The NCAA Division I Council announced on Tuesday that it's voted unanimously to introduce a package of proposals with the aim of strengthening penalties during the infractions process. Among the most notable of the proposals the was the NCAA Council including the expansion of coaching suspensions to include days between contests.
This proposal is especially relevant given the recent suspension levied against Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. Michigan self-imposed a three-game ban for Harbaugh to begin the 2023 season stemming from alleged recruiting violations during the extended COVID-19 dead period. Though Harbaugh was unable to even attend the Wolverines' first three games, he was able to handle coaching duties during the week.
The council also proposed the creation of a public database of coaches with a history of Level I/II violations, the two most severe tiers in the NCAA infractions process. Below is a full list of the proposals put forth by the Division I council:
- Publicly naming individuals involved in infractions and creating a public database to identify coaches with more severe violations.
- Expanding coaching suspensions to include the days between games.
- Expanding disassociation penalties for boosters that engage in rules violations.
- Attaching penalties for schools that hire individuals during a show-cause order.
The language on the last point is interesting. College coaches are typically hit with a show-cause order when they commit major rules violations. Any NCAA penalties imposed on that coach will stay in effect for the duration of the show cause and, under the current guidelines, any university that wants to hire a coach with a show cause attached must appear before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions and provide good reason -- "show cause" -- as to why it should not be penalized for hiring that coach.
The council's language on the proposals seems to suggest that schools will now incur a penalty, regardless of circumstance, for employing anyone under a show-cause order. The NCAA's release Tuesday did not expand on the severity of penalties a university could face.