An NCAA report released Wednesday revealed that Arkansas Pine-Bluff allowed more than 120 ineligible athletes to participate in games and provided extra benefits to others over a five-year period.
UAPB received a 25-page infractions report in connection with several certification issues discovered by the NCAA in 2011 that detailed the possibility of scholarship restrictions and a postseason ban in football basketball and baseball for the 2014-2015 season.
The NCAA had previously sanctioned UAPB with a two-year postseason ban in all sports, a decision the school appealed.
According to the report, if UAPB does not appeal, the school could be forced to vacate wins spanning every sport from 2007 to 2012, including the 2010 men’s basketball SWAC championship.
The reports notes UAPB “erroneously certified” 124 student-athletes for competition when it failed to apply NCAA Bylaw 14 progress-toward-degree, degree credit hours, nonqualifier status and two-year transfer requirements.
“A majority of those student-athletes received impermissible travel expenses. In addition to failing to apply NCAA Bylaw 14 requirements,” according to the findings.
Further, during the 2007-08 through 2009-10 academic years, UAPB failed to maintain complete and accurate squad lists.
“This failure resulted in 19 student-athletes competing on teams despite their names not appearing on the squad lists,” said the report.
During the same time period, the institution permitted 15 student-athletes who did not receive a book scholarship to receive a book benefit they should not have received, the report said.
Finally and as result of the widespread, systematic violations, the institution failed to exert control and monitoring in the conduct and administration of its athletics program because it failed to: (1) provide rules education and training to those responsible for certifying eligibility; (2) establish a proper system for ensuring compliance with eligibility requirements; (3) maintain complete and accurate squad lists; and (4) monitor and review the bookstore records and distributions.
A committee recommend that UAPB be placed on probation for five years and be penalized with a one-year ban in football, baseball and men’s and women’s basketball.
The school will have 10 days to file an appeal.
