Notre Dame football victories could be erased by academic cheating amid the worst season the team has had under the coaching of Brian Kelly.
Notre Dame learned Tuesday that Kelly’s best season as head coach could be erased from the record books after the NCAA announced “its recommendation from the Division I Committee on Infractions that the Irish vacate all 21 of their victories” from 2012 and 2013, the Chicago Tribune noted.
The academic misconduct came after a former student athletic trainer completed academic work for two of the team’s players and impermissibly helped six others, The Tribune noted.
As a result, players KeiVarae Russell, DaVaris Daniels, Ishaq Williams, Kendall Moore and Eilar Hardy were suspended prior to the 2014 season, USA Today noted.
The school plans to appeal the NCAA’s decision.
Kelly criticized the NCAA’s ruling.
“It’s never happened before in the history of the NCAA; a penalty has never been issued in this fashion before,” Kelly said, according to The Tribune. “This was a discretionary action by the committee. That’s No. 1.”
“No. 2, it was student-on-student cheating,” he added. “There was nobody implicated. The NCAA agreed across the board with that finding. (The punishment) was clearly excessive.”
Despite Kelly recording his worst season as head coach in his seven-year tenure with the team, he remains confident that he’ll be back next year, USA Today noted.
“This matter has nothing to do with me and my status here. The academic piece probably strengthens what I’ve been doing relative to advocating for our student-athletes and academic support staff relative to them being successful,” Kelly said, according to USA Today.
“The announcement that comes out today has nothing to do with a lack or additional support for Brian Kelly. Any negative criticism about me now is because we’re 4-7,” he added.
“I have no reason to believe that I’m not (going to be the coach next year). I think you guys are confusing this statement with win-loss record. A win-loss record is always under scrutiny at Notre Dame and it should be. But this matter here has been a long standing matter that the University has handled in a positive way,” he said.
The NCAA is also ordering that the female trainer in question is put on probation for a year, while the university received a $5,000 fine, Bleacher Report noted.
Notre Dame will finish the season on Saturday at South Carolina, as they look to get their fifth win of the season.