I am not going to lie, it has been a hard week. I went to work early and left mid-day. I avoided eye contact and small talk. I smiled politely and walked away as others pointed and sneered. I veered clear of all media and privately reflected and mourned. I even went so far to tape over my We Are Georgetown shirts, to resemble the below image. But now it is time to face the music, and acknowledge and publicly share the shame that has oh-so-unexpectedly been cast upon me.
Due to what has been deemed major violations, the NCAA has placed the Georgetown University Athletic Department on probation until September 2012. The violations stem from a gruesome discovery that Georgetown University itself uncovered and reported to the NCAA in 2007. Violations so heinous and diabolical in nature that I caution those faint of heart to read any further. Here goes... 26 players from Georgetown baseball teams spanning 2001-2007 were overpaid by an estimated total of $61,552. Over seven wretched and corruption-filled seasons, 26 baseball players were each overpaid by an average of $2,366.23. Kelvin Samson expressed outrage when informed of the news.
As a result, the NCAA has handed down the following penalties, all of which Georgetown will not appeal:
- Public reprimand and censure.
- Three years of probation (September 2, 2009, to September 1, 2012).
- Limit of five equivalency scholarships for baseball for 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years (self-imposed by the university). The committee extended this restriction to the 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 academic years. If the institution has already obligated more than five equivalencies in baseball for the 2009-10 academic year, it may delay the initiation of this limit to 2010-11, in which case this penalty will end with the 2012-13 academic year.
- Financial penalty of $61,000.
- Vacation of all wins in which any of the involved 26 baseball student-athletes competed while ineligible during the 2000-01 through 2006-07 baseball seasons.
In sum, our investigation concluded that over a seven-year period, the Department of Athletics paid an estimated $61,522 in excess work-study compensation to 26 student-athletes in the baseball program. The student-athletes performed real tasks and were paid an appropriate hourly rate, but our investigation revealed that after the baseball field (where most of the tasks were performed) moved off campus at the beginning of the 2000-2001 academic year, the method used for tracking hours worked was ineffective. While this mistake is certainly unacceptable, it is important to note that the investigation concluded that the individuals involved did not intend to cheat or violate NCAA rules and that Georgetown's baseball program did not receive any competitive advantage as a result of these infractions.