Florida State lawsuit vs ACC 2023

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Michigan receives NCAA notice of allegations for recruiting violations - ESPN

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39156339/michigan-receives-ncaa-notice-allegations-recruiting-violations

Michigan receives NCAA notice of allegations for recruiting violations

• Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior WriterDec 20, 2023, 04:47 PM ET

Michigan has received a notice of allegations from the NCAA regarding alleged violations by the football staff during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period, two university officials told ESPN.

According to sources, Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh faces a Level I violation for allegedly not cooperating with or misleading NCAA investigators about the alleged violations, and Michigan also faces four Level II violations, which are considered less serious. Michigan in August self-imposed a three-game suspension for Harbaugh to begin the season as well as a one-game suspension for offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore as part of a negotiated resolution for his involvement.

The self-imposed penalties, enacted to soften the impact of NCAA punishment, came shortly after the NCAA's infractions committee did not approve a negotiated resolution involving Harbaugh that would have resulted in a four-game suspension. The NCAA also in August took the unusual step of issuing a statement during an ongoing investigation about the severity of the alleged violations involving Michigan.

"The Michigan infractions case is related to impermissible on and off-campus recruiting during the COVID-19 dead period and impermissible coaching activities -- not a cheeseburger," Derrick Crawford, NCAA vice president of hearing operations, said in the statement, referring to the simplistic characterization of the violations in some media reports. "It is not uncommon for the [committee on infractions] to seek clarification on key facts prior to accepting. The COI may also reject an NR [negotiated resolution] if it determines that the agreement is not in the best interests of the Association or the penalties are not reasonable. If the involved parties cannot resolve a case through the negotiated resolution process, it may proceed to a hearing, but the committee believes cooperation is the best avenue to quickly resolve issues."

In January, Michigan received a draft of the notice of allegations, which outlined the Level I violation Harbaugh is accused of and the Level II infractions, which included an off-field analyst allegedly being involved in on-field coaching activities. Sources told ESPN then that Harbaugh could face up to a six-game suspension.

Michigan faces a second NCAA investigation for the prohibited off-campus scouting and signal-stealing allegedly led by former staff member Connor Stalions, who resigned Nov. 4. Although Michigan has not received a notice of allegations in that case, the Big Ten imposed a three-game suspension for Harbaugh under its sportsmanship policy, which the coach served for the final three regular-season games. Harbaugh could be charged as a repeat violator under head-coach responsibility, also a Level I charge.

Harbaugh returned to the sideline Dec. 2 for the Big Ten championship game against Iowa, and he will coach Michigan on Jan. 1 when it faces Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential.

Michigan has 90 days to respond to the notice of allegations, and then the NCAA will have 60 days to issue a rebuttal.

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What To Make of the Ruling on Transfers? Don’t Ask the NCAA

https://frontofficesports.com/what-to-make-of-the-court-ruling-on-college-athlete-transfers-dont-ask-the-ncaa/?utm_source=The+NightCap&utm_campaign=bb6cb96c2f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_12_14_05_36&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-bb6cb96c2f-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

What to Make of the Court Ruling on College Athlete Transfers? Don't Ask the NCAA

UPDATED December 14, 2023 | 03:16 pm By Amanda Christovich

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

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The NCAA appears to be walking back one of its key interpretations of Wednesday's court rulings regarding transfer restrictions. 

On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled in State of Ohio et al v. NCAA that the governing body could not enforce its multi-transfer restriction for 14 days, part of a temporary restraining order. While the NCAA allows athletes to transfer once without penalty, athletes who transfer again have to sit out a year unless they're granted a waiver by the NCAA. 

On Wednesday, the NCAA indicated to Front Office Sports that athletes would not lose a year of eligibility. Then, on Thursday, the NCAA told FOS it was unsure about whether athletes who play as a result of the ruling would burn a year of eligibility if the ruling is overturned. Several hours later, it reportedly sent a memo to Division I members confirming that athletes would, in fact, burn a year of eligibility.

The case itself was filed last week in the Northern District of West Virginia by state seven attorneys general arguing that the NCAA's transfer restrictions violate federal antitrust laws. It was based largely on the case of West Virginia basketball player RaeQuan Battle.

