NCAA punishes Syracuse, Jim Boeheim for violations

The NCAA has suspended Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim for nine games and imposed harsh sanctions on his program because of violations involving academic misconduct, extra benefits and the university drug testing policy that occurred under his watch for more than a decade.

A scathing admonishment of one of the nation's most accomplished coaches — a Hall of Famer who ranked second all time in Division I career victories — was laid out in detail throughout the NCAA's 94-page report. It centered primarily on the conduct within the men's basketball program, which will see a reduction of three scholarships in each of the next four seasons and all wins vacated in which an ineligible player participated from 2004 through 2012. Those players competed during five seasons.

In addition, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions imposed two years of recruiting restrictions and ruled that the school must return all funds received from the former Big East Conference revenue-sharing for its appearances in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 NCAA tournaments. The Syracuse football and men's basketball programs were also placed on probation for five years..

Boeheim released a statement saying he was relieved the matter had been decided and took responsibility for violations within his program, but he also expressed disappointment with the NCAA ruling.

"I am disappointed with many of the findings and conclusions as stated in the Infractions Report," Boeheim said. "The Committee chose to ignore the efforts which I have undertaken over the past 37 years to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the Men's Basketball Program. ...

"Much is also made in the Infractions Report regarding alleged academic violations that occurred within the Men's Basketball Program. As the Head Coach of the Program, I demand academic excellence from my student-athletes. However, under NCAA rules, I am not permitted to intervene in academic matters nor am I permitted to review academic work performed by student-athletes. ...

"At this time, however, I will have no further comment on this matter as I consider my options moving forward."

Following a lengthy investigation that dates to the start of the school's probe in 2007, the committee noted that the university violated or ignored the "most fundamental core values" of college sports' governing body.

"Ultimately we have a situation where the desire to achieve success on the basketball court overrides the academic integrity," Britton Banowsky, chief hearing officer in the case and commissioner of Conference USA, said during a teleconference. "It really demonstrated clearly misplaced priorities."

The committee specifically noted that the 70-year-old Boeheim, who will miss the first half of the 2015-16 ACC regular season, failed to "promote an atmosphere of compliance and monitor his staff."

Syracuse chancellor Kent Syverud said in a statement that the university "strongly disagrees" that it failed to maintain institutional control or that Boeheim, who could lose 108 of his 966 career victories if the vacated wins are upheld, was responsible for the rules violations.

After meeting before the committee in October, Syracuse last month self-imposed a postseason ban on its men's basketball team for this season. When asked what effect Syracuse's self-imposed postseason ban had on the committee, Banowsky said, "We noted it and accepted it. That's it."

Students and staff members committed violations freely, the committee said, or did not know that their conduct violated NCAA rules. Many violations were not detected for years. On at least one occasion, the ruling states, a staff member did not report potential academic violations because of concerns of retaliation.

Syracuse self-reported 10 violations. Among the transgressions cited by the committee, which first sent the university a notice of allegations in 2011:

•The NCAA said that Boeheim failed to monitor the director of basketball operations, Stan Kissel, who committed academic violations after being hired by Boeheim to address academic issues within the program.

•In January 2012, Kissel and a men's basketball receptionist violated ethical conduct rules when working to restore the eligibility of a basketball player. The staff members completed coursework for the player.

•The university has acknowledged that in 2004-05 a booster provided two men's basketball and three football players more than $8,000 for volunteering at a local YMCA.

•The NCAA does not require colleges to have drug-testing programs, but if one is adopted, the school is obligated to follow its policy. Syracuse reported to the NCAA that from 2001 to early 2009 it at times failed to follow the written terms of the program regarding players who tested positive for marijuana.

•From 2005 through 2007, the committee said, a part-time tutor and three football players violated NCAA rules when the tutor certified that the student completed the required number of hours for an internship and gave the professor information about the type of activities performed by the students when he had limited knowledge of activities completed. The players received academic credit for misrepresented work, the committee said.

Though Boeheim referenced NCAA rules meetings with compliance staff, the committee said, he operated under assumptions and did not follow up with his staff and students to ensure compliance.

"It's not enough to say I thought they knew the rules and I thought they were following the rules," Banowsky said. "There is a higher level of responsibility that attaches to the head coach because ultimately he or she is responsible."

Syverud said that the university does not agree with all of the conclusions reached by the NCAA and it is weighing whether to appeal portions of the ruling.

"Coach Boeheim may choose to appeal the portions of the decision that impact him personally," Syverud said. "Should he decide to do so, we would support him in this step."

According to an ESPN report, Boeheim will file an appeal.

Syverud added that "we take the report and the issues it identifies very seriously, particularly those that involve academic integrity and the overall well-being of student-athletes."

Syverud noted the length of the investigation, spanning close to eight years with a review of conduct dating to 2001. Hundreds of thousands of documents were reviewed, he said, and hundreds of interviews were conducted.

"We believe the NCAA's investigation of Syracuse University has taken longer than any other investigation in NCAA history," he said. "By comparison, the investigation into the fixing of the 1919 World Series took two months and the 2007 investigation of steroid use in baseball took 21 months."

Banowsky acknowledged it is "really harmful" for NCAA investigations to take so long.

"It is unacceptable, I think, for our membership to have cases that drag on this long," he said.