The NCAA announced on Tuesday that Notre Dame’s football program has been ordered to vacate all wins from its 2012 and 2013 seasons due to academic misconduct. Notre Dame is planning to appeal the decision.
In its ruling, the NCAA stated that an investigation determined a former athletic trainer committed academic misconduct for two football players by providing them with impermissable academic benefits. The former trainer is said to have completed coursework for the two students in addition to providing “impermissible academic assistance” for six other football players across 18 total courses. More from the ruling:
During two academic years, the former student trainer and two football student-athletes engaged in academic misconduct when the former student trainer completed coursework for the student-athletes. These student-athletes, in addition to a third football student-athlete, also committed academic misconduct individually. The university determined the three student-athletes violated its academic integrity policies. The misconduct resulted in the student-athletes playing while ineligible — one student-athlete during the 2012-13 season and the other two student-athletes during the 2013-14 season.
The former student trainer also provided impermissible academic assistance to six additional football student-athletes in a total of 18 classes. She provided the assistance while she attended the university and a year after she graduated. Two of the student-athletes violated the university’s academic integrity policies. The remaining four student-athletes were not enrolled at the time the violations were discovered, so they were not subject to the university’s policies.
The penalties against Notre Dame include one year of probation, a two-year show-cause order for the former trainer, a two-year disassociation of the former trainer and the vacating of wins from the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 season in which the ineligible student-athletes participated.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly called the punishment “excessive” and said he had “zero” knowledge of any academic misconduct. University president Rev. John Jenkins said Tuesday that Notre Dame disagrees with the decision and will appeal.
President John Jenkins: "We disagree with the decision of the hearing panel to impose, at its own discretion, a vacation of records penalty"
— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) November 22, 2016
President John Jenkins: "Notre Dame would willingly accept a vacation of records penalty if it were appropriate. It is not in this case."
— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) November 22, 2016
