Florida State football penalized for NIL violations
Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The NCAA issued major penalties to the Florida State football program for violations of name, image and likeness rules, the collegiate sports governing organization announced.
"A Florida State assistant football coach violated NCAA rules when he facilitated an impermissible recruiting contact between a transfer prospect and a booster," the NCAA said in a release published Thursday night.
Sources told ESPN, Yahoo Sports and On3.com that offensive coordinator Alex Atkins was the coach cited. Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell was not named in the negotiated resolution or charged with violations.
The NCAA placed the wayward coach on two years' probation and issued a three-game suspension. He also was restricted from off-campus recruiting last fall, as part of an agreement negotiated between the assistant coach, NCAA and Florida State.
Florida State also must dissociate from an unspecified collective for a year and from the booster for three years. The NCAA fined Florida State $5,000 and 1% of its football budget.
The organization reduced football scholarships for the Seminoles by 5% over the two-year probationary period, in addition to reductions in official visits allowed, in-person recruiting days and football recruiting communications.
The NCAA said the unnamed booster involved is the CEO of a collective -- an independent organization that raises money and gives it to Florida State athletes as part of NIL agreements. Collectives are typically founded by alumni and other supporters of schools.
Investigators found that the booster encouraged the prospect to transfer to Florida State by offering an NIL deal "as a recruiting inducement," and the assistant coach violated ethical conduct rules by providing "false or misleading information" about his involvement.
According to the release from the NCAA, the penalized coach transported the prospect and his parents to and from an off-campus meeting with the booster. The assistant coach did not attend the meeting.
Investigators determined that the booster offered the prospect "an NIL opportunity with the collective worth approximately $15,000 per month" during his first year with the Seminoles.
The prospect withdrew his name from the transfer portal after that meeting and remained at his previous school. The NCAA said the prospect did not receive any compensation.
"The school and enforcement staff agreed that the meeting with the booster violated several recruiting rules," the release said. "Specifically, the meeting constituted an impermissible recruiting contact because boosters are not authorized recruiters and generally cannot have in-person, off-campus contact with prospects."
The NCAA said the booster also violated recruiting rules by contacting the prospect and his mother by phone. Investigators said the assistant coach twice denied facilitating the meeting, but was "truthful about aspects of the violations."
He admitted to his role in transporting the prospect and his parents to the location of the meeting with the booster.
"We are pleased to reach closure to this situation and view this as another step in strengthening our culture of compliance at Florida State University," Seminoles athletic director Michael Alford said in a statement.
"We take all compliance matters very seriously, and our full cooperation with the NCAA on this case is a clear example of that commitment. We remain committed to compliance with all NCAA rules including disassociation of the booster and collective."
The negotiated resolution cannot be appealed.
