COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The NCAA announced the completion of a negotiated resolution process with Texas A&M University related to what the university said is three isolated and unintentional violations in Aggie football between January 2018 and January 2019.
The NCAA acknowledged that Coach Fisher has never had any Level I, II or major violations during his tenure at any university and that Coach Fisher, as well as the university has taken positive steps to expedite the final resolution of the matters prior to the negotiated resolution announced today.
TAMU President Michael Young said he is pleased with the outcome of the process. He issued a statement after the NCAA issued its findings.
"I am grateful to the coaches and staff for acknowledging their mistakes and for taking appropriate actions to address issues, even before any decisions were made by the NCAA," the statement read. "The ongoing commitment to compliance is essential. Coach Fisher and his staff have taken responsibility, implemented corrective actions, and have our full and total support."
Athletic Director Ross Bjork said this has not shaken his faith in Fisher. "Since I arrived at Texas A&M, I have seen up close and personal Coach Fisher's commitment to integrity and following the rules," Bjork said. "I appreciate his response, including actions taken during the process itself. As a result, the program moves forward and remains on track in both our short and long-term quest for excellence. This will have no impact on our current or future student-athletes, the 2020 post-season, or our pursuit of championship success on and off the field."
"As Texas A&M's head football coach, I am responsible for promoting and monitoring for NCAA compliance in our program," Coach Fisher said. "While I am disappointed in the violations, including an unintended one that resulted from a conversation with a high school athlete, it is still my responsibility to ensure we are adhering to each and every rule. I am pleased to have this matter completely behind our program and look forward to continuing our efforts to make every aspect of our program one all Aggies can continue to be proud of."
Summary and details of the three violations
- In seven of 21 weeks in the spring and summer of 2018, the football program unintentionally required football student-athletes to exceed the allowable Countable Athletically Related Activities (CARA) hours by asking student-athletes to arrive early for practices. While the overall maximum number of CARA hours permitted was not exceeded in 2018, during a seven-week period, CARA hour maximums were exceeded. The CARA hour overages during those seven weeks ranged from 13 minutes one week to two hours during another week, totaling seven hours of impermissible activity time over the total seven-week period. The NCAA has designated this a Level III violation.
- In January 2019, an unintentional, yet impermissible recruiting contact occurred when Coach Jimbo Fisher and former assistant coach Jay Graham were present in the office area of a high school coach and communicated with a prospective student-athlete, violating NCAA bylaws and resulting in a Level II violation.
- Because of his involvement in the Level II recruiting violation, Coach Fisher was found to have violated the principle of head coach control, which requires him to properly create a culture of compliance and properly monitor himself and his staff. This is a Level II violation.
Corrective and proactive actions taken by Texas A&M Athletics prior to the conclusion of the NCAA process
- The university promptly investigated, acknowledged the CARA violations for the period in question, provided additional education to the football staff, and imposed closer administrative oversight of football team activities to ensure the program does not exceed CARA limits going forward;
- The university directed the football program, in the case of the impermissible contact with the prospective student-athlete, to immediately cease recruitment of the student-athlete, and to cease the recruitment of any prospective student-athlete from the involved high school, with which all coaches and staff complied;
- In November 2019, Texas A&M self-imposed an off-campus recruiting ban for the entire football coaching staff;
- The university reduced Coach Fisher and former assistant coach Graham's off-campus recruiting contact days by three days in the December 2019 – January 2020 recruiting time-period; and
- The university prohibited any phone calls, emails or text messages between Coach Fisher and former assistant coach Graham with any prospective student-athletes for nine days in January 2020.
Agreed upon penalties between the University and the NCAA
- A reduction of one paid official visit for a football prospective student-athlete during the 2019-2020 academic year and a reduction of 18 days of unofficial visits for prospective student-athletes in football during 2019-2020 academic year;
- Coach Fisher and former assistant coach Graham will conduct no off-campus recruiting activities during the fall of 2020 permissible contact period; Coach Graham will serve this penalty at his new institution.
- The university will impose a seven-day off-campus recruiting ban for the football staff during the spring 2020 evaluation period, and a ten-day ban during the 2020 fall evaluation recruiting period;
- The university and all of its football coaches are prohibited from any recruiting activities at the involved high school through the spring 2021;
- The university will develop and implement a comprehensive educational program on NCAA legislation to instruct coaches and all athletics department personnel and institutional staff members on their responsibilities regarding NCAA recruiting legislation.
- A one-year probation period from July 2, 2020 to July 1, 2021;
- $5,000 financial penalty