NCAA sanctions women's basketball, puts Miami Hurricanes Athletics Department on one year probation

The Miami Hurricanes and the NCAA announced a negotiated resolution today related to an NIL investigation that involved women’s basketball coach Katie Meier. More specifically, per SI’s Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger, it related to Miami NIL dealmaker John Ruiz contacting the Cavinder twins, Haley and Hanna, and providing a meal that is not allowed per NCAA rules.

This is the NCAA’s first infractions case related to NIL, and it’s a relatively mild penalty. Miami already had suspended Meier earlier in the season, and Miami women’s basketball will also have recruiting restrictions imposed.

The other negotiated penalty here was the Hurricanes’ athletic department “will be placed on one year probation.”

A Miami athletics department source told CaneSport that as it relates to the above and if that means football is under the umbrella of programs under probation that “Miami Athletics is under a one year probation – football program is part of Miami Athletics but clearly this is not sports specific. It would be inaccurate to say Miami football is on a one year probation. Miami Athletics is, as a whole.”

The NCAA also put out a release regarding the violation, apparently regarding Ruiz.

Part of that release?

“Though the panel ultimately approved the negotiated resolution, it was troubled by the limited nature and severity of the agreed-upon penalties — namely, the absence of a disassociation of the involved booster. In approving the decision, the panel also provided cautionary guidance to the NCAA membership.”

In the end, here are the totality of the Miami penalties:

• One year of probation.
• A $5,000 fine plus 1% of the women’s basketball budget.
• A 7% reduction in the number of official visits in women’s basketball during the 2022-23 academic year.
• A reduction of nine recruiting-person days in women’s basketball during the 2022-23 academic year.
• A three-week prohibition against recruiting communications by women’s basketball staff beginning with the open date of the Transfer Portal (from March 13 through April 2, 2023).
• A 10% suspension (three games total) for the head coach, served during the first three contests for the 2022-23 season.

NCAA RELEASE REGARDING VIOLATION

The Miami (Florida) women’s basketball head coach violated NCAA rules when she facilitated impermissible contact between two prospects and a booster, according to an agreement released by the Division I Committee on Infractions. In facilitating the contact, the head coach also violated rules on publicity before signing and, because of her direct involvement, she violated head coach responsibility rules. 

The head coach met the booster at a university event for administrators, staff, donors and potential donors. Although the head coach did not personally know the booster, she was aware that he was a prominent businessman and involved in name, image and likeness activities with student-athletes at the school.  At the event, the booster and his family approached the coach to talk about the prospects’ upcoming visit to the university. The head coach later called the booster to learn more about him and his work, unaware that the booster had already been in touch with the prospects’ agent, until the booster informed the coach that the prospects’ agent had initially declined a meeting during their upcoming visit to campus. Regardless, the booster informed the head coach that he was “here to help” and wanted women’s basketball to be “huge” at Miami.  

The university, head coach and enforcement staff agreed that the head coach asked an assistant coach to contact the prospects and let them know that the booster was a legitimate businessperson, and the prospects agreed to meet with him. The head coach then notified the booster that the prospects were willing to meet with him during the visit, and the booster worked with the prospects’ agent to arrange a formal meeting. Ultimately, the prospects and their parents had dinner at the booster’s home. During the visit, the parties did not discuss NIL opportunities, but the booster promoted the school by speaking about his children’s experiences as student-athletes at Miami, and his admiration for the school and the surrounding community.  

The head coach’s involvement in arranging contact between the prospects and a booster violated NCAA recruiting rules. Boosters are not authorized recruiters and cannot have in-person, off-campus contact with prospects, and when the prospects visited the booster’s home, it violated recruiting rules. Similarly, when the booster provided the prospects with a meal, it violated inducement rules.  

The university, head coach and enforcement staff also agreed that the coach’s discussion with the booster about the prospects violated NCAA recruiting rules pertaining to publicity before the recruits signed with the school.

            Finally, the parties agreed that the coach violated head responsibility rules because of her direct involvement in the violations and because she did not consult with the compliance department.  

