As if the news couldn’t get worse for Missouri residents, the University of Missouri has announced details of the NCAA investigation on it’s basketball program.
According to Dave Matter of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and Jeff Rosen of the Kansas City Star on twitter, the University of Missouri has released the findings of the NCAA investigation into it’s Mens Basketball program.
According to Rosen, “violations include impermissible benefits (two instances) by donors and failure to monitor summer internship program.”
Rosen says that this came as a result of a donor providing athletes with a “reduced rate at a hotel as well as meals and a ride on a recreational boat…” yet another case of a “donor” doing stupid things. When will they learn?
BREAKING: Details to come, but major NCAA violations found in #Mizzou basketball program. Entire 2013-14 season to be vacated.
— Jeff Rosen (@jeff_rosen88) January 13, 2016
Both Matter and Rosen are reporting that Mizzou is imposing their own punishment, by vacating the 2013-2014 season, 2016 postseason ban, as well as what Rosen quotes as being “restrictions on the recruiting activities of the men’s basketball staff”.
These are some pretty stiff penalties for a program that has been struggling for the past few seasons, and has not enjoyed the same level of success that the football program has had in the past 5-10 seasons. Rosen states that nobody currently on staff was at all aware of the violations, which as he states “presumably clears Kim Anderson”.
Dave Matter has a little more information on who the two boosters are, stating this on his twitter feed:
An unnamed former associate head coach (Tim Fuller) assisted in the relocation of a recruit & his mother. Fits the profie of Jakeenan Gant
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) January 13, 2016
This is not a good time to be a Missouri native, as is pointed out by this Arch Authority Staff Writer:
#STLCards - Hacking Scandal#Mizzou - NCAA violations #Rams - Move to LA#STLBlues - Battling the injury bug.
— Sammy Stava (@StavaonSTL) January 13, 2016
Good times here in the Lou.
The shame in all of this, is that it didn’t even result in the landing of a top recruit or long standing success. Instead, Mizzou has been largely irrelevant in the college basketball world lately. Now, this is likely going to set the program back even farther, not good for a program that already struggles to land top recruits and doesn’t have the advantage that your big name programs have.