The National Collegiate Athletic Association has cited Kean University for rules violations including impermissible financial aid and extra benefits to athletes. According to the public infractions report, the former women’s basketball head coach is responsible for “a significant number” of the violations that took place from 2007-11, including cash payments and a grade change that allowed an otherwise ineligible student to compete. But because of more widespread violations of financial aid rules, the university’s self-imposed penalties included 2011-12 postseason bans for the men’s and women’s soccer teams and the women’s volleyball team, as well as a 2012-13 postseason ban for the women’s basketball team. The former basketball coach, Michele Sharp, has been placed under a four-year “show-cause penalty,” meaning that any institution that wants to hire her must demonstrate to the NCAA why the penalties against her should not be carried over. The team vacated all records from last season, including its NCAA tournament appearance. Kean itself was cited for a lack of institutional control and a failure to monitor the sports program, and is on four years’ probation.
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