Schools involved in NCAA rule violation cases could avoid being banned from postseason play if they show “exemplary cooperation” with investigators, as per a proposal presented to the NCAA Division I Council.
The NCAA revealed on Thursday that the proposal would clarify the definition of “exemplary cooperation” and how it affects potential penalties.
According to the NCAA, this would mean that most schools would no longer face a postseason ban. The new policy would come into effect on August 1 if approved by the council in June.
“Full cooperation is already expected from all members of our association,” stated Geoffrey S. Mearns, president of Ball State University and head of the committee behind the proposal.
“By outlining specific ways institutions can demonstrate exemplary cooperation and providing clear incentives for such cooperation, we aim to speed up the fair resolution of rule violation cases, which is important for all Division I members.”
In recent years, the NCAA’s process for handling rule violations has become increasingly adversarial.
Two years ago, then-NCAA President Mark Emmert expressed concern that investigations into various basketball programs were taking too long under a protocol set up to manage complex cases through the Independent Accountability Review Panel, which has since been put on hold.
Earlier this year, the chancellor of the University of Tennessee criticized the association for investigating the school over potential recruiting rule violations linked to NIL deals between athletes and a booster-supported group.
Soon after, the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia obtained a court order to pause NCAA NIL regulations.
When determining if a school has shown “exemplary cooperation,” the infractions committee will consider factors such as providing all relevant school and personal information that could help the investigation.
Identifying people to be interviewed whom enforcement staff may not know about, dedicating significant resources to speed up gathering information, addressing violations with self-imposed penalties or corrective actions, and reporting violations that may not otherwise be known.
If the infractions committee finds that a school or party has shown exemplary cooperation, it will reduce the severity of the case by one level, resulting in a lesser potential penalty.
For all cases where a school or party, not previously involved in violations, demonstrates exemplary cooperation, the committee will not impose a postseason ban.
