Florida State Football Assistant Coach Suspended by NCAA for NIL Violations
The NCAA announced on Thursday that an assistant football coach for Florida State received a two-year show cause order for violations related to recruiting as well as name, image and likeness rules.
The coach facilitated an impermissible recruiting contact between a transfer prospect and a booster. While the transfer prospect officially visited the campus, the coach transported the prospect and his mother to an off-campus meeting with a booster, who at the time was the chief executive officer of an NIL collective that also was a booster.
The punishment also includes a two-year probation, a three-year disassociation from the booster as well as a $5,000 fine, plus 1 percent of the football budget.
During the off-campus visit, the booster encouraged the prospect to join Florida State’s football team and offered him an NIL opportunity with the collective that would be worth roughly $15,000 per month throughout his first year with the Seminoles. This is illegal under current NCAA rules, as boosters are not authorized recruiters and cannot have in-person, off-campus meetings with prospects.
The booster also contacted the prospect as well as his mother following the meeting, although the player eventually removed his name from the transfer portal and decided to remain at his previous school without accepting the offer from the booster.
According to the NCAA, the university agreed with the enforcement staff that several recruiting rules were violated. The program received additional punishments which includes a reduction in football recruiting communications for a total of six weeks during the 2023-24 academic year as well as the 2024-25 academic year. Florida State also received a reduction in the number of in-person recruiting days during the 2023-24 academic year.
This announcement comes on the heels of Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell’s reported interview with Alabama regarding the Crimson Tide’s current opening at head coach following Nick Saban’s retirement (per Griffin McVeigh of On3.com).
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