Unsatisfied with the NCAA’s ruling and feeling its integrity has been challenged, Georgia Tech plans to push back against a judgment that took away its 2009 ACC football title.
On Thursday, associate athletic director Wayne Hogan called it a “virtual certainty” that the school will challenge the NCAA infractions committee’s judgment that it committed major violations, including failing to cooperate with an NCAA investigation into two former football players.
“It’s more about the fact that there’s some doors that haven’t been closed in this case, that there is some curiosity as to the severity of the penalties based upon the facts of the case,” Hogan said.
School president G.P. “Bud” Peterson, athletic director Dan Radakovich and other school officials came to the conclusion to appeal after meeting Thursday. Tech will have until next Thursday to notify the NCAA that it seeks a hearing with the infractions appeals committee. Following that, the school will have 30 days to file a written appeal, part of a process that Hogan said could take months. The appeals committee’s decision will be final.
Recent history does not favor the school. Since the NCAA changed appeals process rules in 2008 that raised the standards for a successful appeal, one out of 13 appeals has been granted.
Previously, the appeals committee could overturn a ruling if it found the penalty was inappropriate based on evidence and circumstances. Appealing schools or individuals now must show that the penalty “was excessive and is an abuse of discretion” by the infractions committee.
Rulings also can be overturned if the ruling clearly was contrary to the evidence, the individual or school did not actually break NCAA rules or if there was a procedural error that caused the infractions committee to find a rules violation.
The system “is not designed to reward universities or coaches that have really good appellate issues,” said Michael Buckner, a Florida-based attorney who led the only successful appeal of the 13. “They could have a perfectly good set of appellate issues, and they still may not win.”
Hogan acknowledged the long odds, but said that “I also believe that this case is so odd and so different from many other cases that we’ve seen, I believe you have to look at this one in a whole different light.”
The NCAA’s investigation determined that former star wide receiver Demaryius Thomas received $312 worth of clothes and determined it a “preferential treatment” violation. More damaging, the NCAA found that Tech officials were obstructionist and impeded the investigation.
Tech officials acknowledged mistakes in the investigation, including Radakovich’s disobeying instructions from an NCAA investigator not to discuss an impending interview with football player Morgan Burnett with anyone other than Peterson. Radakovich informed coach Paul Johnson, who told Burnett.
Radakovich called it a managerial decision, but the NCAA said it damaged the integrity of the investigation. In addition to the vacated title, the NCAA fined Tech $100,000 and placed it on probation for four years.
Hogan said he did not know which penalty or rules-violations findings that Tech would appeal — it could be any or all — but acknowledged the vacated title “rises to the top of that list.”
“At the end of the day, we want to make sure that we have an opportunity to convey the fact that the institute is an honorable and respectful place,” Hogan said, “and that at some point it’s important to protect that, to protect your image and integrity.”
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