The NCAA Committee on Infractions issued its report regarding rules violations within Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball program on Thursday. The report follows a two-year investigation conducted by the Georgia Tech and the NCAA.
Georgia Tech was charged with three violations of NCAA rules:
That former assistant men’s basketball coach Darryl LaBarrie facilitated impermissible recruiting contact between a prospective student-athlete and a representative of the institution’s athletic interests during the prospective student-athlete’s official paid visit at multiple locations, including an adult entertainment establishment. The contact resulted in the prospective student-athlete and a Georgia Tech men’s basketball student-athlete who served as host on the visit approximately $664 in impermissible recruiting inducements and benefits.
That LaBarrie violated the NCAA principles of ethical conduct and responsibility to cooperate when he provided false or misleading information to the institution and/or NCAA enforcement staff and attempted to influence the men’s basketball student-athlete involved in the incident to provide false or misleading information to the institution and/or NCAA enforcement staff.
That Ron Bell, who the NCAA determined to be a representative of the institution’s athletics interests, provided and/or arranged for approximately $2,424 in impermissible benefits to two Georgia Tech men’s basketball student-athletes and a men’s basketball student-athlete from another institution, and that additionally, Bell impermissibly contacted the men’s basketball student-athlete from another institution via text messages and phone calls.
The NCAA acknowledged several mitigating factors, including:
Georgia Tech’s prompt acknowledgement of the violations, acceptance of responsibility and imposition of meaningful corrective measures and/or penalties;
Georgia Tech’s compliance office conducting further investigation after learning of the violations, which resulted in the institution declaring three men’s basketball student-athletes ineligible;
Georgia Tech’s established history of self-reporting NCAA rules violations.
Aggravating factors included:
the first two violations being identified as Level I violations;
Georgia Tech’s history of major violations;
a person of authority (LaBarrie) condoning, participating in or negligently disregarding violations or wrongful conduct;
violations causing ineligibility for three student-athletes.
“As athletics director and an alumnus, I regret and I am embarrassed that these violations occurred at Georgia Tech and agree with the NCAA that these actions have no place in collegiate athletics,” Georgia Tech director of athletics Todd Stansbury said. “In the two years since I have been back as athletics director, I have been committed to NCAA rules compliance and ethical behavior as an integral part of our culture at Georgia Tech as I have throughout my entire career. We took swift action when we learned of these rules violations and cooperated fully with the NCAA investigation. As part of this two-year process, we have reiterated throughout our organization that violations of NCAA rules will not be tolerated and have implemented a series of additional educational measures and reviews within our standard processes that emphasize our commitment to complying with NCAA rules.
Prior to its hearing with the Committee on Infractions in August, Georgia Tech self-imposed the following penalties and corrective actions:
Penalties
· Withholding student-athletes from competition for a total of 11 games and not allowing two student-athletes to participate in Georgia Tech’s season-opening trip to China in November 2017;
· Employment separation from Darryl LaBarrie (Dec. 12, 2017);
· Disassociating from LaBarrie for a period of three years;
· Permanent disassociation from Bell;
· Prohibiting its men’s basketball staff from engaging the representative of the institution’s athletic interests involved in violation No. 1 in recruiting activities for a period of one year;
· Reducing official visits for the men’s basketball program by eight: four during the two-year period from 2017-18 through 2018-19 and four during the two-year period 2018-19 through 2019-20 (the program was restricted to no more than 24 official visits during each two-year period);
· Reducing recruiting person days by 14 for the 2018-19 cycle;
· Verbal and written admonishment for head coach Josh Pastner;
· A fine of $5,000.
Corrective Measures (put in place upon learning of allegations in fall 2017)
Enhanced rules education concerning official visits for both student-athletes and men’s basketball staff;
Enhanced head coach review of activities with prospective student-athletes and student-athlete hosts during and following official visits;
Pre-travel review of official travel parties;
Post-travel review of trip expenses;
Travel letter for all donors participating in away travel with official travel parties;
Men’s basketball/compliance review of travel during vacation periods, including review of any travel and related expense source(s).
In addition to the Institute’s self-imposed penalties and corrective measures, the NCAA levied the following penalties:
Four years of probation from Sept. 26, 2019 through Sept. 25, 2023;
A postseason ban for the 2019-20 season;
A fine of two percent of the men’s basketball budget (in addition to the self-imposed $5,000 fine);
A scholarship reduction of seven percent (or one grant-in-aid) during each year of probation (specifically, GT men’s basketball is limited to no more than 12 men’s basketball scholarships during the 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years);
Recruiting restrictions during each year off probation, including an eight-week ban on unofficial visits, a three-visit reduction from the permissible number of official visits, an eight-week ban on recruiting communications and a 19-day reduction on number of recruiting-person days;
Prohibition from scheduling official visits in conjunction with home men’s basketball competitions during the first two years of probation;
Vacation of team and individual records from the beginning of the 2016-17 season through November 19, 2017 (a total vacation of 22 wins);
Disassociation with former Georgia Tech men’s basketball student-athlete involved in the first violation for a period of three years.
“While we regret that these violations have occurred and appreciate the NCAA Committee on Infractions’ work on this case, we are disappointed with the severity of the penalties imposed, some of which will have a direct and unfair impact on current student-athletes,” Stansbury said. “We are exploring our options and giving serious consideration on whether to appeal some aspects of the decision.”