            This case was processed through the negotiated resolution process. The process was used instead of a formal hearing or summary disposition because the university, enforcement staff and head coach agreed on the violations and the penalties. The Division I Committee on Infractions panel reviewed the case to determine whether the resolution was in the best interests of the Association and whether the agreed-upon penalties were reasonable. Negotiated resolutions may not be appealed and do not set case precedent for other infractions cases.

            Though the panel ultimately approved the negotiated resolution, it was troubled by the limited nature and severity of the agreed-upon penalties — namely, the absence of a disassociation of the involved booster. In approving the decision, the panel also provided cautionary guidance to the NCAA membership. 

“Boosters are involved with prospects and student-athletes in ways the NCAA membership has never seen or encountered. … In that way, addressing impermissible booster conduct is critical, and the disassociation penalty presents an effective penalty available to the Committee on Infractions,” the panel said.

However, because this case was processed prior to Jan. 1, the panel could not presume that activities around NIL resulted in an NCAA violation. The panel also concluded that, given the facts and circumstances in this case, the absence of the dissociation did not render the penalties unreasonable. 

Finally, the panel noted in its decision that because this decision is a negotiated resolution, the penalties do not have precedential value, and the committee will strongly consider disassociation penalties in future cases involving NIL-adjacent conduct. 

The university, enforcement staff and head coach used ranges identified by the Division I membership-approved infractions penalty guidelines to agree upon Level II-mitigated penalties for the university and Level II-mitigated penalties for the head coach. The decision contains the full list of penalties as approved by the Committee on Infractions, including:

• One year of probation.
• A $5,000 fine plus 1% of the women’s basketball budget.
• A 7% reduction in the number of official visits in women’s basketball during the 2022-23 academic year.
• A reduction of nine recruiting-person days in women’s basketball during the 2022-23 academic year.
• A three-week prohibition against recruiting communications by women’s basketball staff beginning with the open date of the Transfer Portal (from March 13 through April 2, 2023).
• A 10% suspension (three games total) for the head coach, served during the first three contests for the 2022-23 season.

Members of the Committee on Infractions are drawn from the NCAA membership and members of the public. The members of the panel who reviewed this case are Gary Miller, chief hearing officer and president at Akron; Dave Roberts, special advisor to Southern California; and Cassandra Kirk, chief magistrate judge in Fulton County, Georgia.

OFFICIAL MIAMI HURRICANES RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, February 24, 2023

Statement from University of Miami on NCAA Negotiated Resolution:

“Today, the NCAA Committee on Infractions and the University of Miami announced a Negotiated Resolution regarding a recruiting violation involving Head Women’s Basketball Coach Katie Meier.

“As a result of the violation, Coach Meier was suspended for the first three regular season games this season, the Department of Athletics will be placed on one year of probation, the women’s basketball program will serve recruiting restrictions, and the institution will pay financial penalties.

“The NCAA enforcement staff conducted a nearly four-month comprehensive investigation across multiple sports, seeking to determine if violations related to NIL had occurred. That investigation included a review of all communications, among other records, between institutional staff members and a representative of the institution’s athletics interests as well as dozens of interviews. Ultimately, the only violation in the case resulted from Coach Meier’s communications with a representative of the institution’s athletics interests. The University, student-athletes, coaches, and administrators cooperated fully with the NCAA enforcement staff throughout the investigation.  

“Coach Meier and the University have accepted responsibility, and this Negotiated Resolution allows us to move forward and is in the best interests of Coach Meier, our student-athletes and our University. However, the University encourages the membership to review NCAA bylaws that have been on the books for decades and may no longer be applicable or realistic in today’s environment. The sanctions that we ultimately agreed to, to bring this to a close, are not commiserate with the violation or its intent. Coach Meier is an outstanding coach, role model, teacher and valued member of the Hurricane Family and we stand fully behind her, her program and our ongoing departmental compliance efforts.”

Statement from Head Coach Katie Meier:

“For over 30 years, I have led my programs with integrity and have been a collaborative partner with the NCAA. Collegiate athletics is in transformation, and any inadvertent mistake I made was prior to a full understanding of implemented guardrails and the clarification issued by the NCAA in May. We all look forward to a time when there is a national solution to help our student-athletes, coaches and institutions. I am happy this matter is resolved as I continue to focus on mentoring and developing our student-athletes and winning games for the University of Miami.”