SFA Director of Athletics Gives Details Concerning NCAA Penalties

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.