NCAA Closes SELU Case
The NCAA today closed the Southeastern Louisiana Case which arose from an APR audit that began in 2008. The case was resolved via summary disposition and ended up with SELU agreeing to a charge of lack of institutional control:
Southeastern Louisiana lacked control over its athletics department when it failed to monitor its certification process. Staff Members from outside the athletics department were not involved in the certification process, creating a lack of checks or other oversight to detect errors within its certification process. The university used an automated degree audit system as the primary source for certification information, but the system was not programmed to confirm NCAA eligibility. Adding to the university’s problems, the committee said, the former compliance coordinator’s misunderstanding of certain eligibility and university degree rules resulted in incorrect certifications. When two staff members voiced concerns about the certification progress, the university did not take steps to investigate and correct the situation.
In addition to a lengthy four-year probation, SE Louisiana also lost scholarships in ten sports and vacated wins involving ineligible student-athletes over a five-year period. The university will also be required to complete an external audit covering eligibility monitoring procedures and rules education.
The case is notable for its lengthy and tortured procedural history. The NCAA requested information from the school for an APR audit in 2008 that was not provided until April 2011. In July 2011, the institution submitted a self-report. The enforcement staff did not provide a verbal notice on inquiry until over a year later, in September 2012.
In April of this year, the summary disposition report was completed and sent to the Committee on Infractions. The COI requested additional information and proposed additional sanctions in September. It took until late October to finalize the summary disposition report with everyone agreeing to the bylaws that were cited.