‘It’s not relief’, ‘hurtful’: Mizzou leaders blast NCAA’s denial of sanctions appeal
Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk choked up when he was asked if there was any relief in finally hearing from the NCAA about MU’s infractions appeal.
After a months-long process, the NCAA denied Missouri’s appeal Tuesday. While the athletic department faces multiple sanctions, Sterk pointed to the Mizzou student-athletes who would be the most affected. The Mizzou football, baseball and softball teams will be banned from their next postseason.
“It’s not relief of moving on,” Sterk said during a news conference at the Sprint Center before the Tigers’ basketball game against Oklahoma. “This is a really hurtful decision that’s a blow because it impacts so many students-athletes. When our coaches are talking to kids that have eligibility, it’s their senior year and they can’t go to postseason play, it’s really, really difficult.”
Sterk spoke with MU chancellor Alexander Cartwright after the school received a letter from the NCAA on Monday night, the decision coming 19 weeks after Sterk and others met with the NCAA’s infractions appeals committee in July.
The athletic director said he was initially shocked to hear of the NCAA’s decision, those emotions then turning to disappointment, then anger by Tuesday’s news conference. Cartwright said they will push for reform of the NCAA after what they considered an unjust process.
“We received exemplary cooperation throughout this entire process,” Cartwright said. “In the end, we received sanctions that others with comparable cases did not receive at all. That creates a truly chilling effect on compliance. People look at this and wonder, ‘If we do that, what will happen?’”
It left Sterk and other administrations with plenty of questions. The NCAA was radio silent in the weeks leading up to the decision. Once MU heard back, there was no potential recourse or further inquiries it could ask.
“Probably a few questions I’d like to have answered,” Sterk said.
Sterk said he reached out to a law firm six months ago to see if there was any precedent or legal recourse they could take if the NCAA denied Mizzou’s appeal. However, Sterk couldn’t find anything that would help MU.
In the immediate aftermath, the football team is no longer bowl eligible even if coach Barry Odom’s Tigers win their sixth game at Arkansas on Friday. The NCAA decision won’t affect Odom’s future or any evaluation Sterk makes into the program, he said. Sterk said they’ll make those assessments once the season is over.
The bowl ban also means an estimated $8 million to $9 million in lost revenue for Missouri. SEC rules stipulate schools forfeit their share of bowl money should their football teams be barred from the postseason.
To make up for the lost revenue, Cartwright said the university will aid the athletic department through a loan. Sterk pointed out it’s a similar monetary process as when Mizzou was transitioning from the Big 12 to SEC.
“It would be a budget move as far as us being able to utilize some resources,” Sterk said. “It’ll be a payback type of loan.”
In the long term, there are other consequences of the sanctions. All three sports lose 5% of their scholarships for a year, which comes out to four for the football team and a fraction of one each for baseball and softball. Sterk said he sat down with Odom to map out how recruiting visits will work because of the sanctions.
With Missouri cooperating fully with the NCAA, many critics pointed out how it’s better to push back against the NCAA instead of working with them. But if they were to do it over again, both Sterk and Cartwright said they would cooperate with the governing body. Sterk pointed out how it’s an “NCAA rule.”
“It’s the right thing to do,” Cartwright said.