By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

 

          The NCAA has found Mercer guilty of a failure to monitor its women’s cross country program, as well as, to a lesser extent, women’s track and field.

          The announcement came Thursday from the NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions hearing panel. The NCAA deemed the violations and Mercer reaction as Level-I standards for the school, Level I-aggravated for the assistant coach, and Level II-standard for the former head coach.

          - The violations led to a variety of penalties:

          - Three years of probation;

          - A $5,000 fine, and one percent of the women’s cross country and track budgets (self-imposed);

          - a one-year postseason ban for women’s cross country, implemented in 20-21 (self-imposed);

          - reduction in scholarships awarded for cross country and track by five percent for 2022-23;

          - reduction in the number of official visits by both programs by 12.5 percent, and a seven-week ban on official visits for 2021-22;

          - a 12.5 percent reduction, or seven-week ban, on all recruiting communications for both programs for 2021-22;

          - a reduction in off-campus recruiting activities by 12.5 percent and a seven-week ban for both programs in 2021-22;

          - a three-year show cause order for the former head coach and assistant coach;

          - a vacation of records of meets in which student-athletes participated while ineligible;

          - a seven-day reduction in women’s cross country competition season, from 144 days, for 2021-22 (self-imposed)

          Read the NCAA”s summer here and full 33-page report here.

          The situation began n Sept. 2018 when the student arrived in Macon before a planned mid-year enrollment in 2019, a span of several months from arrival to becoming a Mercer student-athlete.

          According to the NCAA: the athlete lived and trained with the team before enrolling, at the suggestion of the assistant. Both coaches arranged for nearly $1,400 in improper inducements ranging from travel, housing, gear, football tickets, and lodging for out-of-town cross country competition.

          The assistant had told the prospect in the spring of 2018 that he wanted to put her on scholarship for 2018-19, but Mercer determined that, based on her academic record, she couldn’t be admitted and get an athletics scholarship any earlier than spring 2019. The assistant told the prospect in July of 2018 of the decision, and proposed the plan that was executed.

          The reported noted that Mercer offered a full scholarship, and that a school compliance officer stated such an offer was “big” for the program, and that this offer was a first.

          Also, the recruit participated in workouts – arranged or supervised by one or both of the coaches -  before enrollment. The school’s compliance office informed the assistant coach of the violation, and then self-reported that violation while admonishing the coach.

          But, the NCAA said, the assistant allowed the prospect to attend practices for two weeks and then began individual training sessions with the prospect and arranging workouts with current and former Mercer runners outside of practice. Another violation came with one or both coaches watching multiple practices and providing evaluations.

          The NCAA said other team members contacted the compliance department about a month into the situation, noting that the prospect was living with them, at the assistant’s direction. This led to the school’s first meeting with the prospect, who acknowledging the lodging situation. Mercer told her that she needed to pay rent to the students, but agreed to provide a hotel room as part of an official visit.

          The NCAA noted Mercer didn’t contact the Southern Conference or NCAA as to whether the visit was allowed, and that the assistant coach instructed the prospect and student-athletes “to be dishonest if asked about the prospect’s stay.”

          Mercer failed to report additional violations until the following July, after the prospect became an official Mercer athlete and had competed. The report stated that Mercer athletics director Jim Cole had spoken with the head coach about delegating too much responsibility, and the NCAA determined that the assistant was acting as a de facto head coach.

          The NCAA said that while Mercer officials spoke with the coaches, they did not communicate with the prospect.

          Mercer self-reported on Sept. 18, 2018 and admonished the assistant, but a variety of similar violations continued.

          The panel determined that Mercer had failed to adequately monitor the cross country program, in part because of incomplete investigation techniques and failures to report to the NCAA or conference in a timely manner.

          Division I women’s cross country competes in the fall semester, track and field in the spring.

          According to the Mercer athletics website, there were no international athletes listed on the cross country roster in 2018, but there was an athlete from Italy on the 2019, 2020, and 2021 rosters.

The same goes for the women’s track roster in those years.

          The report didn’t mention the names of any coaches, but issued a one-year show-cause order for the head coach and three-year show-cause order for the assistant coach.

           Jerod Wims was the women’s cross country head coach and Taylor Hurst the assistant coach during this period. Wims was the cross country and women’s track interim head coach in January of 2017 after joining the athletics department in August of 2016 as a volunteer track coach who worked with sprinters..

          The Miami native competed in track in college at Florida International and then at Auburn, earning All-America honors with the Tigers. He spent time training for a shot at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. He also was a firefighter in Perry and coached at Windsor.

          He is in his third year as head coach at South Carolina State.

          The women’s cross country head coach in 2016 was Ryan Bailey,  with Pauric McLaughlin as graduate assistant. Bailey started at Mercer in 2002, and was reassigned to just the men’s cross country team in January of 2017.

          Bailey left Mercer at the end of the 2016-17 year and was named head cross country and track coach at West Georgia in Carrollton, and is in his fifth season with the Wolves.

          Josh Hayman took over as head coach in July of 2019, with Leesa Morales as a graduate assistant. Hayman is still in charge, aided by women’s track head coach Roosevelt Lofton, grad assistant Austin Hayes and volunteer assistant Lindsay Hayman.

          This year’s women’s cross country team competes in the ASICS Invitational on Saturday in Fairburn. The track season traditionally begins in early March.