome. It said the university was unable to demonstrate that the Committee on Infractions’ analysis and/or rationale failed to consider and weigh mitigating factors; was based on a clear error in judgment; was based on irrelevant or improper factors; or was based on an incorrect standard or misunderstanding of standards. Because of that, the Infractions Appeals Committee found that the Committee on Infractions properly determined and weighed mitigating factors."

University officials will hold a press conference at the Sprint Center at 4 p.m. this afternoon. PowerMizzou.com will be at the press conference and will have coverage throughout the day. Prior to that meeting, the school released a joint statement from Chancellor Alexander Cartwright and Athletic Director Jim Sterk. Here is that statement in its entirety:

"We are deeply disappointed and appalled by the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee’s decision to shirk its responsibilities and simply uphold sanctions that are not consistent with precedent or even common sense.

Despite this frustrating and disappointing outcome, the University of Missouri and Mizzou Athletics will continue to stand for integrity, and we will become stronger despite the challenges we are faced with today. We have outstanding student-athletes in all three affected programs and they are building something special here at Mizzou.

We are grateful for everyone who has supported Mizzou and our “Make it Right” campaign over these last several months, and during the nearly 19 weeks it took to reach this troubling conclusion.

Today’s decision raises serious questions about whether the current NCAA enforcement system encourages or discourages cultures of compliance and integrity. While we have exhausted our NCAA appeal avenues, we will continue to advocate for meaningful reform within the NCAA enforcement process.

Today, about 180 student-athletes who had nothing to do with the actions of one rogue part-time employee will pay a steep price. NCAA enforcement officials noted that prior to the violation the university employed a robust institutional system to ensure rules compliance. Once the problem was known, we self-reported immediately, held individuals accountable and cooperated with the investigation in what NCAA officials described as “exemplary” fashion.

Meanwhile, a recent case involving Mississippi State University with similar circumstances as Mizzou’s yielded a very different result. MSU, like us, acted with the highest integrity. MSU’s case followed a new NCAA process that was not available to us and resulted in an outcome that, we believe, was more reasonable given the circumstances. The inconsistency of these decisions make it difficult for anyone to comprehend how Mizzou could receive such harsh sanctions.

In its decision on our case, the appeals committee wrote that a greater discussion and a better process is needed. We could not agree more.

It wrote: “This committee believes it is critical for the NCAA membership to discuss and evaluate the application, assessment and precedential value of infractions cases not only when parties agree on mitigating and aggravating factors, but also the appropriate precedential value and approach for cases in the entirety of the infractions processes. Doing so would better equip this committee and the Committee on Infractions in discharging its duties, and in turn improve the infractions process and yield better guidance for the membership as a whole.”

We strongly disagree that the appeals committee did not have the power to correct this mistake. The point of this process was not to use a formula to reach a conclusion, but to bring the benefit of consideration and judgement to achieve consistency with its final decision.

We know our dedicated Mizzou fans will help us right this wrong by filling the stands and rooting for our Tigers. We deeply appreciate the outpouring of support from every corner of the state and Tiger fans around the country who united behind Mizzou and our student-athletes who proudly wear the Black & Gold.

Stay tuned to PowerMizzou.com all day for the most comprehensive coverage of the decision and what it means for the Tigers going forward.

The three head coaches impacted by the decision also released statements.

Mizzou Head Softball Coach Larissa Anderson:

“I am absolutely heartbroken and disappointed by the committee's decision to punish a group of 27 current student-athletes who didn't play any role in this and have done everything right from the very beginning. The NCAA claims to value the student-athlete experience, but this decision continues to cause unnecessary harm to a group of innocent student-athletes. This unjust decision will not deter our program. We have pride in Mizzou, and we will continue to Win it Right as one family.”

Mizzou Head Baseball Coach Steve Bieser:

“Our program as a whole is clearly disappointed with today’s news from the NCAA. My heart is specifically broken for this group of student-athletes currently on the team. These student-athletes have done everything right since becoming a Tiger, but yet are cruelly penalized for the actions of one individual from years’ past. While we obviously strongly disagree with the NCAA’s final decision, we will without a doubt rally with each other and make the most of the upcoming 2020 campaign.”

Mizzou Head Football Coach Barry Odom:

“I hate the news for our program and for our seniors who have represented the University in a very positive way. This decision negatively impacts their short experience in life as college student-athletes who had nothing to do with this situation. It’s a tough lesson to be dealt, but they will learn from this and motivationally use it later in life when hardship comes along.”