Group of College Athletes Sue NCAA Over Redshirt Rules; seeking “five-for-five” — five full playing seasons over five years
Category: NCAA Rules
[PDF] IRISH NEWSLINK: “UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME PUBLIC INFRACTIONS DECISION, NOVEMBER 22, 2016” – NCAA
“… The agreed-upon violations in this case centered on multiple years of academic violations by a former student athletic trainer and football student-athletes …”
IRISH NEWSLINKS: “A Letter from the [University of Notre Dame] President on the NCAA Infractions Case” – NDedu
“We are deeply disappointed by and strongly disagree with the denial of the University’s appeal, announced today by the NCAA, of an earlier decision by the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions to vacate Notre Dame’s 2012 and 2013 football victories due to academic misconduct by several student-athletes. Our concerns go beyond the particulars of our case and the record of two football seasons to the academic autonomy of our institutions, the integrity of college athletics, and the ability of the NCAA to achieve its fundamental purpose. I write this letter so that you can understand the underlying facts, the reasons we believe that the NCAA is in error, and how we intend to move forward. …”
IRISH NEWSLINK: “NCAA appeals committee upholds vacation of Notre Dame wins ” – NCAA
“Notre Dame must vacate all records in which football student-athletes participated while ineligible during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 football seasons, according to a decision issued by the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee. In the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions’ decision, the panel found a former Notre Dame athletic training student violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when she committed academic misconduct for two football student-athletes and provided six other football student-athletes with impermissible academic extra benefits. The panel prescribed the vacation of records, along with a probation period and a show-cause order for the former athletic training student. …”
IRISH NEWSLINK: “Brian Kelly Frustrated By Non-Targeting Call At Michigan State” – Blue & Gold Illustrated/Rivals
IRISH VIDEO: Brian Kelly Tuesday Press Conference; Southern Cal Preview and Reaction to NCAA Sanctions Against Notre Dame
BrianKelly meets with reporters on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016, as Notre Dame prepares for their road game at Southern Cal. Notre Dame also is reacting to the NCAA’s announcement of wide-ranging sanctions against Notre Dame in connection with an academic cheating scandal. If the sanctions hold, Notre Dame will vacate their wins from their 2012 run to the BCS title game as well as from 2013.
IRISH NEWSWATCH: “NCAA: Notre Dame Must Vacate Wins After Academic Misconduct” – AP
“Brian Kelly’s worst season at Notre Dame took an embarrassing turn … the NCAA announced that academic misconduct orchestrated by a student athletic trainer will cost the storied program all 21 victories from the 2012-13 seasons, including the 12-0 run that vaulted the Fighting Irish into the national championship game against Alabama. … just the fourth time the NCAA has cited Notre Dame for a major rules violation. … The school ripped the NCAA for its decision to vacate the wins and immediately said it would appeal. … The Division I Committee on Infractions panel also put Notre Dame on probation for a year and ordered a $5,000 fine, penalties the school agreed with. There were no bowl or scholarship punishments. … Kelly … said he doesn’t believe he has any culpability in the case and has no reason to believe he won’t be back as Notre Dame’s coach next season. …”
Click here for AP/Tom Coyne: “NCAA: Notre Dame Must Vacate Wins After Academic Misconduct”
IRISH NEWSLINK USA Today: “Notre Dame must vacate football wins after academic violations by trainer”
“Notre Dame will be forced to vacate victories in the 2012 and 2013 football season due to NCAA violations by a student-trainer.
The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions panel ruled the trainer violated ethical conduct rules when she committed academic misconduct for two football players by completing their coursework. The two players and another also committed individual academic misconduct, and Notre Dame ruled they violated the school’s academic integrity policy.
The student-trainer also provided six other players with impermissible academic extra benefits in a total of 18 classes. …”
IRISH NEWSLINK: NCAA News Release: “Former Notre Dame student trainer acted unethically, committed academic misconduct”
“A former University of #NotreDame student athletic trainer violated #NCAA ethical conduct rules when she committed academic misconduct for two football student-athletes and provided six other #football student-athletes with impermissible academic extra benefits, according to a Division I Committee on Infractions panel. One additional football student-athlete committed academic misconduct on his own.
The panel prescribed one year of probation, a two-year show-cause order and disassociation for the former student trainer, and a $5,000 fine for the university. During that time, if a member school hires the former student trainer in an athletically related position, she and the school must appear before a Committee on Infractions panel. ….”
IRISH NEWSWATCH: “College Football: Council adjusts bowl selection process” – NCAA 6.29.16
Even if Notre Dame (2-4) does not end up crossing the 6-6 threshold, if the Irish can muster three more wins, they might be able to invoke their high graduation rate to go to a bowl game with a 5-7 record. (From NCAA.com, June 29, 2016:)
… all bowl-eligible teams with 6-6 records must be selected for a bowl game before any teams with a 5-7 record can be considered.
After all bowl-eligible teams are selected, the 5-7 teams – which will be considered alternates – will be deemed eligible in descending order from the highest multiyear Academic Progress Rate in the Football Bowl Subdivision for the most recent reporting year. Those teams will then select the bowl in which they will participate. … Last season, only 77 teams were eligible for the 80 bowl slots by the established criteria. The remaining three slots were filled by 5-7 teams. Those alternate teams (University of Nebraska, Lincoln; University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; and San Jose State University) were selected by the bowls in which they appeared. … The new process will be effective for the 2016-17 bowl season.
Click here for NCAA: “College football: Council adjusts bowl selection process”
[PDF] IRISH NEWSLINK: “2016-17 NCAA Postseason Bowl Handbook”
“Insufficient Number of Deserving Teams … if an insufficient number of institutions meet the definition of a “deserving team” to participate in postseason bowl games in a particular year, an institution that meets a condition set forth below shall be eligible to be selected to participate in such a bowl game. …. 5. An institution that finished its season with a minimum of five wins and a maximum of seven losses but achieved a top-five Academic Progress Rate in the Football Bowl Subdivision for the most recent reporting year. ….”
IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Lack of replay on hit that sidelined Notre Dame WR Torii Hunter Jr. raises questions” – South Bend Tribune Irish Insider
… Texas safety DeShon Elliott delivered a blow to [Torii Hunter, Jr.’s] head as Hunter tried to haul in a DeShone Kizer pass in the end zone. … More stunning than the hit may have been the lack of replay from the officiating crew. Even though a targeting penalty wasn’t initially called on the field, the replay official could have overruled officials on the field. The NCAA rulebook … states the replay official ‘may create a targeting foul, but only in egregious instance in which a foul is not called by the officials on the field. Such a review may not be initiated by a coach’s challenge.’ … [Notre Dame Head Coach] Brian Kelly … described his discussions with the officials as ‘heated’ …. on-field officials never signaled that replay official Richard Jordan had called the play under review. ‘It wasn’t even reviewed, which just doesn’t make any sense to me,’ Kelly said. ‘I’ve been in this game a long time, and I know when somebody gets hit in the head. He certainly was hit in the head on that play in the end zone. It’s just unfortunate that it wasn’t officiated or reviewed in a manner that I thought it should have been.’
Click here for South Bend Tribune Irish Insider: “Lack of replay on hit that sidelined Notre Dame WR Torii Hunter Jr. raises questions”