Texas A&M football on one-year probation for recruiting violations.
Program hit with one-year probation after practice, recruiting violations
COLLEGE STATION — The NCAA placed Texas A&M’s football program on a one-year probation starting Thursday and banned coach Jimbo Fisher from all off-campus recruiting for the fall 2020 contact period.
Those were among other resolutions reached between the NCAA and A&M following what the NCAA described as violations concerning “recruiting and countable athletically related activity rules between January 2018 and February 2019.”
Fisher, hired from Florida State in December 2017, is 17-9 in his first two seasons at A&M. The penalties, for what are deemed minor infractions, do not include any postseason bans or reductions in scholarships.
“As Texas A&M’s head football coach, I am responsible for promoting and monitoring for NCAA compliance in our program,” Fisher said in a statement. “While I am disappointed in the violations, including an unintended one that resulted from a conversation with a high school athlete, it is still my responsibility to ensure we are adhering to each and every rule.
“I am pleased to have this matter completely behind our program and look forward to continuing our efforts to make every aspect of our program one all Aggies can continue to be proud of.”
According to the NCAA, Fisher’s program “unintentionally caused student
athletes to exceed activity time limits by approximately seven hours” during permissible weeks of footballrelated activity during the spring and summer in the aforementioned time period.
In addition, the NCAA said Fisher and then-assistant coach Jay Graham had “impermissible recruiting contact with a prospect at his high school” — impermissible because it occurred before the completion of the prospect’s junior year of high school.
A&M has ended its recruitment of the unnamed prospect, and the NCAA banned A&M from recruiting prospects from the unnamed high school through the spring of 2022. Graham is now an assistant at Tennessee and is not permitted to recruit off-campus during the fall 2020 contact period as part of the agreement.
“Since I arrived at Texas A&M, I have seen up close and personal Coach Fisher’s commitment to integrity and following the rules,” A&M athletic director Ross Bjork said in a statement. “I
appreciate his response, including actions taken during the process itself. As a result, the program moves forward and remains on track in both our short- and long-term quest for excellence.
“This will have no impact on our current or future student-athletes, the 2020 postseason, or our pursuit of championship success on and off the field.”
A&M cited these additional responses to the investigation:
• “The university will impose a seven-day off-campus recruiting ban for the football staff during the spring 2020 evaluation period, and a ten-day ban during the 2020 fall evaluation recruiting period.”
• “The university will develop and implement a comprehensive educational program on NCAA legislation to instruct coaches and all athletics department personnel and institutional staff members on their responsibilities regarding NCAA recruiting legislation.”
• A $5,000 penalty. The probation period will end July 2, 2021.
“I am grateful to the coaches and staff for acknowledging
their mistakes and for taking appropriate actions to address issues, even before any decisions were made by the NCAA,” A&M president Michael Young said in a statement. “The ongoing commitment to compliance is essential. Coach Fisher and his staff have taken responsibility, implemented corrective actions, and have our full and total support.”
A&M added as part of a press release regarding the violations: “The NCAA acknowledged that Coach Fisher has never had any Level I, II or major violations during his tenure at any university.” It also referred to “the affirmative steps that Coach Fisher and the university have already taken to expedite the final resolution of the matters prior to the negotiated resolution announced today.”
The Aggies, who are scheduled to open their season Sept. 5 against Abilene Christan at Kyle Field, are taking part in voluntary workouts that started early last month following the suspension of all activities in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic.