Boise State's football program will lose three scholarships each of the next three seasons as part of major NCAA violations in the school's athletics department.
The scholarship penalties started this season and run through the 2013-14 academic year. The team will also have its practice time reduced because of the violations.
The football program was found to have committed recruiting, impermissible housing and transportation violations involving 63 student-athletes from between 2005 and 2009.
The individual amounts of the violations ranged from $2.34 to a maximum of $417.55 and have been reimbursed.
The school self-imposed a penalty of three scholarships on the football team during the course of two years. The committee on infractions added to that punishment.
"The committee considered careful that these violations in football had occurred over the period of five summers of five years and involved both the benefits provided and ... access to athletic activities," Southeastern Conference associate commissioner and NCAA committee on infractions member Gregory Sankey said. "In deliberating the penalties it determined that the level that has been identified in that penalty section was appropriate and it was, as you noted, in addition to what the institution had proposed."
The athletic department was cited for lack of institutional control and placed on three years' probation in the NCAA investigation that centered on major violations in men's and women's track and men's and women's tennis.
Athletics director Gene Bleymaier was fired last month after 30 years at the school. Bleymaier was responsible for installing the blue field at Bronco Stadium and oversaw the development of the football program from a I-AA team to one that played in two Bowl Championship Series games and its move to the Mountain West.
Women's tennis received a one-year postseason ban and scholarship reductions, and former coach Mark Tichenor was given a four-year show cause penalty for providing prospective student-athletes impermissible cash payments, educational expenses, entertainment, lodging, transportation and practice sessions. One student-athlete was allowed to compete a year beyond her eligibility.
A former assistant men's track coach was given a two-year show cause penalty and was cited for unethical conduct in the recruitment of a prospective student-athlete.
"This was a major case," Sankey said. "I think the extent of the report indicates the number of allegations. They occurred in five sports exceeding five years and, as was noted in the introductory comments, exceeded 75 either prospective student-athletes or student-athletes involvement."
In responding to the punishment, Boise State President Bob Kustra noted the changes made by the school to deal with compliance issues. That office now reports directly to the president's office, rather than the athletics department.
"We defended the athletic program to the best of our abilities at the hearing and had hoped our self-imposed sanctions and corrective measures would be sufficient," Kustra said.
"A number of decisions have been made since the beginning of the investigation that have demonstrated our commitment to the NCAA process. Boise State will have a diligent and meticulous approach to compliance, with a new level of leadership and accountability. The infractions and subsequent penalties have left us no margin for error going forward and have changed the nature of oversight required."
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