Florida International penalized for NCAA rules violations

By Sports Network

- The Sports Network

Florida International University accepted penalties Wednesday, including four years probation and reduction of scholarships, for a range of major NCAA rules violations.

The NCAA found that from academic years 2002-03 to 2006-07, 45 FIU student- athletes in 15 different sports were ineligible, but still competed. The school also awarded too many scholarships in three sports.

The student-athletes' ineligibility came as a result of the school misapplying a variety of NCAA rules, including full-time enrollment, progress-to-degree needs, five-year eligibility and transfers.

The NCAA's report said that as the FIU athletics program expanded as it moved up to Division I-A, the school's compliance became insufficient.

However, a school release said that the violations were not intentional and FIU cooperated fully with the NCAA's investigation.

"Upon discovering these violations, we put in place new compliance procedures that are much more suited to the university FIU has become in the last 10 years," said FIU President Modesto A. Maidique. "We now have the level of staffing and the redundancies that will prevent these types of infractions from occurring again in the future."

The school had already imposed a few penalties, which include probation until May 19, 2012, the elimination of some scholarships in 11 sports. Wins and records accumulated by the ineligible athletes will also be vacated.

All of the reduced scholarships were self-imposed by FIU. Football will lost three for the upcoming academic year, while this year, men's basketball lost one and baseball lost 1.5.

Soccer was the hardest hit, with men's losing 4.3 total between two years, and women's losing 3.48.