Jackson State has been placed on two years probation for recruiting violations, according to a released published Friday by NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions.
Both JSU and the committee agreed “that 34 student-athletes practiced and competed before receiving final certification from the NCAA Eligibility Center.” Because the university did not prevent the violations from occurring, it ultimately agreed “that it failed to monitor its certification process.”
The violations also include an impermissible $300 payment to a football prospect’s godmother by a former member of the internal operations staff. Additionally, the staff member “impermissibly arranged for tutoring to assist the prospect in completing courses needed to be eligible after transferring.”
Considered to be Level II violations by the NCAA, Jackson State’s punishments are as follows:
- Two years of probation.
- A fine of $5,000.
- A 2% reduction in baseball scholarship equivalencies from the annual limit of 11.7 equivalencies during the 2021-22 academic year and a 2.5% reduction in football scholarship equivalencies from the annual limit of 63 equivalencies during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years.
- The football program must serve a one-week ban on unofficial visits in each of January, February, March and April 2021.
- A reduction of four football official paid visits during the 2021-22 academic year.
- The football program must serve a one-week ban of all recruiting communication contacts and off-campus recruiting by the entire football staff with any prospects, including transfers, in each of May and June 2021.
- A vacation of records of contests in which student-athletes participated while ineligible. The university must provide a written report containing the contests impacted to the NCAA media coordination and statistics staff within 14 days of the public release of the decision.
The violations in question occurred before Jackson State announced Deion Sanders as its new head football coach back on Sept. 21.
