In addition to the violations to the men’s basketball program, SMU’s golf program committed multiple violations.
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If the NCAA determines there was a lack of control of the program by head coach Larry Brown, the Hall of Famer could be suspended for a few games in the upcoming season.
In a press conference this afternoon, SMU president R. Gerald Turner and athletic director Rick Hart backed Larry Brown and said they want him to continue as head coach at the university.
For both violations, the school has been placed on probation for three years and fined $5,000, plus one percent of the total budget for the basketball and golf teams.
At least that’s what the journeyman head coach said in a statement released by SMU on Tuesday afternoon, in the wake of the NCAA’s sanctions against the Mustangs program. Brown also will have to attend a regional rules seminar over the next two years, according to Goodman. The school also will be hit with nine scholarship losses over the next three years, although SMU was two below the limit this past season.
SMU stated it will review “the full report to determine if the University will appeal any findings and/or penalties”. Brown himself will be suspended for the first nine games of the season. These sanctions represent a major step back for Brown and SMU and it looks like they will have a lot of work to do, again, to get the program back on track.
A postseason ban this season would come at a particularly bad time. After the student was enrolled, a former administrative assistant completed all of the player’s coursework.
The NCAA alleges that Malgi worked around compliance measures to ensure that guard Keith Frazier would be eligible for his freshman season in 2015-16.
SMU may appeal the decision, officials said.
Brown denied that he was aware of the situation while the violations were taking place. Still, the NCAA said, Brown did not report the misconduct upon learning of it in 2014 for more than a month, and the NCAA alleged Brown was not initially truthful when asked about potential violations. Other punishments include the reduction of off-campus recruiting by 20 days and contact with recruits.
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“Now, this might sound so silly, when all these allegations are read, and when (enforcement staff) was basically taking the position I didn’t do the right thing, I can’t argue with that”, Brown said, according to the NCAA. We know that. But it’s certainly beginning to appear that whenever an SMU athletics program is on the verge of a national breakthrough, it’s also likely on the verge of NCAA sanctions.
