SMU will not appeal postseason ban, suspension to Larry Brown
SMU decided not to appeal the 2016 postseason ban or the nine-game suspension handed out to head coach Larry Brown as part of an academic fraud scandal, the school announced Friday.
"Although we regret the severe impact on our student-athletes, the simple fact is that the NCAA penalty structure mandates at minimum a one-year post-season ban for the level of misconduct that occurred, in our case, when a former staff member completed an online high school course for a prospective student-athlete, committing academic misconduct.
"In addition, should we appeal this matter, the lengthy process and uncertainty during this period could harm many aspects of the program. Coach Brown and his staff also agree that it is in the best interests of the program to accept these sanctions and move forward," SMU president R. Gerald Turner said in the statement.
That doesn't mean that SMU will accept all the penalties handed down by the NCAA, however. SMU will appeal both the duration and number of scholarship losses and the recruiting restrictions placed on men's basketball, as well as the vacating of 27 wins from the 2013-14 season.
The NCAA banned SMU from the 2016 postseason and suspended Brown for 30 percent of the men's basketball season for multiple NCAA violations, "including academic fraud, unethical conduct and head coach control in the men’s basketball program," the Committee on Infractions announced in a statement released Sept. 29.
The infractions arose from the circumstances surrounding junior guard Keith Frazier joining the team in 2013. Coursework that made him eligible to play for the Mustangs was completed by an administrative assistant (no longer with SMU). Then the assistant, Brown, and Frazier, among others, were all found to have lied to the NCAA when it began looking into the case.
Brown also issued a written statement as part of the release from SMU, expressing his disappointment in the scandal taking place under his leadership.
“The fact that NCAA violations happened on my watch is something that I regret and take very seriously. I am committed to winning with integrity and we must - and we will - do better," Brown said.
"While the decision to not appeal our postseason ban was made in the best interests of the program, I am truly disappointed for our student-athletes who are the most impacted by the penalties and who had nothing to do with the infractions. Our young men need your support now more than ever, and I am confident that the Mustang family will respond.”