Florida A&M University Athletic Department was hit hard by the NCAA which detailed serious infractions that placed athletics on probation for five years through November 2024 in a report released Tuesday for specific violations by Florida A&M and associated penalties. Baseball was named as one of the programs that will face various scholarship reductions for the 2019-2020 academic years and recruiting restrictions for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. It is not known wether or not baseball will have to vacate records in which ineligible student-athletes competed during the 2010-2017 seasons.
The NCAA reports from 2010-2011 through 2016-2017 which student-athletes were not eligible to compete. These ineligible athletes were not involved in any dishonorable conduct but a lack of institutional control on the part of the athletic department which was an administrative issue. Seven programs including football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball and men’s indoor and outdoor track and field will have post-season bans.
What happened to the baseball program was not the responsibility of the current head coach and his assistants based upon the NCAA findings. FAMUs self-imposed penalties include post-season bans, recruiting and scholarship reductions and the vacation of records for the 2019-2020 academic year. A majority of the infractions from the NCAA detail the period from 2010-2014 according to the NCAA violations.
Florida A&M has been working with the NCAA to address those issues and steps to address and reduce the chance of repeat offenses. The institution has taken the necessary steps to be in compliance within athletics.
It is not known if FAMU will appeal the NCAA’s penalties. This comes at a time when the baseball program is fresh off of winning the MEAC conference baseball championship defeating Norfolk State to claim a second conference title in four years.
Black College Nines asked head coach Jamey Shouppe wether the sanctions will affect the baseball team? “We’ve been instructed not to say anything other than read the report. It had nothing to do with coaches and players. There’s nothing they could have done differently. It was a matter of a lack of institutional control. One of the reports said we are not certifying our athletes correctly. Its obviously frustrating for us coaches, nothing we can do about it. The ban won’t affect baseball’s run through the Regionals.”