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NCAA puts Florida A&M on probation, bans its football, basketball teams and four others from postseason

The NCAA on Tuesday released a lengthy report detailing infractions committed by Florida A&M including a “lack of institutional control” and “failure to monitor” its athletic programs, resulting in a five year probation period and a postseason ban — self-imposed by the university in football, baseball, men’s basketball, track and field, women’s basketball and volleyball — effective for the 2019-20 postseason.

The NCAA found “systemic underlying certification violations” at the university, including the improper certification of 93 student-athletes on 162 occurrences in 12 sports. The certified student-athletes had failed to fulfill required credit hours, didn’t meet required percentages of their degree by designated times, didn’t meet minimum GPA requires and/or failed to meet transfer requirements or exceptions. Florida A&M did not agree with the core financial penalty in the case, which triggered an expedited penalty hearing in which the Committee on Infractions ultimately decided it would maintain the penalty.

“The panel recognizes that Florida A&M has faced resource limitations and significant turnover in high-level athletics leadership positions,” the COI said in its decision. “Those challenges, however, do not excuse the university’s inability to establish and maintain core compliance operations and meet fundamental obligations of NCAA membership.”

To Florida A&M’s lack of control, the NCAA says it identified five different ways it failed. From the report:

The committee found the university lacked control in five ways when it failed to adequately monitor and control the athletics certification process; properly apply academic certification legislation; sufficiently involve staff members outside the athletics department in the certification of student-athletes; withhold ineligible student-athletes from travel and competition; and detect and report the violations.

Florida A&M faces a $5,000 fine plus 3% of its total athletic budget as part of the NCAA’s punishment. The university also faces recruiting restrictions, a reduction in scholarships for football, basketball, track and field and volleyball, as well as a vacation of records in which student-athletes competed while ineligible.

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