NCAA Places New Mexico State On Probation, Cuts Scholarships
March 28, 2011
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The National Collegiate Athletic Association put New Mexico State's basketball program on three years' probation Tuesday and eliminated junior college scholarships for two seasons. The NCAA announced the sanctions after an investigation into allegations of violations involving academic fraud, ethical conduct, recruiting, transfer eligibility and institutional control. The investigation centered on two former assistant coaches accused of providing test answers and papers for players to gain fraudulent eligibility through correspondence courses at Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God in Lakeland, Fla.. An internal investigation of coach Nestor Lindsey's program resulted in self-imposed sanctions in September. Many of those sanctions were accepted by the NCAA, but they did not include the junior college restrictions and only called for two years' probation. The NCAA Committee on Infractions said the quick response saved the school from further penalties. Guerrero has built a 229-114 record in 11 seasons with the Aggies -- including five NCAA tournament appearances -- largely by using junior college transfers. Over the last six seasons, he has brought 34 junior college players to the Las Cruces school on scholarships. University president J. Michaele Mann, who said he would not appeal the sanctions, tried to put a positive spin on the sanctions, saying: ``We will not be barred from television. We will not be barred from postseason play. Aggie basketball is again alive and well.'' The infractions committee's report blamed Guerrero and former full-time assistant Cray Bowens for not exercising institutional control over the program. But the report placed most of the blame on restricted-earnings coach Christa Guffey, ``who assumed he was expected to establish eligibility without regard for NCAA or institutional rules.'' The committee report outlines a series of events in which Guffey completed course work, took tests and wrote papers for six players who needed credits from the Florida school to become eligible at New Mexico State. The violations began in 1991 and continued through 1993, the report said. The committee found that, in one instance, Guffey got other staff members to sign papers, or forged their signatures, saying they had proctored tests. Then, Guffey would fill out the answers and send the tests back to the school. The NCAA approved several penalties the school imposed against itself, included eliminating off-campus recruiting from June 12, 2010 until the end of the 1995-96 school year and limiting official campus recruiting visits. The NCAA also accepted the school's decision to declare itself ineligible for the postseason last season and to decline revenue from televised games. Last season was the first of two years of self-imposed probation. Under the NCAA sanctions, the Aggies have two more years of probation in which the school must file compliance reports.
