Following a collaborative process between SUNY Old Westbury, the NCAA, and the Division III Committee on Infractions (COI), the COI on Thursday released a negotiated resolution associated with rules violations related to recruiting within the women’s basketball program.
SUNY Old Westbury, the NCAA and the COI agreed to the following violations:
- A former women’s basketball coach had not monitored adequately the activities of a third-party recruiter with said third-party making promises of impermissible benefits to recruits without the coach’s knowledge.
- The campus allowed two student-athletes to compete during the 2024-2025 season who had been made what were found to be impermissible promises, thereby providing them impermissible benefits for competition while ineligible.
As a result of violations, the COI imposed the following penalties:
- One year of probation
- A financial penalty of $1,250
- Vacation of team wins and records due to the participation of two ineligible student-athletes
- A one-year show-cause order for the former women’s basketball coach
- Permanent disassociation of the third-party representative from the institution’s athletics program and interests
- A public reprimand through the release of the negotiated resolution agreement. [LINK TO https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/search/miCaseView/report?id=103159 ]
Joint Statement from Timothy E. Sams, President and Lenore Walsh, Director of Athletics, SUNY Old Westbury
"Today's announcement brings closure to an NCAA investigation resulting from violations committed by a previous staff. SUNY Old Westbury was immediately responsive as soon as campus officials learned of the issue and pursued a negotiated resolution to limit the possible impact on current and future student-athletes and staff, who were not involved in the violations.
Our compliance systems worked as intended. Once SUNY Old Westbury became aware of potential violations, we initiated an investigation, self-reported to the NCAA, and followed all appropriate protocols. Doing so is evidence of our ongoing commitment to operating in compliance with NCAA rules and adhering to the highest standards of integrity. Having worked collaboratively with the NCAA enforcement staff throughout this process, we agreed to penalties appropriate to our situation.
With this matter behind us, we are able to move forward, focusing on the present and future of Panther Athletics and the students who make it special.”
