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Blundering Herd NCAA cuts Marshall scholarships, imposes probationPosted: Friday December 21, 2001 12:00 PM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Marshall was placed on four years' probation Friday and will lose scholarships in its football and basketball programs for violating NCAA rules on academics and arranging work for athletes. The NCAA inquiry stemmed from athletes receiving extra work benefits between 1996 and 2000 and others who received exam answers from a professor in 1999. The decision by the NCAA came two days after Marshall's 64-61 victory over East Carolina in the GMAC Bowl, the highest point total in any bowl. The chairman of the Division I Committee on Infractions said Marshall administrators were "very negligent" in assisting the investigation. "I don't think there will be any awards passed out for the efforts in trying to find out exactly what happened, particularly early on in the process," committee chairman Thomas Yeager said. Marshall reported the violations in February 2000. The NCAA told Marshall in July it intended to investigate. The committee required Marshall to cut five football scholarships each year for the next three seasons. The school will be limited to 20 initial scholarships during those years. Marshall's total football scholarships will be limited to 80 for the 2002-03 season, gradually increasing to 84 by the 2003-04 season. Marshall's men's basketball program is required to cut the number of scholarships by one for the 2003-03 and 2003-04 seasons. The basketball program will be limited to 12 scholarships for each season. The exam questions involved Bruce McAllister, a former flexibility coach for the football team and assistant professor who taught anatomy and physiology. McAllister was accused in 1999 of giving football players a study guide that ended up being the actual exam. He has since left the school. Yeager said when McAllister's action was exposed to other students taking the class, he gave everyone an "A" in the course. Students who received extra work benefits were employed to perform janitorial duties at $25 an hour. The students did not meet NCAA academic qualifications as incoming freshmen. Such athletes cannot practice with a team and NCAA bylaws prohibit them from work benefits during their first year of school. During the investigation, many students told the committee that without the work benefits, they could not have afforded to attend college. The NCAA found that Marshall had been arranging employment for such students for "a number of years."
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