Mississippi State slapped with NCAA sanctions for academic misconduct

The Mississippi State football and men’s basketball teams have been hit with penalties by the NCAA for academic misconduct. The Bulldogs will forfeit games, reduce their scholarships, and be placed on probation along with various other NCAA penalties.

Heading into 2019, the Mississippi State football and men’s basketball teams team are being sanctioned by the NCAA after being accused of academic misconduct.

According to the NCAA, a former Mississippi State student and part-time tutor committed academic misconduct by aiding 10 MSU football players and an MSU basketball player with an online chemistry course.

The NCAA and Mississippi State agree that the tutor completed assignments, exams, and in some cases, “nearly the entire course” for those athletes. And now, the Bulldogs are “accepting full responsibility,” according to a statement by Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen.

“Our staff at Mississippi State was proactive in our preventative measures, quick to respond, and worked in full cooperation with the NCAA enforcement staff. With all of the compliance training that our staff and student-athletes go through on a year-round basis, it is unfortunate that a student serving as a part-time tutor was able to lead our student-athletes astray. Nevertheless, we take full responsibility for these actions. Mississippi State will work diligently to continue a culture of compliance and continue to take proactive measures moving forward.”

The Bulldogs and the NCAA agreed to a resolution in which the Mississippi State football team will be hit with the following penalties:

• A fine of $5,000, plus 1 percent each of the football and men’s basketball budgets.
• A reduction of two football scholarships during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years.
• A reduction of four football official visits from the program’s four-year average of 40 visits during the 2019-20 academic year.
• A prohibition of football unofficial visits during one home contest for the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years.
• A reduction of football evaluation days by two in the fall 2019 and 10 in spring 2020.

The Mississippi State basketball team was hit with the following penalties:

• A reduction of one men’s basketball scholarship during the 2020-21 academic year.
• A reduction of two men’s basketball official visits from the program’s four-year average of 10 visits during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 rolling two-year period.
• A prohibition of men’s basketball unofficial visits during two home contests for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years.
• A reduction of men’s basketball recruiting-person days by six in the spring of 2020.

The Bulldogs will be on probation for three years and must vacate records in which the student-athletes competed while ineligible. The involved players must also complete “one rules education session on the consequences of academic misconduct,” according to the NCAA.

The former tutor has been hit with a 10-year-long show clause.

You can read the full statement by the NCAA here. Mississippi State’s statements on the incident are here. The full negotiated resolution between the NCAA and Mississippi State is available here.