Additionally, the program will be on probation for the next three years.
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The school has 15 days to notify the NCAA of an appeal.
Brown, whose teams at Kansas and UCLA also were hit with NCAA sanctions, is 69-34 in three seasons at SMU. It was reported that an ex-assistant basketball coach assisted junior guard Keith Frazier academically, so that he was eligible to play at the school. An administrative assistant hired by Brown was involved in providing fake information to NCAA and also tried to influence the player to do so. A source said the former basketball administrator did not agree to speak with the NCAA.
Brown, whose programs have been sanctioned three times by the NCAA, learned about the alleged violation from Maligi after it occurred but did not report the issue in a timely fashion and was not clear with NCAA officials about what happened when he was first interviewed.
SMU President Gerald Turner said he was disturbed by the penalties against student-athletes who had “no involvement whatsoever with any of the issues that resulted in violations”.
“As of right now I’m 100 percent committed to SMU”, said McDowell, the Mustangs’ only commit from the 2016 class thus far. At the same time of Frazier’s benching, Malgi, not-coincidentally took a leave of absence. “I wish I could have changed all that”. I truly believe that our program has dedicated itself unwaveringly to the ideals of academic integrity and NCAA compliance. And despite winning a national championship with Kansas’s 1988 Danny and the Miracles club, the Jayhawks were banned from postseason play the following year due to recruiting violations during Brown’s tenure.
SMU is expected to be a preseason Top 25 team and a contender for the American Athletic Conference title. According to an email from an NCAA spokesperson, the university does not have a choice in when the penalty begins and Brown’s suspension will “commence at the start of the 2015-16 basketball season, not including any exhibition games”. As the head coach, he’s in charge of – and responsible for – everything that goes on under his watch and he, of all people, should have known that. Upon learning of the misconduct in 2014, the head basketball coach did not report it to the compliance staff, conference office or enforcement staff for more than a month. Frazier played 27 minutes per game as a sophomore last season, averaging 10 points and four rebounds per game.
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After becoming only the fifth player to win the NCAA individual title and U.S. Amateur in the same year, he chose to return to the Hilltop for his senior year.
