The Division I Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to introduce proposals that would increase penalties in the infractions process for individuals responsible for violations. The rules changes could be adopted as early as January.
In August 2022, the Division I Board of Directors approved changes to the infractions process intended to bring about more timely outcomes in infractions cases.
The penalty-focused proposals — which were developed by the board's Infractions Process Committee and endorsed conceptually by the Division I board in April — represent the next step of the ongoing effort to modernize the infractions process.
"The proposals introduced by the council would better align the penalty structure for the infractions process with modern-day college sports," said Geoff Mearns, chair of the committee and president of Ball State. "These changes can help member institutions make better informed hiring decisions while directly holding culpable individuals accountable for wrongdoing and encouraging member institutions to continue to support fair play by cooperating with the infractions process."
If adopted in January, several changes will be made to the penalty matrix used by the Division I Committee on Infractions, including:
- Attaching school-level penalties to show-cause orders (e.g., recruiting restrictions for schools that hire coaches who are still serving show-cause orders).
- Expanding suspensions for coaches to potentially include all athletics activities between contests, rather than just the contests themselves.
- Naming individuals involved in wrongdoing in infractions decisions and public communications.
- Creating a public-facing database with information about individuals subject to show-cause orders or with a history of Level I/II violations.
- Expanding possible disassociation penalties for cases in which boosters are involved in violations, including requiring schools to prohibit boosters from purchasing season tickets, entering athletics facilities or providing financial assistance to the athletics program.
The changes would be effective immediately upon passage.
In August 2022, Division I members adopted changes to rules impacting infractions case processing, with the objective of accelerating cases and adjudicating cases in a timelier manner. Those rules took effect in January. The Infractions Process Committee continues to ensure new rules are implemented as intended and evaluate whether additional changes need to be made.
