The Florida A&M athletic department continues to take hits.
This time the school’s athletic director Milton Overton Jr. announced Monday self-imposed penalties and additional sanctions as a result of secondary NCAA rules violations, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
The newspaper reported that FAMU failed to properly administer general student athlete eligibility and playing season requirements between the 2010-11 and 2013-14 academic years following an investigation by the MEAC and NCAA.
According to the university, specific violations include:
- Student-athletes not completing drug testing forms
- Student-athletes failing to complete a medical examination within the required time frame
- The Department of Athletics failing to provide a number of student athletes with the proper written notification before the reduction of their athletic aid
- The Department failing to monitor appropriately the administration of eligibility and playing season requirements.
FAMU will be required to pay a one-time fine, estimated to be $153,255. The school has also self-imposed a three-year probation during which it’ll provide the NCAA with annual compliance updates. A third party will also be brought in for a compliance review in the spring of 2016.
The school, according to the Tallahassee Democrat, is not expected to lose any scholarships nor will the football program face any further penalties.
Overton said the university will hire several full-time compliance officer to prevent further compliance problems.
“The rapport and transparency we are rebuilding with the NCAA has allowed us to reinvest the fine into improving our operations,” Overton said.
