Arizona State University's football program will enter a four-year probationary period, pay a fine and have its record vacated after the NCAA found Level I recruiting violations under former coach Herm Edwards' staff The amount of scholarships will be reduced.
The NCAA announced those penalties on Friday, but added that it had split the case so the schools could move forward. The Sun Devils have already fulfilled their self-imposed bowl ban for 2023.
ASU and four former employees reached an agreement with the Committee on Infractions after they were found to have violated hiring rules during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. The NCAA also acknowledged those involved in in-person recruiting, including “recruitment, unacceptable tryouts, and solicitation.” Tampering. ”
Two additional people are protesting through written hearings.
ASU's hiring restrictions limit the amount of time current staff can contact new employees and accommodate visits. Reported by Chris Karpman of SunDevilSource.com.
The NCAA also announced that as part of its investigation, the school has terminated its relationship with the booster involved for five years.
Edwards was found to have violated liability regulations; Karpman added that he received a show-cause penalty. That limits his employment with the NCAA for at least three years. And several people did not cooperate with the investigation. The NCAA and ASU agree that the school, which has been without a permanent athletic director since then-AD Ray Anderson resigned in November, did not adequately oversee its football program. did.
“The COVID-19 dead period rules are not only for the sake of competitive fairness, but also for the safety and well-being of future and enrolled student-athletes and their families,” ASU President Michael Crowe said in a statement. “It was established in 2008.” “ASU is disappointed and embarrassed by the actions of some former football staff members who used a global pandemic to cover up their actions.
“Integrity is a core value in everything we do at Arizona State University, and that includes Sun Devil Athletics,” Crow added. “ASU took swift and decisive action upon learning of the potential violation and fully cooperated with the NCAA from start to finish in a manner described by enforcement staff as 'a model for all institutions to follow.'”
After this hearing, the NCAA is expected to announce its final decision on the incident that led to Edwards' dismissal.
The 2022 layoffs come as the school partes ways with associate head coach, defensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator Antonio Pierce, offensive coordinator Zach Hill, and assistants Prentiss Gill, Chris Hawkins, and Adam Brenneman. It continued.
Pierce is one of two people protesting the incident. Mr. Karpman reports.
“From the level of penalties imposed and the committee’s comments, it is clear that ASU’s conduct during the investigation and its culture of compliance helped reduce the university’s penalties, which were undoubtedly significantly higher and We were able to reduce penalties that would have affected us for years,” James Rand, senior vice president and interim ASU athletics director, said in the release.
According to the NCAA, the individuals who agreed with NCAA enforcement staff about the findings either agreed to or did not contest show cause orders barring them from participating in college athletics for three to 10 years.
“Arizona State's cooperation in the investigation and handling of this incident has been exemplary, and that cooperation began with the leadership shown by the university's president,” said John F., executive director of athletic compliance at the University of Oklahoma and chair of the Committee on Violations. Inquisitor Jason Leonard said. . “The school's decision to accept responsibility and impose meaningful core penalties on its own is a model that all schools should follow and is consistent with the expectations of the NCAA's offending programs.”
