NCAA Shows Cal Poly Who is Boss

[theboardref]

Cal Poly hit with major NCAA sanctions — and it could lose its one March Madness berth

The Cal Poly athletics department is facing major sanctions at the hands of the NCAA — including having to vacate wins and postseason participation over a three-and-a-half year period — for providing improper stipends to help students pay for textbooks.

The university will also be placed on probation for two years and pay a self-imposed $5,000 fine.

Among the wins that could be vacated? The 2014 Big West men’s basketball championship that sent the Mustangs to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. That berth falls within the timeline of when violations occurred, meaning it could be scrubbed from the record books.

The NCAA found that the $800 stipends given to athletes was not equal to the actual cost of course-related books purchased and that Cal Poly failed to monitor its book stipend program.

Cal Poly maintains that the violation was an inadvertent error, saying in a news release Thursday that it self-reported to the NCAA when the error was discovered by the Cal Poly Athletics Compliance staff. The university said it submitted a report to the NCAA in August 2017 detailing the facts and self-imposed penalties.

“Cal Poly has cooperated in every way with the NCAA throughout this process that began in 2015,” Cal Poly Athletic Director Don Oberhelman said in the release. “There was never an intent to violate NCAA rules, and when we discovered the issue, we self-reported it to the NCAA.”

The baseball team’s NCAA playoff appearances from 2013 and 2014 could be vacated thanks to the ruling.

The committee said Cal Poly “lacked a fundamental understanding of NCAA rules about book stipends. ... The university mistakenly treated the book stipend in the same manner as room and board stipends, which are used by student-athletes as they see fit to cover off-campus living expenses. Instead, NCAA rules require book stipends equal the exact cost of the books required for coursework.”

The committee did not believe the university broke the long-standing rule on purpose but said, “There is no ambiguity in the wording of the legislation and thus no room for misinterpretation. Cal Poly simply failed to abide by this rule.”

Other notable postseason appearances by Cal Poly teams that could be wiped away include:

▪ The football team’s 2012 FCS second-round playoff appearance.

▪ The women’s basketball team’s NCAA tournament berth in 2013 and NIT appearance in 2014.

▪ The men’s soccer team’s 2015 NCAA tournament appearance.

You show them NCAA!

 

[trojanfan12]

Giving them too much money for books as if they're students first?

Clearly, they've lost control of the department.

The entire Athletic Department needs to be shut down before these kids start showing up to class.

 

[theboardref]

Giving them too much money for books as if they're students first?

Clearly, they've lost control of the department.

The entire Athletic Department needs to be shut down before these kids start showing up to class.

And to think all they had to do is have fake classes like UNC and they wouldn’t have even had to pay for their books.

 

[olympicoscar]

This could lead to graduation for the students and then the school would get the death penalty.

 

[Deep Creek]

And to think all they had to do is have fake classes like UNC and they wouldn’t have even had to pay for their books.

"The NCAA was so pissed of at North Carolina that they put Cal Poly on probation for years."

 

[theboardref]

How many school’s have done so much worse and nothing happen? This is disgraceful. The NCAA should be ashamed. Then this school not only cooperated, but self imposed sanctions. Over freaking over paying for books!

 

[BamaDude]

That pretty much sucks, especially if the NCAA is over-estimating the number of student athletes who may have "benefitted" from the over-payments. It was not really the athlete's fault. However, the school should have known the rule & not just estimated its parameters.

 

[Diego Roll Tide]

It was especially demeaning when the NCAA rep concluded handing the sentence with (in his best parrot) “Cal Poly want a cracker?”

 

[Srini]

That's pretty much par for the course for those win-at-all-costs sports factories like Cal Poly.

 

[Diego Roll Tide]

That's pretty much par for the course for those win-at-all-costs sports factories like Cal Poly.

Next up are Rice, RPI, and Mt. Holyoke.

 

[jjc2009]

They have no problem showing the Cleveland State’s of the world who’s boss but the big boys get to do what they want.

 

[trojanfan12]

They have no problem showing the Cleveland State’s of the world who’s boss but the big boys get to do what they want.

This was not our experience. - USC

 

[steelerssb]

Who snitched?

 

[steelerssb]

 

[Camfantasy]

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Glad they caught this before it got out of hand

The programs of Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Clemson etc. would have no chance against Cal Poly on the recruiting trail with this unfair advantage of excessive book aide