The court said the transfer restriction couldn't be enforced until at least Dec. 27, the date of the next hearing — and the NCAA affirmed in a statement Wednesday that it would not enforce its transfer restriction during this period. 

Battle was therefore eligible to play for the Mountaineers as of Wednesday, but that eligibility prompted another question: What if Battle played a game or two between now and Dec. 27 — and then the ruling was reversed? Would he burn an entire year of NCAA eligibility?

On Wednesday, the NCAA indicated in an email to FOS that because of the court's ruling, the governing body could punish an athlete by taking away a year of eligibility.

"The restitution rule was suspended by the court," an NCAA spokesperson told FOS. "Therefore, eligibility would not be impacted." 

(The NCAA's "restitution rule" stated that it could penalize athletes — i.e. vacate their wins or records — if a court ruled they were eligible to play, then they played, and then the court changed its mind. So if the Mountaineers win two games with Battle this week, they would have to vacate those wins if the court rules differently on Dec. 27.)

But on Thursday, after a conflicting report surfaced, the NCAA told FOS it was unclear as to whether athletes would lose a year of eligibility and was still discussing the ruling's implications. It did not outright state that athletes would burn a year of eligibility until Thursday afternoon.

The NCAA, which was unable to provide an interpretation of its own rules for a full 24 hours, has now further complicated an already extremely confusing situation for athletes and coaches across the country. 

Some athletes are in a holding pattern while they wait for clarity. Others have already played since Wednesday's ruling, and could lose eligibility because of the NCAA's lack of a firm stance.

What we know: Athletes like Battle, who are currently sitting out because they've transferred more than once and haven't received a waiver, should NOT be penalized if they play between now and Dec. 27. If the ruling ends up being overturned, the NCAA is not allowed to vacate wins or records.

What we don't know: If athletes like Battle will have burned an entire year of eligibility if they have to go back to the bench on Dec. 27, if the court overturns its ruling. 

As the college basketball season heats up and bowl season kicks off, the consequences of the NCAA's unclear positions could be dire. 

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with additional information.

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Federal Judge Temporarily Strikes Down NCAA Transfer Rules

https://frontofficesports.com/federal-judge-strikes-down-ncaa-transfer-restrictions/?utm_source=The+NightCap&utm_campaign=c2b63abd4f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_12_13_05_53&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-c2b63abd4f-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Federal Judge Temporarily Strikes Down NCAA Transfer Restrictions

UPDATED December 13, 2023 | 05:07 pm By Amanda Christovich

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

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On Wednesday, a federal judge in West Virginia ruled to temporarily prohibit the NCAA from enforcing restrictions on second-time transfers for two weeks.

The lawsuit, State of Ohio et al v. NCAA, was filed last Thursday. Seven state attorneys general have alleged that the NCAA's remaining restrictions on athlete eligibility after transferring a second time violate federal antitrust law.

The NCAA is also prohibited from enforcing its "Rule of Restitution," according to the decision. That rule states that if a court grants eligibility to an athlete and later reverses that decision, the NCAA has the power to vacate records or wins that the team or athlete accomplished while they were playing.

The ruling technically only applies to athletes within the jurisdiction of the court: the northern district of West Virginia, Kennyhertz Perry sports attorney Mit Winter pointed out. However, the NCAA said in a statement that it will not enforce its transfer rule at least for the next 14 days. It also won't penalize players if the ruling is reversed. Athletes won't lose a year of future eligibility if they play a couple games and then lose eligibility again after the next ruling on Dec. 27, the spokesperson told Front Office Sports.

The case was largely inspired by the story of West Virginia basketball player RaeQuan Battle, whose eligibility waiver was denied by the NCAA after he transferred from a program where his coach abruptly left. Battle, as well as Miami of Ohio quarterback Maddox Kopp and Cincinnati basketball player Jamille Reynolds, testified during the hearing, which lasted more than two-and-a-half hours Wednesday. 

Northern District of West Virginia Judge John P. Bailey clarified he did not have time to address Battle's specific situation. "The only thing I'm saying is that you can't make a player sit out a year," Bailey said.

Athletes' testimony, which covered everything from name, image, and likeness issues to mental health, seemed to place a specific emphasis on the fact that coaches can leave their positions at a school at any time, and as many times they want, without repercussions. Players, however, are only allowed to transfer once without restriction. 

