NCAA hits Georgia Tech

The NCAA placed Georgia Tech’s women’s basketball program on probation for three years Tuesday, citing violations committed under former coach MaChelle Joseph that included players being forced to practice longer than the rules allow and on scheduled off days. The investigation also found that players feared reprisals from Joseph if they spoke out, and cited “a tense and strained relationship” between the coaching staff and the school’s compliance office. The NCAA finding means both the men’s and women’s programs at Georgia Tech have landed on probation, a situation that prompted the governing body to also order a comprehensive compliance review of Georgia Tech’s athletics department by an outside agency. The probationary period for the women’s team does not include a ban on participating in the NCAA Tournament, but an infractions committee headed by former Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi did impose a $5,000 fine plus 1% of the program’s annual budget. The probationary period will be tacked on to a four-year sanction against the men’s program, which is set to end in 2023. The women’s team will then go on probation through 2026. “We had concerns,” Maturi said. “We wanted to make sure the institution continued to improve its compliance program and the thoroughness of its compliance program to help them minimize any further infractions.” The report said the violations in the women’s program occurred over three academic years from 2016 through February 2019, when Joseph was placed on leave late in the season. She was fired a month later by the school, which cited alleged mistreatment of players and staff, as well as possible NCAA violations. A former assistant also was cited for NCAA violations. While no one was identified in the report, the school’s earlier response to a notice of allegations made it clear that Rob Norris was that assistant coach. The NCAA found that Georgia Tech routinely violated limits on practice time as well as required days off. “Each week, the director of women’s basketball operations provided student-athletes with the practice schedule,” the NCAA said. “However, a former women’s basketball assistant coach would notify student-athletes on the day before or day of practice that the schedule had changed, frequently requiring the team to report to practice early. Additionally, according to multiple student-athletes, the team was regularly required to practice an hour or more longer than scheduled.”