The NCAA Committee on Infractions handed down a severe and unexpected penalty to the University of Missouri today in the wake of a former tutor's (strongly believed to be Yolanda Kumar, though she was not named in the report) allegations that she helped student-athletes cheat on their coursework.
The football, softball and baseball programs all received one-year postseason bans and recruiting restrictions. You can read all the penalties here.
The more important part of this is where does Mizzou go from here?
Athletic Director Jim Sterk issued a statement and has already said the University will appeal the penalties.
"The University will immediately appeal this decision that has placed unfair penalties on our department and programs," the statement read. "It is hard to fathom that the University could be cited for exemplary cooperation throughout this case, and yet end up with these unprecedented penalties that could unfairly and adversely impact innocent current and future Mizzou student-athletes.
"It is important to note that this was the action of one individual, who acted unilaterally and outside of the expectations that we have established for our staff members."
Chancellor Alexander Cartwright reiterated Sterk's stance and stood behind his athletic director:
"As we appeal this harsh and inconsistent decision, we are fortunate to have a leader of Jim’s ability to lead our program and our athletes. We are grateful to our alumni, friends and supporters for their support and commitment to Mizzou athletics, which we all know plays a vital role at this great university.”
The Committee on Infractions agreed that the tutor had acted alone, chief hearing officer David Roberts said on a conference call with the media Thursday afternoon.
"Although the tutor said she felt pressured, the investigation did not support her allegation that her colleagues directed her to complete the work for the student-athletes," Roberts said.
The NCAA has a 110-day timeline for any appeal of findings, "but it may take longer depending on the complexity of the case."
"The timeframe, obviously will take several months before briefs would be filed if in fact there is an appeal," Roberts said. "And obviously several months thereafter probably."
So at the earliest, a ruling on Missouri's appeal would be expected in mid- to late-May. And it could take significantly longer.
One of the immediate questions will be the future for Missouri's seniors, including football graduate transfers Kelly Bryant and Jonathan Nance. NCAA bylaw 14.7.2 reads as follows:
"On the recommendation of the Committee on Infractions, for a student-athlete who transfers to a member institution to continue the student-athlete's opportunity for full participation in a sport because the student-athlete's original institution was placed on probation by the NCAA with sanctions that would preclude the institution's team in that sport from participating in postseason competition during all of the remaining seasons of the student-athlete's eligibility."
Roberts reiterated that the committee recommended waiving the transfer restrictions for any Mizzou athlete in the programs that were impacted who desired to seek a transfer.
"The committee has made a recommendation for legislative relief waivers should a potential Missouri athlete seek a transfer," Roberts said. "There is legislation that would allow, under certain circumstances, a transfer without the one year in residence required."
Sources have indicated to PowerMizzou.com that other schools have already reached out to Kelly Bryant's camp specifically. However, a source in Bryant's camp told Woody Wommack of Rivals.com that the quarterback intends to stay at Mizzou for his final season.
Sources at Mizzou have indicated the school was caught off guard by the severity of the penalties. As stated, Missouri will appeal. The timeline for any answers and a potential resolution are unknown at this time.
Roberts repeatedly refused to compare cases, but the findings specifically outlined differences between Missouri's case and the academic fraud investigation at North Carolina.
Roberts said Missouri, the tutor and the enforcement committee all agreed that Level One NCAA violations had occurred and that the school was penalized according to the "penalty matrix" that is applied in such situations. The report stated that while courses at North Carolina "were created and graded by an office secretary, student-athletes completed their own work. Here, by contrast, Missouri acknowledged that the tutor completed student-athletes' work and, in most instances, this conduct violated its honor code."
But it is easy to draw the conclusion that Missouri was penalized largely because it admitted the impermissible behavior while North Carolina stood by its stance the school had done nothing wrong.
"You certainly have identified a significant issue in this case, and that’s when a member institution comes forward and self-reports a violation and agrees to the (commission) of a severe, Level One, there are consequences that happen. And in this particular case, Missouri did the right thing and self-reported, it acknowledged and accepted responsibility," Roberts said. "I would not say they were penalized improperly or extraordinarily. The guidelines the association put in place operated as intended by the association. If they had chosen a different route, I couldn’t predict what the outcome would be.”
Roberts was asked if the findings and penalties would encourage schools to be dishonest and not to cooperate with investigations in the future.
"One can certainly make that argument," he said. "No one likes to be penalized, but hopefully that would deter future behavior. I don't want to speculate, but if an institution fails to report and conceals and doesn't tell the truth, or did something to otherwise inhibit or hinder the process, then under the aggravating and mitigating factors, the penalties would be more severe than in this case."
The case with Kumar is now closed. Missouri is on three years probation and as such, will have to prepare annual reports to the NCAA. And barring a successful appeal, the baseball, softball and football teams will be sitting at home watching the postseason, regardless of their performances in the regular season.
PowerMizzou.com will continue to cover this story and update fans as more information becomes available.
