Update 9:15 a.m.: St. Mary's College men's basketball program--enjoying another dominating season under Coach Randy Bennett--has been hit with sanctions by the NCAA for failing to monitor recruiting for the team. Penalties, which focus on the team's recruiting of overseas players--the team has established a now semi-legendary pipeline to Australian hoops talent--include four years of probation, a five-game suspension for Bennett, and a reduced number of scholarships. St. Mary's says it's accepting the findings of the report--but will consider appealing the penalties (detailed below).
In a statement, Bennett said, "I am disappointed. I cooperated fully with the investigation and accepted responsibility where I came up short. The penalties are clearly excessive and although I'm still reviewing the report and trying to understand it, I know already that the report fails to include important mitigating information and tells only part of the story. I'll continue to review the report and consider my options."
The Gaels are 25-5 this season, have locked up the second-seed in the West Coast Conference tournament, and may be on the way to another appearance in the NCAA Tournament later this month. Today's sanctions won't block St. Mary's from making post-season appearances.
But the NCAA report on recruitment at St. Mary's says Bennett failed to monitor recruiting activities and failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance with recruiting rules. He'll be suspended for five games next season, and the NCAA will cut the number of scholarships St. Mary's can offer for men's basketball for two upcoming seasons. The team will also be banned from preseason and in-season tournaments through 2015-16, and the entire program will be on probation through Feb. 28, 2017.
And for a little extra background on St. Mary's, here's a piece I did last year for NPR's Only A Game, from WBUR in Boston: "Australian Connections Pushes St. Mary's Into Top 25."