NCAA Denies Oklahoma State's Appeal, Punishes Program
STILLWATER – After nearly a year and a half after it first announced its penalties, the NCAA has finally come to a decision Oklahoma State.
According to Brett McMurphy, the NCAA has denied Oklahoma State’s appeal, making the Cowboys ineligible for 2022 postseason play, which includes the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City. They became the first school involved in the bribary scandal to receive a postseason ban.
The reduction of a total of three scholarships over the next three seasons and a three-year probation was also upheld.
The news comes a week before the start of the Cowboys 2021-22 season against UT Arlington in Stillwater on Nov. 9.
"I recently noted that the time taken for a decision on our appeal was unfathomable," said head coach Mike Boynton. "So too was the outcome, not to mention incredibly unjust and unfair. I invite members of the NCAA enforcement staff, it's Committee on Infractions, and appeals panel involved in our case to meet with my team, to look each of them in their eyes and explain why illicit conduct committed by a rogue assistant coach five years ago – conduct which led to no competitive advantage for our program, and for which the coach was fired immediately upon discovery by our administration – should serve as a basis for denying them the opportunity to experience postseason tournament play. This is the greatest disappointment in my career as a head coach."
As of right now, the postseason ban for the current season is the only known punishment, but the NCAA had also levied three years of probation, as well as a reduction of three scholarships over the course of the three seasons. This article will be updated as soon as the official announcement is released.
It’s been well over a year since the athletic department filed an appeal with the NCAA stemming from the sanctions against the men’s basketball program in June 2020 following the investigation into former assistant coach Lamont Evans.
Evans, who accepted between $18,000 and $22,000 in bribes to direct players to sign with certain financial advisors, was fired in the fall of 2017 when the FBI investigation into bribery and corruption inside college basketball was first announced.
There’s not one player on the current roster who was on the team in 2016 when the violations took place under then head coach Brad Underwood.