Report: 53 universities cited for major rules violations


According to a recently released report from Inside Higher Ed, 53 of the 120 universities in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) were found to have committed major rules violations by the NCAA’s Division 1 Committee on Infractions, from 2001 to 2010.

Over the past decade, the numbers of violations committed by major universityies, as determined by the COI, has doubled, as outlined in the report.

Some experts, as a result, have raised concerns over the increasing academic violations within collegiate athletic departments.

“We’re admitting more people who really don’t belong there” Gene A. Marsh, a retired University of Alabama law professor told Inside Higher Ed, “and [were] spending millions on academic support to keep them there.”

In the report, the NCAA found there was a “lack of institutional control” at 14 different universities from 2001-2010.

The “lack of institutional control” label is considered one of the most serious violations, suggesting that an athletic department doesn’t have the forceful policies needed to oversea whether coaches, players and other officials comply with NCAA rules.USC was similarly penalized in June of 2010, stemming from the inelgibility of two former student-athletes Reggie Bush (football) and O.J. Mayo (basketball.).

If academic violations continue it might eventually prompt the NCAA to change its eligibility rules, lowering the minimum academic requirements for freshman, and give penalties to teams and colleges whose athletes don’t make consistent progress toward a degree.