NCAA upholds sanctions against Mizzou Athletics
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The NCAA announced Tuesday that it is upholding sanctions against the University of Missouri's athletics program in connection with an athlete tutoring scandal.
PowerMizzou.com was the first to report the news. The NCAA released its own statement at 1:00 p.m. stating that all sanctions will be upheld.
Video of a press conference Tuesday afternoon with Mizzou leaders can be watched in the media player below.
In the NCAA's statement, it said that past precedent did not apply in this case, as MU claimed. The NCAA's statement went on to add that a lack of a compliance system in place nullifies MU's claim that early detection would reduce potential penalties.
In a joint statement, MU Chancellor Alexander Cartwright and Athletic Director Jim Sterk said, "Today, about 180 student-athletes who had nothing to do with the actions of one rogue part-time employee will pay a steep price."
Mizzou will hold a news conference at 4:00 p.m. with Sterk and Cartwright in Kansas City. ABC 17 News will livestream the entire press conference on our website.
Mizzou football coach Barry Odom, Mizzou softball coach Larissa Anderson and Mizzou baseball coach Steve Bieser all released statements on the ruling.
The NCAA announced on Jan. 31 that the Missouri football, baseball and softball teams would be banned from postseason play along with other sanctions after an investigation into whether a former tutor completed classwork for 12 athletes.
MU appealed the sanctions in March with a 64-page brief. MU argued in the brief that the penalties were contrary to NCAA precedent, were not supported or appropriate given the nature of the violations and that they could have a "chilling effect" on future enforcement, MU Athletics said in a news release.
The school appeared before an NCAA committee to make its case in July.
Other sanctions include a reduction in official visits, a seven-week recruiting ban and a reduction in scholarships.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement saying, " It is regrettable that so many innocent current Missouri student-athletes across three sports will miss postseason opportunities due to actions for which they were not responsible. Our disappointment related to the application of a postseason ban and the Infractions Appeals Committee’s upholding of the decision after more than four months of deliberations is magnified by recent decisions in other cases with similar fact patterns."
The school has emphasized throughout the process that it reported the violations itself and that they were a result of the actions of "a single, rogue, part-time employee."
The university has paid about $600,000 for lawyers to appeal the NCAA's ruling and established a social media campaign to pressure the NCAA to overturn or ease the penalties.
Numerous current players for the Mizzou football, baseball and softball teams have spoken out on social media about the NCAA's ruling.
Many Mizzou alumnus are upset, including Missouri State Senator Caleb Rowden. He issued a statement on the NCAA's decision.
Gov. Mike Parson also shared his thoughts on social media about the NCAA's decision.
US Senator from Missouri, Roy Blunt, released a statement on the NCAA's ruling.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
