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UPDATE: The NCAA disputed it suspended any players after this article was published. The original piece appears below.
The NCAA doesn’t wield the power it once did before the advent of the NIL Era. However, there are still plenty of ways for schools to land in hot water, and Wofford may not be able to field a men’s basketball team this season over some overblown violations that led to the team’s coach being fired and almost half of the roster being deemed ineligible.
The mission statement of the NCAA asserts the governing body aims to “provide a world-class athletics and academic experience for student-athletes that fosters lifelong well-being.” That is listed on the same page where the organization asserts it is dedicated to promoting “safe, fair and inclusive competition,” an effort that has historically been manifested in a draconian approach to enforcing the rules that the schools and student-athletes that fall under its purview are required to adhere to.
The NCAA was once devoted to ensuring those student-athletes couldn’t make a single cent off of their name, image, and likeness, which created an environment that produced a steady string of scandals involving the “impermissible benefits” that were frequently provided as a way to get around rules that prevent players from being paid.
Many of those violations seem positively quaint in an era where some college kids are now making millions of dollars a year thanks to their athletic prowess. The NCAA has also found itself becoming increasingly irrelevant with every year that passes, but it remains the judge, jury, and executioner in a realm where there are still plenty of regulations governing what can and can’t be done.
The men’s basketball team at Wofford is the latest program to be reminded of that reality, and it’s found itself in an unenviable situation due to some violations where the punishment does not appear to fit the supposed crime.
Wofford might not have a men’s basketball team this year after losing its head coach and a chunk of players over a meal plan issue
There are currently more than 360 basketball teams that play at the Division I level, and many of those smaller programs have their work cut out for them thanks to the combination of the transfer portal and NIL deals.
That includes the Wofford Terriers, who represented the Southern Conference in the NCAA Tournament last year—the first time they’d punched their ticket to March Madness since 2019 and the first time since Dwight Perry took over as head coach in 2022.
They were hoping to ride that momentum into the upcoming season, but things took an unexpected turn last week when Wofford announced Perry (along with associate coach Tysor Anderson) had been fired less than two months before the season got underway.
No explanation was initially offered, and it seemed safe to assume some more information would eventually surface out of Spartanburg. That was indeed the case, as Field of 68 has gotten the lowdown on what supposedly transpired.
The outlet spoke with attorney Mark Peper, who represents a number of players who were slated to play for Wofford this season. That includes four of the six guys who were recently deemed ineligible over a housing mix-up that led to them using a meal plan after moving off campus (the players, five of whom transferred there this year, were promised a spot in upperclassman suites on campus but found their own housing after being placed in an underclassman one with communal bathrooms).
Peper says the “impermissible benefits” that led to the NCAA bringing down the hammer ranged in value from $84 to $108. He added the players were not told the meal plan would be an issue after they changed their housing accommodations, and while he claims “the college and I fully expect the NCAA to swiftly reinstate them,” their status remains unchanged as of this writing.
As things currently stand, Wofford may not have enough players to field a full team, and that could still end up being the case if Perry is not welcomed back into the fold upon a successful appeal (every player was given 30 days to enter the transfer portal upon his dismissal).
The NCAA has entered a new era, but I guess some things never change.