Wednesday's decision is not a permanent strikedown of NCAA rules. The next hearing, which will be for a preliminary injunction to keep this rule in effect until the case goes to trial or is settled, will be Dec. 27.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with additional information.

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NCAA Launches Ground-Breaking Initiative to Study and Understand Online Abuse in College Sports - NCAA.org

https://www.ncaa.org/news/2023/12/11/media-center-ncaa-launches-ground-breaking-initiative-to-study-and-understand-online-abuse-in-college-sports.aspx

NCAA Launches Ground-Breaking Initiative to Study and Understand Online Abuse in College Sports

12/11/2023 12:00:00 PM

The NCAA announced today that it has engaged Signify Group to provide its Threat Matrix artificial intelligence service to support the Association in studying and responding to online abuse and threats directed at NCAA Championship participants including student-athletes, coaches, officials and committee members. This unique initiative is intended to further promote the mental health and well-being of the college sports community through data collection and analytics. 

The service will go live this month with a particular focus on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Tik Tok. The Threat Matrix project will offer various capabilities and deliverables as part of a pilot during the 2023-24 NCAA Championships, including:

• Monitoring, detection and analysis of the levels of abuse and threat in over 35 languages as well as images and emojis.
• Analysis of abuse related to sports betting.
• Reporting procedures for notifying key stakeholders, including involved individuals and teams, local organizers, law enforcement and social media platforms.
• Direct coordination with social media platforms to report abuses and encourage removal of content and other appropriate sanctioning of account holders.
• Providing data to support the Association's understanding of the scale and nature of online abuse and threats in college sports, as well as informing future educational and policy developments.

The data from the initial set of championships covered by the service will be used as a benchmark for monitoring efforts at future NCAA championships. 

Online abuse and threats are too common within sports. Signify has vast experience working across a range of sports and at different levels, from club level, player unions, federations, to major international tournaments. 

Furthermore, with the growth of sports betting in the US in recent years there have been many instances of college sports representatives receiving targeted abuse and threats. A recent NCAA survey of campus administrators found 10% of DI respondents said they were aware of student-athletes being harassed online or in person by someone with gambling interests. This project will represent the largest study in North America on this growing phenomenon, and will assist the Association in detecting, analyzing, and investigating such abuse. The data collected will provide greater understanding of the issues and help the Association refine its policies in an effort to deter abuse and threats in college sports. 

Speaking on the launch of the NCAA Threat Matrix service, NCAA President Charlie Baker said:

"Engaging Signify to monitor NCAA championships reflects our resolute commitment to college athlete safety and well-being. This is a first-of-its-kind project in college sports focusing on online abuse and threats, while arming social platforms and law enforcement to take action to protect thousands of student-athletes and all championship participants. This pilot is just the start of much broader online protection measures the NCAA will put in place to guide our longer-term strategy in this crucial space."

Jonathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group added:

"We are delighted to be working with the NCAA on this hugely exciting and ground-breaking initiative to enhance the online safety of college athletes and participants in the wider college sport ecosystem.  Over the coming months I am confident that we will not only unearth deep insights into online abuse and threat in college sports, but also help drive real action in this space in partnership with the NCAA, platforms and law enforcement agencies." 

About Signify Group                                                                                                                     

Founded in 2017, Signify is an ethical data science and artificial intelligence company that uses open-source data to better understand what fans, consumers and the wider public really care about. Its work spans the business of sport, the private sector, and NGOs, providing insights that help organisations to communicate more effectively with those who matter most to them. 

Threat Matrix, which utilises AI and open-source forensic investigation techniques, was launched in 2020 to protect individuals from online abuse. The service has grown and diversified, gaining significant traction in the sports sector. It is used by clubs, leagues, players unions, federations, and global sports event organisers to protect athletes and other stakeholders, as well as being used in investigations and intelligence support.  

www.signify.ai

http://www.threatmatrix.ai/

About the NCAA

The NCAA is a diverse association of more than 1,100 member colleges and universities that prioritize academics, well-being and fairness to create greater opportunities for more than half a million student-athletes each year. The NCAA provides a pathway to higher education and beyond for student-athletes pursuing academic goals and competing in NCAA sports. More than 54,000 student-athletes experience the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics by competing in NCAA championships each year. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association.

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