Oklahoma State basketball: Latest NCAA ruling will have a broad impact

Less than a week before the season officially tips off, the NCAA announced that the Oklahoma State men’s basketball program is banned from the 2022 postseason. The NCAA decided to uphold its postseason ban (among other penalties) against OSU, which had filed an appeal in February.

OSU, which begins its regular season with a home game against UT-Arlington on Tuesday, Nov. 9, will be ineligible to play in both the Big 12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament in March. The Cowboys’ regular-season finale for the 2021-2022 season is a game on March 5 against Texas Tech at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The latest NCAA ruling to uphold the postseason ban on Oklahoma State basketball will have far-reaching consequences beyond Stillwater, Okla.

The 2017 NCAA investigation about bribery and corruption led to former OSU assistant Lamont Evans being charged with prison time for his role in directing money towards players at Oklahoma State and South Carolina.

As Boynton pointed out at his press conference today, the player in question paid the money back and served a three-game suspension three seasons ago. He called it the most disappointing day of his career, as he’ll have to speak with the players and their families — unlike the NCAA officials involved.

What are some of the effects that this latest NCAA ruling will have?

3. Schools will become less willing to cooperate.

OSU seems to be targeted for the postseason ban next spring despite the involvement of dozens of schools in the broader FBI investigations into men’s basketball programs from 2017 and 2018. OSU self-reported the violations and cooperated with the NCAA at every step leading up to the denied appeal announcement.

If it doesn’t seem like there’s any advantage to working with the NCAA, then schools will be less likely to cooperate. Why should they? Looming penalties against programs like Kansas, Texas, Washington, and Xavier don’t seem to portend a postseason ban — it’s difficult to imagine the NCAA being bold enough to punish one of its marque men’s basketball brands.

It appears that the timing of this decision was designed to allow the eventual No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Cade Cunningham play in March Madness as a Cowboy, as long as the program was punished the following year.

2. NCAA compliance offices will expand.

Because that makes sense, right? The completely arbitrary decision to ban the Cowboys doesn’t line up with other violations from different schools, putting current OSU coaches and players uninvolved with the infractions in the punishment’s glare.

As if universities and athletic departments needed more payroll and more administrative personnel, don’t be surprised if NCAA compliance officials at schools grow in order to even more closely monitor players, coaches, and other athletic officials.

1. Players will reconsider joining programs under investigation.

It’s clear that timelines matter very little in punitive cases handed down by the NCAA. This current punishment stems from an assistant coach operating on his own from five years ago.

Players will have a hard time choosing which schools to attend either as high school recruits or coming in from the transfer portal. How can you tell that South Carolina would receive no postseason ban, while OSU receives one upon the denial of its appeal?

The NCAA has decided to make an example out of OSU, and it’s terribly unfortunate for the numerous incoming new players to be forced to suffer these consequences from events that took place five years ago.