In the first case of its kind, the NCAA is penalizing a football program for activities related to NIL.
On April 14, 2022, a Florida State coach drove a recruit and his parents to an off-campus meeting with a booster, who happened to be the CEO of a collective. During that meeting (the coach was not in attendance), the booster outlined how much the collective would pay the player if he enrolled at Florida State. The booster then contacted the recruit and his family after the meeting. The collective was willing to pay the young man $15,000 a month for his first year as a Seminole.
The coach was not identified by the NCAA, but other media outlets have since reported it was offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins.
The kicker: four days after the meeting, the player withdrew his name from the Portal and returned to his original school.
Florida State and the NCAA engaged in a negotiated resolution, which means both sides agree on the facts of the case. There will be no appeal.
From the NCAA:
The school and enforcement staff agreed that the meeting with the booster violated several recruiting rules. Specifically, the meeting constituted an impermissible recruiting contact because boosters are not authorized recruiters and generally cannot have in-person, off-campus contact with prospects. The booster also violated recruiting rules when he initiated telephonic communication with the prospect and his mother. Additionally, the booster's proposed NIL opportunity constituted an impermissible recruiting inducement.
As a result, Florida State's punishments are as follows:
- Two years of probation.
- A two-year show cause order for the assistant coach, including a suspension from the next three regular-season games, a two-week restriction on recruiting communication, and required attendance at a NCAA Regional Rules Seminar attendance.
- A restriction from off-campus recruiting during fall 2023 for the assistant coach.
- A three-year disassociation from the booster.
- A one-year disassociation from the collective.
- A $5,000 fine plus 1% of the football budget.
- A 5% reduction in football scholarships over the two-year probationary period, amounting to a total reduction of five scholarships.
- A reduction in official (paid) visits in the football program in the 2023-24 academic year by seven. The school also will not roll over six unused official visits from the 2022-23 academic year.
- A reduction in football recruiting communications for a total of six weeks during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years.
- A reduction in the number of in-person recruiting days during the 2023-24 academic year by six evaluation days during fall 2023 and 18 during spring 2024.
The Rising Spear collective has already been phased out, according to reports. Florida State now funnels its NIL efforts through The Battle's End.
In the report, the NCAA said it considered issuing Level I (most serious) charges on the assistant coach considering his testimony was not entirely truthful, but eventually decided a Level II charge was most appropriate considering he was still partially truthful.
The report also makes clear head coach Mike Norvell was not found to have committed any wrongdoing. From the NCAA:
The enforcement staff considered whether factual information substantiated a head coach responsibility violation. Factual information demonstrated that the head football coach rebutted the presumption of responsibility for the violations by promoting an atmosphere of compliance and monitoring his staff. Specifically, the head football coach set clear expectations regarding compliance within the football program, which the head football coach actively monitored.
The biggest question moving forward is if this is the first of more to come as the NCAA moves to drop the proverbial hammer on other schools who arranged similar meetings, or whether Florida State was the only school sloppy or unlucky enough to get caught.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.