NCAA Case
10/6/2021 4:07:00 PM | Athletics Department
According to a decision released by a NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions on September 30, 2021, Mercer University's women's cross-country program committed recruiting violations. Additionally, the former women's cross-country and track and field head coach violated head coach responsibility rules, while a former assistant coach violated ethical conduct rules. As a result of these violations, the Committee found that Mercer failed to monitor its women's cross-country program.
The violations in this case occurred when an international prospect arrived in 2018 in Macon, Georgia, where she lived and trained with the team prior to her planned enrollment in January 2019, at the suggestion of the former assistant coach. During that time, the Committee found that the former head coach and assistant coach arranged for or provided $1,383.00 in improper recruiting inducements, including cost-free travel and housing, team gear, tickets to home football games and lodging to attend an out-of-town cross-country competition. The prospect later competed and received expenses while ineligible after she enrolled at Mercer in the spring semester. In addition, the Committee found that the prospect participated in several workouts with the team prior to her enrollment arranged by or supervised by the former head coach and former assistant coach that were determined to be impermissible tryouts. In its decision, the Committee acknowledged that Mercer quickly uncovered the initial violation due to the institution's processes and education in place and applauded its initial compliance efforts. The Committee found that Mercer's compliance department informed the former assistant coach that such workouts were impermissible and subsequently self-reported the violation after admonishing the assistant coach after the first practice in which the prospect participated.  However, the Committee found that the assistant coach continued to allow the prospect to attend practices for another two weeks before individually training with the prospect and arranging for her to practice with current and former student-athletes outside of formal practices. Because each observed the prospect at multiple practices, the Committee found that the former head coach and former assistant coach had multiple impermissible in-person contacts and evaluations with the prospect.
Approximately a month after the prospect's arrival, two current student-athletes expressed concerns to Mercer's compliance department that the prospect was living with them cost-free at the former assistant coach's direction, and the Committee found that Mercer then met with the prospect for the first time, who acknowledged her living arrangements with the student-athletes in Macon had been cost-free. The Committee acknowledged that Mercer informed the prospect that she would need to pay rent to the students with whom she was living but found that the institution also agreed to provide her with a hotel room by means of an official visit. The Committee determined that Mercer did not contact the Southern Conference or the NCAA to inquire about whether the official visit arrangement would be permissible. Despite learning of the problematic conduct, the Committee found that Mercer did not self-report any additional violations until June 2019, at which point the prospect had enrolled and competed in the spring and subsequent fall terms. In its June 2019 self-report to the NCAA, Mercer noted that it had conducted an internal investigation and concluded that the prospect ultimately paid for her lodging. However, during the NCAA enforcement staff's investigation, the former assistant coach acknowledged that he had directed the prospect and student-athletes to be dishonest if asked about the prospect's stay. Â
The Committee concluded that the assistant coach violated NCAA ethical conduct rules because he knowingly provided impermissible inducements to the prospect and instructed the prospect and other student-athletes to provide false or misleading information during Mercer's investigation. The Committee also concluded that the former head coach violated head coach responsibility rules because he was personally involved in or knew about the violations, failed to report the issues to Mercer's compliance department and failed to monitor his staff's involvement. As a result of the foregoing, the Committee concluded that Mercer failed to monitor its women's cross-country program because it found that the institution did not adequately gather facts, address the prospect's continued presence on campus or report additional violations in a timely manner.
The Committee classified the case as Level I-standard for Mercer, Level I-aggravated for the former assistant coach, and Level II-standard for the former head coach and prescribed Mercer three years of probation including the following core penalties for a Level I-standard violation in its women's cross-country and track and field programs:Â
• A $5,000 fine plus 1% of the budget for the women's cross-country and women's track and field program budgets (self-imposed).
• A one-year postseason ban for the women's cross-country program, implemented in the 2020-21 academic year (self-imposed).
• A reduction in the total number of scholarships awarded in women's cross-country and women's track and field by 5% during the 2022-23 academic year (self-imposed).
• A reduction in the number of official visits for the women's cross-country and track and field programs by 12.5% and a seven-week ban on unofficial visits during the 2021-22 academic year.
• A 12.5% reduction or a seven-week ban on all recruiting communications for women's cross-country and women's track and field during the 2021-22 academic year.
• A reduction in off-campus recruiting activities by 12.5% and a seven-week ban on off-campus recruiting activities in women's cross-country and women's track and field during the 2021-22 academic year.
• A three-year show-cause order for the former assistant coach.
• A one-year show-cause order for the former head coach.
• A vacation of records of contests in which student-athletes participated while ineligible.
• A seven-day reduction in the women's cross-country playing season (from 144 days) during the 2021-22 academic year (self-imposed).
A link to the Committee on Infractions' decision is located here.
