Long Island University allowed more than 1,000 athletes in over 30 sports to participate while ineligible, according to an NCAA investigation. The infractions occurred between the 2020-21 and 2023-24 academic years.
As a result of the findings, the NCAA has placed Long Island University on probation for a period of three years. The school will also be subject to a “$30,000 fine, plus 3% of the budgets for the four highest-budgeted sports programs involved in violations,” and a two-week ban on recruiting activities for each sport during the first year of probation.
Also, the NCAA will vacate all conference tournament and regular season victories, records, and participation in which ineligible athletes participated. A head coach’s career record will also not include vacated victories, and all affected sports must return any NCAA awards. Additionally, the NCAA will vacate the individual records of ineligible athletes.
According to the negotiated resolution released by the NCAA on Monday, the infractions involved every sport the university participated in during those four years, including baseball, men’s basketball, men’s cross country, men’s fencing, men’s golf, men’s ice hockey, men’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, men’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis, men’s indoor track, men’s outdoor track, men’s volleyball, men’s water polo, men’s wrestling, women’s basketball, women’s bowling, women’s cross country, women’s equestrian, women’s fencing, women’s gymnastics, women’s ice hockey, women’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, women’s rugby, women’s soccer, women’s swimming and diving, women’s tennis, women’s indoor track, women’s outdoor track, women’s volleyball, and women’s water polo.
The Long Island University softball program, which clinched its second consecutive NEC regular season title this past weekend, will have to vacate 117 wins.
More than 1,000 athletes participated while ineligible for Long Island University
The NCAA investigation cited a total of 1,009 athletes. 240 student-athletes in 33 sports were incorrectly certified as eligible. 176 of those athletes received compensation for their travel expenses, even though they were ineligible or improperly certified.
An additional 658 competed and 111 practiced without completing the necessary NCAA forms, such as student-athlete statements and consent forms for drug testing.
According to a report by Greater Long Island, the Division I athletics program at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus merged with the Division II program at its Post campus in Brookville in 2019–20 to form a single Division I department, which was the main cause of the infractions.
The NCAA’s report states that one compliance staff member was then placed in charge of overseeing eligibility certification for all 35 sports after the merger. Due to the division of the athletics department between the Brooklyn and Post campuses, there were “communications inefficiencies” between coaches and compliance personnel regarding team rosters.