The NCAA on Tuesday upheld the previously-announced sanctions against the football; baseball; and softball teams at Missouri, sanctions that include scholarship reductions; recruiting limits; and a one-year postseason ban for the softball team, in addition to similar penalties for the other sports.
After the infractions were initially handed down in January of this year, Missouri appealed the case and a hearing was held in July. The appeals committee’s decision was the one handed down on Tuesday, after a nearly four-month wait following the summer hearing.
The case centered around a school tutor who, in 2015 and ’16, provided improper assistance to a dozen Missouri student-athletes. That group included one softball player. The tutor completed various course work for the athletes, including homework and quiz problems for a softball player in a Statistics class when, according to the NCAA’s initial findings, “the student-athlete could not figure out the solutions on her own.”
Missouri athletics published a media release on Tuesday, noting, in part, “Today’s decision raises serious questions about whether the current NCAA enforcement system encourages or discourages cultures of compliance and integrity. While we have exhausted our NCAA appeal avenues, we will continue to advocate for meaningful reform within the NCAA enforcement process.”
There are zero players on the Missouri softball roster who were on the team in 2016 when the infractions took place.
In a statement published on the Missouri athletics website following the decision on Tuesday, Tigers’ head softball coach Larissa Anderson said, “I am absolutely heartbroken and disappointed by the committee’s decision to punish a group of 27 current student-athletes who didn’t play any role in this and have done everything right from the very beginning. The NCAA claims to value the student-athlete experience, but this decision continues to cause unnecessary harm to a group of innocent student-athletes. This unjust decision will not deter our program. We have pride in Mizzou, and we will continue to Win it Right as one family.”
Reached by text message later Tuesday, Anderson added, “The NCAA will never realize the impact this has on each one of our players. They were not the ones who had to look into their eyes this morning and tell them their dreams are being taken away.”
In their first season under Anderson’s guidance in 2019, the Tigers surpassed many expectations, finishing the year 35-25 overall, with a 12-12 conference record. The squad reached the NCAA tournament, and were the only team to record a victory during the postseason over eventual National Champion UCLA.
