Alcorn State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has compiled this "what to know" informational document in an effort to help our student athletes, parents and other supporters of Alcorn athletics understand the recent NCAA report.
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Q: What happened and how did this happen?
A: Division I institutions, such as Alcorn, are subject to routine audits by the NCAA. During the review, the NCAA determined that the process for certifying the eligibility of student-athletes needed to be improved. Unfortunately, during this review, there were deficiencies noted in the certification process, and the NCAA determined a number of student athletes had been certified incorrectly, which led to the outcome outlined in the NCAA infractions report.
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Penalties
Q: What exactly does probation mean?
A: The probationary status does not affect any of the institution's 17 sponsored varsity sports, and all 17 sports will be fully participating (full schedules, championships, etc.) in 2016-2017 and beyond. No programs were eliminated, and no programs are currently subject to a post-season competition ban as a result of the penalties. The probationary status simply means the department is subject to additional reporting to the NCAA in terms of policies and procedures.
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Q: What does the probationary status mean in terms of athletics scholarships?
A: Athletics aid awarded to student athletes is not affected by the results of the probationary report.
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Q:Â Did ASU vacate any of its conference championships?
 A: No. The institution did not vacate any championships in the period specified in the NCAA infractions report.
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Q: Why did wins have to be vacated?
A: Much like the probationary status, the forfeiture of wins is one of the many common penalties issued by the NCAA, where ineligible student athletes participated.
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Q: Does Alcorn have to pay a 5,000 fine to the NCAA?
A: No. The fine will be retained by the institution to provide rules education for staff inside and outside of athletics.Â
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Q: Is Alcorn under investigation?
A: No. Alcorn is subject to routine review of its athletics programs by the NCAA, which is different than an investigation for misconduct or other major infractions. While we may undergo an additional review in the near future, we are not under investigation by the NCAA.
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Q: What happens now?
A: In the years since the initial review, the institution has taken steps to improve its processes in an effort to prevent a future recurrence of this unfortunate situation. Athletics works very closely with the Office of the Registrar, Admissions and academic units across campus to ensure that correct and accurate information is being reported.
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The institution has implemented the following corrective measures:
-Â Improved infrastructure by increasing the counselor to student athlete ratio from 1:300 to 1:60 by hiring an assistant vice president for athletic compliance and academic services, a director of compliance/student athlete services, coordinator of student athlete services, and two full-time athletic academic advisors (previous advisor/coordinator had dual duties in Athletics/undergraduate studies) who will be supported by at least two graduate assistants. We have implemented completely new processes and streamlined responsibilities to address this issue.
-Â The director of athletics and the assistant vice president for athletic compliance and academic services report directly to the president and serve on the institution's leadership cabinet.
-Â Increased staffing by 300% from 1.5 full-time employees to 6 full-time employees
-Â Increased budget by 215% from $85,000 to $268,000
- Received AASP Grant added $300,000 per year to academic enhancement budget
Completely new institutional and athletics leadership is holding individuals and areas accountable for compliance with NCAA, SWAC, Alcorn, and Mississippi Institution of Higher Learning guidelines, practices, policies, and other rules and regulations. Taken together, the underlying philosophy of Alcorn's continuous quality improvement—in light of this issue—is that when problems arise our policies, procedures, and processes ensure that a student athlete will receive proper academic advisement relative to the evaluation of the student athlete's degree program and course selection and the evaluation of the student athlete's transcript to ensure courses are acceptable for satisfying the progress-toward-degree requirements.
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Please continue to support Alcorn athletics and its student athletes. These young men and women work very hard to represent their institution in their respective sports and in the classroom. Together, we will continue to improve and move forward.
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