MOBILE, Ala. — The South Alabama men’s basketball program will lose two scholarships and four hours of weekly practice time after falling short of the NCAA’s minimum Academic Progress Rate, according to penalties announced earlier this month.
The sanctions reduce the Jaguars from 13 scholarships to 11 and cut weekly practice time from 20 hours to 16.
Scores Below the 925 Benchmark
The NCAA’s minimum APR score is 925. The South Alabama men’s basketball team posted an 888, and the men’s tennis team scored an 896. Both programs were sanctioned.
South Alabama athletic director Joel Erdmann said the basketball penalty is what the NCAA classifies as a “phase-two historical penalty.”
Two Jaguars, LaShun Watson and Raymond Sim, were academically ineligible for the second half of the past basketball season.
How the Penalties Work
Programs with an APR below 925 generally cannot replace scholarships held by athletes who left the program while academically ineligible in the previous academic year. The NCAA can impose additional historical penalties on programs that underperform over time, including limits on practice time, as South Alabama received, and bans on postseason play.
Around the State and Nation
UAB was the other program in Alabama with similar problems. The UAB men’s basketball team scored below 900 for three consecutive years, but the NCAA agreed to waive a postseason ban after the school presented an improvement plan that included stricter admissions standards and closer administrative supervision.
All 21 programs at Alabama scored above the minimum. The Crimson Tide football team scored 957, above the Division I average of 944, and Alabama men’s basketball raised its score 44 points to 966. Men’s basketball had been the only Alabama sport to fall short of the minimum in the last three years.
Auburn men’s basketball posted a 916 but was not penalized because no academically ineligible players left the program during the past year.
Of the 10 teams the NCAA said were subject to postseason bans, only the Portland State men’s basketball team will be barred from postseason play. UAB football and Jacksonville State men’s basketball received full or conditional waivers.
