The NCAA Division II Committee on Infractions has imposed a one-year postseason ban in all sports at Miles College for major violations involving 124 student-athletes and all 10 sports offered by the school.
Other penalties include four years of probation, athletics scholarship reductions, a vacation of records in several sports, a four-year show-cause order for the former director of athletics and a three-year show-cause order for the former head track coach.
From the 2004-05 through 2008-09 academic years, the college allowed 124 student-athletes involved in all 10 sports to practice, compete, receive travel expenses and receive athletically related aid while ineligible. The student-athletes were ineligible for a number of reasons, including failure to meet initial-eligibility, progress-toward-degree and transfer requirements.
The violations occurred and remained undetected during the four years due to the failure of the college to have a viable athletics compliance system in place. As the committee continues to emphasize, Division II members are required to devote the resources necessary to affect a thorough and comprehensive campus-wide compliance system operated by trained and competent personnel.
The case also involves unethical conduct by two members of the athletics department staff. The former head track coach directed and knowingly allowed six student-athletes to participate under assumed names during the 2006-07 academic year. In addition, the former AD worked with an administrator at another institution to fabricate results from two women’s outdoor track meets to make it appear that Miles College had enough participants to meet NCAA sport-sponsorship minimums. In addition, the committee found the former AD provided false and misleading information to the NCAA enforcement staff during the investigation.
The committee found the college failed to exercise institutional control and monitoring of its athletics program. The school failed to establish a system of monitoring for the eligibility of the student-athletes to practice, compete and receive athletic aid. The college did not have written procedures for certifying the eligibility of initial enrollees, continuing student-athletes and transfers. In fact, the sole responsibility for certification was given to the former director of athletics. This lack of a viable compliance program allowed 124 student-athletes to practice or compete while ineligible. A portion of these student-athletes also received athletics scholarships while ineligible.
In addition, the committee noted that the college failed to establish a system for monitoring the amateurism certification of student-athletes, which led to 24 student-athletes competing prior to obtaining amateurism certification from the NCAA Eligibility Center.
The committee found that the college failed to complete squad lists as required by NCAA rules, allowing 57 student-athletes to compete despite not being on squad lists.
The penalties, some of which were self-imposed by the institution and adopted by the committee, are as follows:
* Public reprimand and censure.
* Four years of probation from November 4, 2009, to November 3, 2013 (Self-imposed by the institution).
* Vacation of all contests from the academic years 2004-05 through 2007-08 in which student-athletes competed while ineligible. The vacation applies to the following sports: men’s basketball; women’s basketball; women’s volleyball; men’s cross country and track; women’s cross country and track; baseball; football; and softball.
* Reduction of athletics scholarships offered in these same 10 sports for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years. Further information is detailed in the public report (self-imposed by the institution).
* All athletics teams are prohibited from participating in postseason competition during the 2009-10 academic year (self-imposed by the institution).
* Three-year show-cause order for the former head track coach (November 4, 2009 to November 3, 2012).
* Four-year show-cause order for the former director of athletics (November 4, 2009 to November 3, 2013).
The members of the NCAA Division II Committee on Infractions who reviewed this case are Wendy Taylor May, chair, senior associate athletics director, University of California, San Diego; Bruce Kirsh, athletics director and vice president, Franklin Pierce University; Jean Paul Bradshaw II, attorney, Lathrop & Gage L.C; and Bridget Lyons, senior associate director of athletics, Barry University.
