NCAA wants Notre Dame to vacate 2012 and 2013 wins because of academic violations

The NCAA’s hitting Notre Dame football with a range of sanctions for academic misconduct in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Those sanctions include vacating wins in which ineligible players participated.

Previously, Notre Dame had suspended cornerback KeiVarae Russell, wide receiver DaVaris Daniels, linebacker Kendall Moore, defensive end Ishaq Williams, and safety Eilar Hardy during the 2014 season because of this investigation.

At least one of those players participated in each of ND’s games from 2012 and 2013, meaning every win from those seasons would be gone, if the NCAA’s sanction were to stand.

2012 was the year in which the Irish reached the BCS Championship, and 2013 was a 9-4 season, so there is kind of a lot of wins at stake here. Vacating all those wins would mean ND’s records in those seasons would be 0-1 (with nothing but a blowout loss to Bama) and 0-4, officially.

The Irish are also now on probation through November 2017, meaning any sanctions rising from violations committed between now and then would be more severe. The former trainer involved in the academic escapades is essentially barred from working for an NCAA school’s athletic department for the next two years.

Let’s check in with the head coach:

Notre Dame plans to appeal the wins thing, saying in part:

The NCAA has never before vacated the records of an institution that had no involvement in the underlying academic misconduct, and the membership has since voted to change the rule that brought this case within NCAA jurisdiction.

The penalty was based on misconduct by a former student who participated in the University’s student trainer program. She wrote papers for student-athletes, which was obviously unauthorized academic assistance. The University discovered the academic misconduct in 2014, and then addressed that misconduct through its honor code process. As a result, Notre Dame retroactively lowered grades of three student athletes who received improper assistance from the former student, giving them no academic credit that was not honestly earned.

The NCAA’s release:

A former University of Notre Dame 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.

This case was resolved through the summary disposition process, a cooperative effort during which the involved parties collectively submit the case to the Committee on Infractions in written form. The NCAA enforcement staff, university and involved individuals must agree to the facts and overall level of the case to use this process instead of a formal hearing. The panel reviewing the case held an expedited penalty hearing because the university did not agree with one of the penalties.

During two academic years, the former student trainer and two football student-athletes engaged in academic misconduct when the former student trainer completed coursework for the student-athletes. These student-athletes, in addition to a third football student-athlete, also committed academic misconduct individually. The university determined the three student-athletes violated its academic integrity policies. The misconduct resulted in the student-athletes playing while ineligible — one student-athlete during the 2012-13 season and the other two student-athletes during the 2013-14 season.

The former student trainer also provided impermissible academic assistance to six additional football student-athletes in a total of 18 classes. She provided the assistance while she attended the university and a year after she graduated. Two of the student-athletes violated the university’s academic integrity policies. The remaining four student-athletes were not enrolled at the time the violations were discovered, so they were not subject to the university’s policies.

The panel found the former student trainer violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when she committed academic misconduct and provided the impermissible academic extra benefits. She signed documents outlining that she should not complete academic work for student-athletes, but the panel noted she provided the assistance and did not ask the university’s compliance representatives if her actions would violate university and NCAA rules.

Penalties prescribed by the panel include the following:

Public reprimand and censure for the university.

One year of probation from Nov. 22, 2016, through Nov. 21, 2017.

A two-year show-cause order for the former student trainer from Nov. 22, 2016, through Nov. 21, 2018. During that time, any NCAA member school that hires her in an athletically related position must appear with her before a Committee on Infractions panel.

A disassociation of the former student trainer from the university’s athletics program from Nov. 22, 2016, through Nov. 21, 2018. During this period, the university may not accept assistance in the recruitment of prospects or support of student-athletes from the former student trainer; may not accept donations to the athletics program from the former student trainer; may not extend athletics benefits or privilege to the former student trainer that is not generally available to the public; and must ensure the former student trainer is not involved in the university’s athletics program.

A vacation of all records in which student-athletes participated while ineligible during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 football seasons.

A $5,000 fine.

And here’s the even fuller document on how the decisions were reached, and so forth, which includes the following:

The NCAA uses its power to adjust its own record books as one of several punishment tools, most famously in such cases as USC’s 2005 national championship and Heisman Trophy.