NCAA cites Georgia Tech for recruiting violations

According to a report from Ken Segiura of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia Tech has been cited for “failure to monitor” by the NCAA. Much of the issues stem from former assistant football coach Todd Spencer, who resigned from his position in 2012.

Here’s what Segiura had to say about the matter in his piece (linked above):

"“That is not something that sits well with me or with any of us here,” athletic director Mike Bobinski said of the “failure to monitor” reprimand. “That’s not a good-sounding or good-feeling term. It’s not one we want to wear beyond this. As I told you before, it is clearly our intention this the last time we ever go down this road.”The NCAA’s two-year investigation, conducted with Tech’s cooperation, found multiple Level II violations, which are defined as a significant breach of conduct, committed in 2011 and 2012. Many stemmed from coaches on the football and men’s and women’s basketball teams unknowingly making impermissible phone calls to prospects. Coaches told the NCAA that they were acting under the incorrect instruction from a former Tech compliance director that they did not need to do so. Calls were often rendered impermissible due to a failure to follow a call-logging protocol."

In the big scheme of things, this doesn’t seem like a huge issue (especially compared to some of the larger college scandals that have surfaced in recent years), but as Bobinski stated in his comments above, it’s not a good situation to be in.

It is encouraging that the school was cooperative in the investigation, and the university has also apparently self-imposed two years of probation — in addition to the four-year probation received from the NCAA after the Demaryius Thomas improper benefits issue.