Texas A&M soccer was paroled for a year and coach Jimbo Fisher received a six-month warrant for good cause after it was discovered that he and the program had violated NCAA-related recruiting and sports activity rules. .
The findings, released Thursday, stemmed from violations between January 2018 and February 2019, including an instance in which Fisher and an assistant coach had inadmissible contact with a recruit. As part of the negotiated resolution, the school had to end the recruitment of the recruit in question.
The NCAA did not name the assistant coach, but Texas A&M later identified him as Jay Graham, who is now an assistant in Tennessee.
Fisher, who was found to have “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance” and “failed to demonstrate that he supervised his staff,” was forced to comply with a nine-day ban on prospective phone calls, emails and text messages in January. .
“While I am disappointed in the violations, including an unintentional one that resulted from a conversation with a high school athlete, it is still my responsibility to make sure I follow each and every rule. I am pleased to have this matter completely behind our program and we look forward to continuing our efforts to make every aspect of our program one that all Aggies can be proud of, “Fisher said in a school statement.
The cause of the Fisher show will be in effect for the rest of 2020, and Graham also received a six-month show cause order and other penalties.
It was also discovered that the soccer program caused its players to exceed uptime limits by approximately seven hours over several weeks during the spring and summer of 2018.
In addition to probation, Texas A&M received a $ 5,000 fine and various other recruitment restrictions.
“Since coming to Texas A&M, I have seen Coach Fisher’s personal commitment to integrity and rule compliance up close. I appreciate his response, including the actions taken during the process itself. As a result, the program moves forward and continues. on track both in our pursuit of excellence in the short and long term. This will have no impact on our current or future student athletes, the 2020 postseason or our pursuit of championship success on and off the field, “said sports director Ross. Bjork in the statement.
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