KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The University of Missouri officially filed an appeal Thursday in an attempt to try to overturn recent penalties handed down by the NCAA.
Late last month, the NCAA handed down penalties related to an academic fraud scandal at MU. Those penalties include postseason bans for the football, baseball and softball teams.
In an email to Tiger Scholarship Fund (TSF) donors, MU athletic director Jim Sterk said it will appeal all of the penalties handed down, except vacated wins and one year of probation. The email called those penalties "standard" in these types of cases.
Once the NCAA acknowledges the appeal, MU will have 30 days to file its written response. The entire process will likely take several months. According to the NCAA, the average appeal takes eight months.
"Mizzou's case involved an isolated incident within our program, however, the penalties applied are overly harsh, not in line with established precedent and negatively impact student-athletes who chose to attend the University of Missouri and had nothing to do with the actions of one rogue individual," Sterk said in a statement.
For the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee to overturn or modify an original ruling, an appeal must show one of the following:
- “A factual finding is clearly contrary to the evidence presented to the Committee on Infractions panel.”
- “The facts found by the Committee on Infractions panel do not constitute a violation of the NCAA constitution and bylaws.”
- “There was a procedural error, and but for the error, the Committee on Infractions panel would not have made the finding or conclusion.”
- “Or, in prescribing a penalty, the Committee on Infractions panel abused its discretion.”
MU will likely stick to number four on that list. In a statement immediately after the NCAA issued the penalties and in another statement issued Thursday, Sterk used the phrase "abused its discretion."
The Thursday statement reads, "We believe that the Committee on Infractions abused its discretion in applying penalties to the University of Missouri Athletics program."
As part of it's effort to get the punishment overturned, MU recently launched a public relations campaign called "#MakeItRight." The university even launched a special website for fans to get information on the entire process.
Despite the strong effort, MU said it will not be "overly aggressive or hostile." In an email to TSF donors Sterk said, "We need to strike a balance in our approach, otherwise it could be detrimental to the outcome of our appeal."
During the appeal, all the punishments are stayed, allowing all three teams to compete in the postseason until the appeal is decided.
