If you missed the big news out of Columbia on Tuesday, the NCAA has announced its decision to uphold the postseason ban on Missouri’s football program.

While this news may not be stunning, it’s unfortunate on many levels.

For one, none of the players on Missouri’s current team were ever involved in the violations yet they are the ones that have to pay the price. Another important note to make is the NCAA just set the precedent that working with the organization when rules violations are believed to have occurred can come back to haunt you.

It will be interesting to see the fallout from the NCAA’s decision but it likely won’t be good for the organization.

The NCAA’s full response to Missouri’s appeal can be read here. You can also read Barry Odom’s statement following the news.

Following the news, the latest statement comes from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey:

Throughout this process, the University of Missouri has conducted itself with great integrity and has been praised by the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions for its exemplary cooperation in this matter. While there is no excuse for the actions of a single academic tutor and the small number of student-athletes involved, the penalties applied are unusually severe when fully considered.

It is regrettable that so many innocent current Missouri student-athletes across three sports will miss postseason opportunities due to actions for which they were not responsible. Our disappointment related to the application of a postseason ban and the Infractions Appeals Committee’s upholding of the decision after more than four months of deliberations is magnified by recent decisions in other cases with similar fact patterns.

While it is important to hold accountable those individuals who engage in unethical behavior and conduct that fails to meet our expectations for integrity in college athletics, it is also important to fully consider the nuances and unique set of circumstances present in each case when setting penalties.

Mizzou is presented with considerable challenges as a result of this decision, however it is a university of proud heritage that will persevere thanks to its strong leadership and high ethical standards.

Here is an outline of the punishments handed down by the NCAA that are all being upheld.

  • Three years of probation.
  • A 10-year show-cause order for the former tutor. During that period, any NCAA member school employing the tutor must restrict her from any athletically related duties.
  • A 2018-19 postseason ban for the baseball and softball programs.
  • A 2019-20 postseason ban for the football program.
  • A vacation of records in which football, baseball and softball student-athletes competed while ineligible. The university must provide a written report containing the matches impacted to the NCAA media coordination and statistics staff within 45 days of the public decision release.
  • A 5 percent reduction in the amount of scholarships in each of the football, baseball and softball programs during the 2019-20 academic year.
  • Recruiting restrictions for each of the football, baseball and softball programs during the 2019-20 academic year, including:
      • A seven-week ban on unofficial visits.
      • A 12.5 percent reduction in official visits.
      • A seven-week ban on recruiting communications.
      • A seven-week ban on all off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations.
      • A 12.5 percent reduction in recruiting-person or evaluation days.
  • A disassociation of the tutor. Details of the disassociation can be found in the public report (self-imposed by the university).
  • A fine of $5,000 plus 1 percent of each of the football, baseball and softball budgets.