NCAA bans SMU from '16 postseason, suspends Larry Brown
SMU has been banned from 2016 postseason play and the NCAA has suspended head coach Larry Brown for 30 percent of the team's games after an infractions investigation revealed academic fraud, unethical conduct, and a lack of head coach control.
In January, the NCAA began investigating whether basketball administrator and former assistant coach Ulric Maligi helped guard Keith Frazier with schoolwork so he'd be eligible to play.
From the NCAA's release:
A former assistant men’s basketball coach encouraged a student-athlete to enroll in an online course to meet NCAA initial eligibility standards and be admitted to the university. After he enrolled in the course, a former men’s basketball administrative assistant obtained the student’s username and password then completed all of his coursework. The student-athlete received fraudulent credit for the course and, as a result, competed while ineligible during his freshman season.
On top of the ban and suspension, the Mustangs will lose nine scholarships over the next three years.
Brown released a statement on the findings Tuesday afternoon.
Leading the SMU men’s basketball program is an honor and a responsibility that I take very seriously. That duty includes helping our young men develop into people of character and to ensuring that we pursue our goals with integrity. I am saddened and disappointed that the Committee on Infractions believes that I did not fully fulfill my duties and I will consider my options to challenge that assertion in the coming days. I truly believe that our program has dedicated itself unwaveringly to the ideals of academic integrity and NCAA compliance. Still, there was a violation in our program and I take responsibility for that and offer my sincere apologies to the University community.
This is the third time one of Brown's teams has been sanctioned by the NCAA, with other incidents coming at Kansas and UCLA.
SMU was expected to be a top 25 team this year and compete for the American Athletic Conference title.
Brown will miss a total of nine games as a result of the suspension.