Campbell placed on NCAA probation for eligibility issues with transfer athletes

Campbell has been placed on NCAA probation for eligibility issues with transfer athletes in 10 sports over a five-year period.

The private school in Buies Creek “failed to monitor the eligibility certification of transfer student-athletes,” starting in 2010 and allowed ineligible athletes to compete, according to the NCAA.

There were 34 transfers, in 10 sports, that failed to meet “progress-toward-degree requirements,” according to the NCAA, which posted its decision on its website on Aug. 11.

The NCAA put the university on probation for one year, through August 2017, and the school has to vacate wins in which the ineligible athletes participated. The NCAA did not identify the specific sports involved in the case.

The baseball and wrestling programs were specifically punished for Academic Progress Rate deficiencies. The NCAA violations were discovered by Campbell during an APR audit.

The baseball team had an APR score of 918 in 2013-14. Scores below 930 can trigger punishment from the NCAA. The baseball team self-imposed a postseason ban last season. The NCAA accepted Campbell’s self-imposed penalties and did not add any other postseason bans. Practice hours for both the baseball and wrestling programs will be reduced as part of the punishment.

Campbell added a $5,000 fine to the NCAA punishment. The school self-reported the violations. The NCAA’s Committee on Infractions panel handled the case which was a cooperative summary disposition process with Campbell.

According to the NCAA release, Campbell had a “deficient eligibility certification process” and the university “did not listen to warnings from conference officials and the school’s own compliance office.”

A release from Campbell, posted on its website, cites an “administrative error during the certification process.”

“We are grateful that the NCAA has worked with us to correct administrative irregularities and we have taken steps to ensure something like this does not happen again,” Campbell President J. Bradley Creed wrote in a statement released on the school’s website.

“We are fully committed to ensuring compliance with conference and NCAA regulations and in operating an athletics program with a level of professionalism that best serves our student-athletes and campus community.”

This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Campbell placed on NCAA probation for eligibility issues with transfer athletes."