Basketball & Football Probation

[NewsCopy]

LAFAYETTE, La. — La. Lafayette was placed on probation for two years and will lose two basketball scholarships under NCAA sanctions announced Thursday, stemming from a basketball player's correspondence course and the football program's mandatory summer workouts. The head of the NCAA's Division I Infractions Committee said the panel did not find the violations to be intentional. Instead, school officials "failed to catch the obvious error" regarding the correspondence courses and the football staff failed to recognize that its "voluntary program" for football conditioning had gone beyond NCAA limits. As a result of the violations, University of Louisiana will forfeit 90 percent of the first year's money it got from the Sun Belt Conference for playing in the NCAA basketball tournaments in 2004 and 2005 and will forfeit two scholarships — either both in one year or one in each of two years. The records of the school's basketball team in 2003-04 and 2004-05 — including NCAA tournament participation — also will be erased and the school will not be allowed to make any reference to it, the NCAA said. The football team will have its allowable weekly practice hours reduced from 20 hours to 15 hours, either during the current spring semester or in the 2008 spring semester. The NCAA did not disclose the amount of money involved in the revenue forfeiture. University of Louisiana interim athletics director David Walker said in a statement the NCAA report agreed with the university's own findings and the school had accepted the penalties. He said the university was awaiting NCAA certification it already had fulfilled the football practice reduction. The rest of the story

[ulforlife]

SOMEBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME EXACTLY WHAT THIS MEANS

[geo_cajun]

This makes me so sick and angry. Steve Spurrier can be quoted in the newpaper discussing his team's attendance at "voluntary" spring workouts, and nothing. Ohio St. get penalties overturned. And we get stomped on. I wouldn't have such a problem if the NCAA treated everyone the same. They treat all non BCS schools with such disdain, its not just us. I just feel so frustrated because I love this university and I want the best for it, and I know we deserve better.

This also brings up another point, in reading that article in the advertiser (read:bull$%^) I noticed comments which remind me of the attitudes of many in this community. They have this negative, "oh what next" attitude about UL. They know nothing of pride and loyalty in their community. If you live in the Lafayette area, there is no reason not to take your family to a few cajuns games in every sport, they are fun. They say "I want to support a winner" I say support your people and they will be winners. Look at the softball and baseball and women's basketball teams, they are all winners. I have my problems with the administration of this university, but no other university any where can touch our spirit, character, hospitality and culture. And by the way we also have some well respected academic programs. Sorry I was long winded, I hope I made sense.

[BrockMeaux]

I know Jay reported on his show when they first had the meetings that we proposed forfeiting all games played by Greene, paying back a portion of the money earned from the NCAA Tourney berths (I think $20,000?), some reduced practice hours for the football team, and one or two years of probation. As he said it, that would be the minimum that we would be punished with since we proposed it, and that he thought it was a pretty thorough punishment. However, we've been hit with all of that plus the loss of one basketball scholarship in 2008 and 2009. I was fine with our proposed punishment, but I was pretty PO'ed this afternoon when I heard we'd been docked a scholarship as well. Of course, I'm drawing all this from memory so it's far from the gospel, but it's pretty close.

[CajunCherokee]

What does the "2 Years of Probation" mean? Can we participate in postseason activity?

[Turbine]

Potuto said the problem with the conditioning program began when the then-conditioning coach made written reports about which players were attending and football coaches occasionally observed the workouts and tracked attendance.

"Those observations can switch a voluntary activity to a non-voluntary activity," Potuto said.

So wait!

The football team is not being punished for a REAL violations but is being punished because the actions of a trainer COULD have turned into violations.

That is sad.

[BirdofParadise]

_ I know Jay reported on his show when they first had the meetings that we proposed forfeiting all games played by Greene, paying back a portion of the money earned from the NCAA Tourney berths (I think $20,000?), some reduced practice hours for the football team, and one or two years of probation. As he said it, that would be the minimum that we would be punished with since we proposed it, and that he thought it was a pretty thorough punishment. However, we've been hit with all of that plus the loss of one basketball scholarship in 2008 and 2009. I was fine with our proposed punishment, but I was pretty PO'ed this afternoon when I heard we'd been docked a scholarship as well. Of course, I'm drawing all this from memory so it's far from the gospel, but it's pretty close. _

Your memory is pretty good.
The sanctions we've been hit with is normal for the use of an ineligible player. Some are saying we hit ourselves too hard. Wrong. We were going to get all that anyway, and we knew it. We were really hoping to get away with not losing a scholarship, but weren't surprised that they included it.

[Turbine]

So as indicated by the David Walker quote, I am ready to hear what did UL offer up front? Anything more than a t-shirt purchase by the football players would be too much._

University officials, who appeared before the infractions committee in February, proposed wiping out the basketball records and forfeiting the conference basketball revenue, Potuto said.

If she had to issue a disclaimer on what the NCAA committee came up with vs what UL came up with, she thought it was overkill.

Talk about an overblown panic move, OF COURSE THEY ARE GOING TO ACCEPT.

[Turbine]

The sanctions we've been hit with is normal for the use of an ineligible player.

Describe normal when the rule was ambiguous at best, conflicting at least, and post violation in clarity.

Some are saying we hit ourselves too hard. Wrong. We were going to get all that anyway, and we knew it.

So let them decide. You/We have no idea what punishment ideas we planted in their head.

jmo

[AstroCajun]

Your memory is pretty good.
The sanctions we've been hit with is normal for the use of an ineligible player. Some are saying we hit ourselves too hard. Wrong. We were going to get all that anyway, and we knew it. We were really hoping to get away with not losing a scholarship, but weren't surprised that they included it.

Couldn't we put ourselves on probation retroactively?

O.G. has been gone for two seasons and this past season has felt probationary.

/kidding.
//glad this is over
///looking for better times ahead.