Georgia Tech was charged with three violations of NCAA rules:
That former assistant men’s basketball coach Darryl LaBarrie facilitated impermissible recruiting contact between a prospective student-athlete and a representative of the institution’s athletic interests during the prospective student-athlete’s official paid visit at multiple locations, including an adult entertainment establishment. The contact resulted in the prospective student-athlete and a Georgia Tech men’s basketball student-athlete who served as host on the visit approximately $664 in impermissible recruiting inducements and benefits.
That LaBarrie violated the NCAA principles of ethical conduct and responsibility to cooperate when he provided false or misleading information to the institution and/or NCAA enforcement staff and attempted to influence the men’s basketball student-athlete involved in the incident to provide false or misleading information to the institution and/or NCAA enforcement staff.
That Ron Bell, who the NCAA determined to be a representative of the institution’s athletics interests, provided and/or arranged for approximately $2,424 in impermissible benefits to two Georgia Tech men’s basketball student-athletes and a men’s basketball student-athlete from another institution, and that additionally, Bell impermissibly contacted the men’s basketball student-athlete from another institution via text messages and phone calls.
The NCAA acknowledged several mitigating factors, including:
Georgia Tech’s prompt acknowledgement of the violations, acceptance of responsibility and imposition of meaningful corrective measures and/or penalties;
Georgia Tech’s compliance office conducting further investigation after learning of the violations, which resulted in the institution declaring three men’s basketball student-athletes ineligible;
Georgia Tech’s established history of self-reporting NCAA rules violations.
Aggravating factors included:
the first two violations being identified as Level I violations;
Georgia Tech’s history of major violations;
a person of authority (LaBarrie) condoning, participating in or negligently disregarding violations or wrongful conduct;
violations causing ineligibility for three student-athletes.
“As athletics director and an alumnus, I regret and I am embarrassed that these violations occurred at Georgia Tech and agree with the NCAA that these actions have no place in collegiate athletics,” Georgia Tech director of athletics Todd Stansbury said. “In the two years since I have been back as athletics director, I have been committed to NCAA rules compliance and ethical behavior as an integral part of our culture at Georgia Tech as I have throughout my entire career. We took swift action when we learned of these rules violations and cooperated fully with the NCAA investigation. As part of this two-year process, we have reiterated throughout our organization that violations of NCAA rules will not be tolerated and have implemented a series of additional educational measures and reviews within our standard processes that emphasize our commitment to complying with NCAA rules.
Prior to its hearing with the Committee on Infractions in August, Georgia Tech self-imposed the following penalties and corrective actions:
Penalties
· Withholding student-athletes from competition for a total of 11 games and not allowing two student-athletes to participate in Georgia Tech’s season-opening trip to China in November 2017;
· Employment separation from Darryl LaBarrie (Dec. 12, 2017);
· Disassociating from LaBarrie for a period of three years;
· Permanent disassociation from Bell;
· Prohibiting its men’s basketball staff from engaging the representative of the institution’s athletic interests involved in violation No. 1 in recruiting activities for a period of one year;
· Reducing official visits for the men’s basketball program by eight: four during the two-year period from 2017-18 through 2018-19 and four during the two-year period 2018-19 through 2019-20 (the program was restricted to no more than 24 official visits during each two-year period);
· Reducing recruiting person days by 14 for the 2018-19 cycle;
· Verbal and written admonishment for head coach Josh Pastner;
· A fine of $5,000.
Corrective Measures (put in place upon learning of allegations in fall 2017)
Enhanced rules education concerning official visits for both student-athletes and men’s basketball staff;
Enhanced head coach review of activities with prospective student-athletes and student-athlete hosts during and following official visits;
Pre-travel review of official travel parties;
Post-travel review of trip expenses;
Travel letter for all donors participating in away travel with official travel parties;
Men’s basketball/compliance review of travel during vacation periods, including review of any travel and related expense source(s).
In addition to the Institute’s self-imposed penalties and corrective measures, the NCAA levied the following penalties:
Four years of probation from Sept. 26, 2019 through Sept. 25, 2023;
A postseason ban for the 2019-20 season;
A fine of two percent of the men’s basketball budget (in addition to the self-imposed $5,000 fine);
A scholarship reduction of seven percent (or one grant-in-aid) during each year of probation (specifically, GT men’s basketball is limited to no more than 12 men’s basketball scholarships during the 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years);
Recruiting restrictions during each year off probation, including an eight-week ban on unofficial visits, a three-visit reduction from the permissible number of official visits, an eight-week ban on recruiting communications and a 19-day reduction on number of recruiting-person days;
Prohibition from scheduling official visits in conjunction with home men’s basketball competitions during the first two years of probation;
Vacation of team and individual records from the beginning of the 2016-17 season through November 19, 2017 (a total vacation of 22 wins);
Disassociation with former Georgia Tech men’s basketball student-athlete involved in the first violation for a period of three years.
“While we regret that these violations have occurred and appreciate the NCAA Committee on Infractions’ work on this case, we are disappointed with the severity of the penalties imposed, some of which will have a direct and unfair impact on current student-athletes,” Stansbury said. “We are exploring our options and giving serious consideration on whether to appeal some aspects of the decision.”
