NCAA: Recruiting violations occurred in Northwestern baseball program
Northwestern and former baseball assistant coach Brian Anderson have reached an agreement with NCAA enforcement staff on recruiting violations and the appropriate penalties for those violations.
A Committee on Infractions panel has approved the agreement. Another former coach, meanwhile, has contested some of the violations, and his portion of the case will be considered separately by the committee.
The agreed-upon violations involved allegedly impermissible recruiting from at least October 2022 to June 2023, including communicating with prospects before the first permissible dates, conducting off-campus evaluations during a dead period, impermissibly involving the baseball program in a prospect's unofficial visit and tampering with a prospect who had not yet been entered into the Transfer Portal.
The committee will not discuss further details in the case to protect the integrity of the ongoing process, as the committee's final decision — including potential violations and penalties for the former coach — is pending.
By separating the cases, the Division I Committee on Infractions publicly acknowledges the infractions case and permits the school and the participating individuals to immediately begin serving their penalties while awaiting the committee's final decision on the contested portion of the case. That decision will include any findings and penalties for the former coach.
The agreed-upon penalties in this case include one year of probation for the school, a fine and recruiting restrictions in alignment with the Level II-mitigated classification for the school. Anderson also agreed to a three-game suspension, served during the 2023-24 season.
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