GRAMBLING – Officials from the NCAA have reportedly returned to the Grambling State campus, but its investigation into the athletic department continues.
“I don’t want to speculate on an itinerary,” said GSU athletics director Troy Mathieu. “When we get the preliminary findings, we will then work to respond.”
Last January, the NCAA opened an investigation – a focus of which is the use of ineligible football players during Grambling State’s 2005 conference championship season.
GSU officials have not outlined the parameters of the probe. As a rule, the NCAA also does not comment about ongoing investigations – but they often take extended periods of time to complete.
In fact, the last time the governing board for collegiate athletics opened a major-infractions probe at GSU, 10 years ago now, there was a period of 22 months between the first allegations of wrongdoing and final announcement of penalties for Grambling.
“The NCAA does a good job of policing,” said GSU football coach Melvin Spears. “We hope to help in any way.”
Using ineligible players would count as a major infraction, violations which usually lead to stiff penalties involving post-season and television appearances, forfeited games, scholarship reductions and/or limited recruiting opportunities.
Grambling has been previously penalized for major infractions in 1978, 1989 and 1997, with each investigation focusing on basketball and football recruiting violations. The NCAA also looked into a possible 2003 infraction when ex-coach Doug Williams referred to a proposed transfer by troubled former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett.
The worst penalty came in 1978, when the NCAA prohibited postseason and television appearances for the next season.
That would be particularly damaging to the current program, since the Bayou Classic has been broadcast over the past 15 seasons by NBC – and, over that time, has grown not only as GSU’s signature in-state rivalry but also into a cash cow.
Of the school’s total operating sports revenues of $5.5 million in 2003 (the most recent numbers available), around 15 percent – $808,717 – came from the 2003 Bayou Classic alone.
Any requirement to forfeit games might put the football team’s 2005 league title in jeopardy, as well.
Since the current probe opened, Alvin Jackson, a former compliance officer at Division II Tuskegee, has taken the same position at Grambling. This critical oversight had been handled on an interim basis since the retirement of longtime employee A. Lane Howell, about a year ago.
“The blessing is this new compliance officer, who will make sure the NCAA gets the factual information they need,” Spears said. “I want to reiterate one thing: At Grambling, we don’t cheat.”
The NCAA’s enforcement staff is required to notify the university as to the general status of the investigation six months into the inquiry. Status reports then follow every six months until the matter is resolved.
A final notice of allegations is eventually issued, and the institution has up to 90 days to respond – though schools can request additional time.
Once all responses have been gathered, a hearing date before the Committee on Infractions is set.
“With any inquiry, we will cooperate throughout the process,” said Mathieu. “Our response will be thorough and complete, and we’ll move forward from there.”