The NCAA added more sanctions to the Arizona men’s basketball program Thursday. NCAA came down hard on the team by vacating 19 wins from the 2007-2008 Wildcats season and also removed an additional scholarship because of violations that involved Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson.
While the Arizona side was quick to announce their violations and even self imposed sanctions in February that included the loss of scholarships for 2011-2012 and several cutbacks in recruiting visits over that time the NCAA felt they needed to come down harder. The NCAA held Arizona to their word by minimizing recruiting in 2011 but they determined that players from the 2007-08 were ineligible and the team would be forced to vacate all wins involving those players. The NCAA also took away scholarships for 2012-13 season and pushed the Cats probation back for another 2 years. The University said it will not appeal the ruling.
“We’re satisfied that the process has reached a conclusion,” Arizona director of athletics Greg Byrne said. “We have cooperated throughout and respect the findings of the committee. Now it’s time for us to move forward with a focus on maintaining the highest standards of integrity within our entire athletics program.”
The team may be OK with the vacated wins of prior seasons but fans of the program will be frustrated hearing that their recruiting will be hurting the first several years of Sean Miller experiment.