Half of FBS schools committed a major violation in the last decade

NCAA Major Infractions at the FBS Level

The results of this recent study by Inside Higher Education have been making the rounds lately.  Their article sites the fact that 53 of the 120 FBS schools were found to have committed a major NCAA infraction within the last ten years (2000 - 2010).  While I doubt they cited my 178 page graduate school thesis on this topic, their analysis does point to three of the common causes of NCAA major violations in the research that is out there:

• That major violations have grown in number because the NCAA enforcement staff has grown in size
• That there are "bad apple" schools and/or coaches that are the ones getting caught committing major violations
• That the NCAA rules are so complex that an indirect cause of that is schools committing violations because the rules are so hard to keep up with

The article then goes on to talk about the increase in violations in the areas of acacemic honesty and eligibility.  The article has quotes from both Gene Marsh and Jo Portuto, two of the best FAR's in the business (both retired) and both former members of the NCAA Committee on Infractions.  It is an interesting read and I would recommend it if you have a few minutes.