TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A football squad with a history of off-field problems will join other Florida State sports teams on self-imposed probation for two years, and some teams will lose scholarships due to an academic cheating scandal.
The university said in a report Thursday that about 60 student-athletes also have or will lose some eligibility. Two staff members, a tutor and learning specialist, have been fired. No additional dismissals were listed in an investigatory report.
The cheating occurred mainly through online testing for a single music history course in the fall of 2006 and the spring and summer semesters last year. It included staffers helping students on the test and in one case asking one athlete to take it for another.
Florida State officials conducted the investigation with assistance from the NCAA, Atlantic Coast Conference and a consulting firm. The report has been sent to the NCAA, which will conduct its own investigation and can impose additional penalties.
The NCAA's Student-Athlete Reinstatement staff, though, has agreed to a 30 percent across-the-board loss of eligibility for students who came forward and admitted they received improper help with the test.
"A probation is determined on a case by case basis," NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said.
She said it does not include a ban on postseason play, which is considered an additional sanction. If a school commits more violations while on probation, it then can face added penalties for the initiation infractions.
"We believe that our investigation has been thorough and exhaustive," said Florida State provost Larry Abele, who chaired the investigating committee. "This university and its Athletics Department have accepted responsibility, made changes in the process and systems and imposed penalties as warranted."
Among the corrective actions is a requirement for all athletics staff members to attend a four-hour training program titled "Decision-Making in the NCAA Compliance Environment." The school also is changing online course procedures including a requirement that tests be taken with a proctor present.
The number of scholarships reduced in each sport hasn't yet been determined but will depend on how many of its athletes were involved.
Some of the penalties already have gone into effect. About two dozen of the football team's top players were suspended for the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31 in Nashville, Tenn., where the Seminoles lost to Kentucky. Many of those players will remain suspended for the first three games of the 2008 season.
Florida State's off-field football troubles date back to 1981 when six players were placed on probation for a year after pleading no contest to aiding retail theft by obtaining televisions and other merchandise that a former teammate had taken from a department store.
Sports Illustrated ran a cover story in 1994 titled "Tainted Title" that alleged agents paid for a Foot Locker shopping spree by players on Florida State's 1993 championship team. Steve Spurrier, then coaching at Florida, dubbed his archrival "Free Shoes University."
In 1999, receiver Laveranues Coles was kicked off the team and fellow receiver Peter Warrick was suspended, after a department store clerk gave the two star receivers deep and unauthorized discounts on clothing.
Last season, Tallahassee police used a Taser to subdue linebacker Geno Hayes during an altercation outside a night club. Teammate Joe Surrat was charged with striking a police officer.
There also have been academic problems. Deion Sanders stopped going to class during his last year, but didn't miss any playing time, resulting in what's called the "Deion Rule." Quarterback Chris Rix violated the rule by skipping a final exam and was suspended for the 2003 Sugar Bowl.
The school also is making changes at five senior staff levels in the athletic department, though the report did not include details on the changes.
Former athletic director Dave Hart Jr. departed late last year with a year still left on his contract, but he denied it had anything to do with the cheating scandal. Last week, the school hired former Utah State athletic director Randy Spetman.
(This version CORRECTS SUBS lede to correct that teams, not students will lose scholarships)
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