Academic scandal costs Florida State 22 wins, 16 from breakout season
On the day when the Seminoles (20-4, 6-2 ACC) beat Wake Forest 83-38, Florida State announced that it will vacate 22 women’s basketball victories as a consequence of an academic cheating scandal case that also included nine other sports.
The case began in 2007 and a total of 61 athletes were involved. University employees implicated included a former learning specialist, an academic advisor and a university tutor who gave improper assistance to student-athletes. Students were provided with the questions and answers to quizzes and exams, typed papers and fraudulent academic credit. The school’s president self-reported the violations.
The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions considered the case to be “extremely serious†because of the large number of students involved and the committee’s opinion that academic fraud is one of the most serious NCAA rules violations.
The organization originally penalized the school in 2009 with probation time, a reduction in scholarships and an order to vacate wins. The university appealed the decision regarding giving up the victories. Last month the NCAA denied FSU’s appeal and the school set about determining which wins to vacate.
The wins came under 13-year coach Sue Semrau, the all- all-time winningest coach in FSU women’s basketball history. The NCAA concluded that no FSU coach played a role in the misconduct.
Sixteen of the wins to be vacated came during the team’s breakout season when the Seminoles reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. Their run ended with a defeat at the hands of LSU.
The breakdown of vacated wins for women’s basketball:
- 16 wins from the 2006-2007 season
- 13 regular-season wins
- One from the ACC tournament
- Two from the NCAA tournament (games against Old Dominion and Stanford)
- Six regular-season wins from the 2007-08 season
Around the Web
- NCAA penalizes Florida State, March 6, 2009 (ncaa.org)
- Division I Committee on Infractions Report on Florida State University (.pdf)
- FSU 2006-2007 Season in Review (seminoles.com)
- FSU 2007-2008 Season in Review (seminoles.com)
- Photo gallery: LSU vs. Florida State, March 24, 2007 (lsusports.net)
3 Comments
"… The wins came under 13-year coach Sue Semrau, the all- all-time winningest coach in FSU women’s basketball history. The NCAA concluded that no FSU coach played a role in the misconduct. …"
It's hard to believe that no FSU coach had anything to do with this!
CarolAnne, yes it does seem weird. I don't understand why the students felt it was OK to cheat. There's no gray area about the unethical behavior of getting questions and answers BEFORE your test. Or having someone write and type your papers for you.
"… The wins came under 13-year coach Sue Semrau, the all- all-time winningest coach in FSU women’s basketball history. The NCAA concluded that no FSU coach played a role in the misconduct. …"
It's hard to believe that no FSU coach had anything to do with this!
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