The day of reckoning is upon the University of Miami.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is expected to publicly release its infractions report on Tuesday in Miami’s longstanding case involving rogue booster Nevin Shapiro.
All parties involved are expected to be notified by Tuesday morning, after which the NCAA findings will be released, a source with knowledge of the case told the Miami Herald. A news conference is expected in the afternoon, the source said.
Two-and-a-half years after the NCAA officially opened the case and more than 18 weeks after UM representatives went before the Committee of Infractions for a hearing in Indianapolis, the Hurricanes – and the rest of the world – will learn of their punishment.
Plenty of information in this case has been leaked, so it’s possible UM could know at least some of what’s coming.
The actual report will be released to the media shortly before the teleconference.
Scholarship sanctions, and possibly coaching and recruiting restrictions, are expected to be only part of the punishment. Those restrictions are definitely expected for some former UM coaches who have since left the program. One big unknown is whether the Hurricanes, who already self-imposed postseason bans in 2011 and ’12 (encompassing two bowl games and the Atlantic Coast Conference title game) will be hit with another bowl ban.
The Canes could also be hit with financial penalties. And some are wondering if certain former players tied to the scandal will be barred from campus or games, or if any victories or records will be vacated.
UM would have 15 days to submit in writing its intent to appeal any or all of the sanctions and/or the findings of violations, according to NCAA bylaws. If UM appeals, the process will drag on for several months.
So, for example, should the Hurricanes receive another postseason ban and decide to appeal it, they’d still be able to play in a bowl or league championship game after this season.
Hurricanes athletic director Blake James has talked publicly about the case numerous times. He said UM had hoped to receive the report by the Aug. 30 season opener, but had cooperated fully and could only wait.
“We’re almost there,’’ James said on WQAM’s Hurricane Hotline. “I don’t think there’s a person who has a bit of orange and green in their blood that doesn’t want this process to be over. With that said, I think we’ve done an outstanding job as an institution and as a program in respecting the process, as frustrating as it is for everyone.
“The reality is we have to let it play out and go about our business. …The great thing is we’re getting close to the end.’’
That was a month ago.
UM coach Al Golden has acknowledged that any “master plan’’ he might have had as Hurricanes coach “got torn up’’ in mid-August, 2011, when the UM/Shapiro story broke.
“There is no plan for what transpired here,’’ the coach said. “We’ve been fighting since that moment. At the end of the day I’m concerning myself with the final product, not how we got from point A to point B. It’s been that kind of two years.’’
Miami’s two-day NCAA hearing took place June 13-14 in Indianapolis.
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