Ryan Ivey, Director of Athletics for Stephen F. Austin State University has released details concerning the punishments handed down from the NCAA.  Administrative errors resulted in 82 student-athletes being improperly certified for competition over a period of six years, from 2013 to 2019.  As a result, a total of 82 student-athletes competed while ineligible for SFA in the sports of football, men's basketball, baseball, volleyball, softball, women's golf, men's and women's track & field and men's cross country.  The athletics department personnel responsible for the incorrect certifications are no longer a part of SFA Athletics.

According to the release, the sanctions agreed upon by the NCAA and Stephen F. Austin include the following:

  • Three years of probation;
  • Public reprimand and censure;
  • A fine of $5,000 plus one-half of one percent of the total budgets for football and men's basketball;
  • The return of 50 percent of the University's financial share earned from participation in the 2016 NCAA Tournament;
  • The forfeiture of all records and contests in which an ineligible SFA student-athlete competed, which includes 29 football victories from 2013-2019; 117 men's basketball victories from 2014 to 2019; 112 baseball victories from 2015 to 2019; 31 softball victories from the 2018 season; and adjusted conference championship scores from women's golf, women's track and field, men's cross country and men's track and field.
  • Included in the vacation of wins are conference championships in men's basketball in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2017-18, as well as the program's First Round win in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.  The banners recognizing those achievements will be removed from William R. Johnson Coliseum.
  • A 2.5% reduction in financial aid awards (scholarships) in football for 2020-2021 and 2021-2022; a 5% reduction in baseball in either 2020-21 or 2021-2022 and the loss of one scholarship in men's basketball in either 2020-2021 or 2021-22.
  • Prior to the conclusion of the probationary period, the institution will submit to a data review with APP staff.
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