Photo Courtesy: York College Athletic Department
By Fiifi Frimpong
May 18 marked the end of a two-year probation on the York College Athletic Department due to academic eligibility and other compliance issues during the 2011-2015 academic years.
The violations were revealed on May 19, 2017 after an investigation by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), as well as an internal investigation done by York, revealed that Ronald St. John, the now former head men’s basketball coach, had “engaged in unethical and impermissible conduct and that York failed to monitor the academic certification process in the men’s basketball program.”
According to the NCAA report, the case consisted of three major violations. First, the institution and/or former head coach, who also served as athletic director, improperly certified the eligibility of eight men’s basketball student athletes from 2011-2015.
The second occurred when St. John knowingly improperly certified the eligibility of two men’s basketball players and provided false or misleading information to the institution and NCAA enforcement staff during the investigation.
Third, York failed to monitor the academic certification process within the men’s basketball program due to weaknesses in the athletics department’s organizational structure.
York’s self-imposed penalties included forfeiture of wins, including the 2014 CUNYAC Championship dating back to the 2011-2012 seasons, a new human resource policy that prevented a coach from serving in any other role in the department, creation of an Intercollegiate Compliance Committee, and restructure of the athletic office.
The NCAA accepted those penalties along with the two-year probation, a $4,000 fine, a public reprimand, and a three-year show-cause penalty against the former head coach.
When asked for comments on the situation, St. John mentioned that all charges against him were dropped in October 2018, five days before his arbitration date. The former head coach decided to retire after hearing from his attorney all charges were dropped by York.
“The whole [situation] was crazy,” said St. John. “It was nothing more than a compliance issue that someone wanted to make it more than that, don’t know why. I guess they decided to hold the athletic director accountable to it. I didn’t even understand how it got to this.”
The former head coach stressed that the anonymous individual who made the report specifically had it out for the York athletic department. He went on to say situations like these happen in institutions often, and they are usually self reported by the coaches themselves or the school.
In this instance, the compliance issues were reported by CUNY Legal to the NCAA, not from York.
“There are things in place with the NCAA,” said St. John. “Something happens all the time. All the schools, Hunter, Baruch, Staten Island. You realize things happen, you check and fix it. You self-report to the NCAA, they say this is how we will handle it and we keep it moving. That didn’t happen in York. Someone else decided to self-report for York, that is how you know something wasn’t correct. That is not how this system works.”
He also mentioned that he was surprised and questioned why the process was dragged for so long.
“I was surprised that it kept dragging out,” said St. John. “You knew something was wrong because these situations usually take nine months to a year to end. Why did mine take over two years?”
Current director of athletics at York, Denee’ Barracato, stated that as of April 15, 2019 the NCAA approved of York College’s final annual compliance report submitted by the athletic department. The report was followed by a letter from the associations President’s Office.
“York College continues to meet NCAA requirements and has forged ahead in instituting best practices,” said the President’s Office.
To combat a recurrence of the past violations, Barracato said the college now provides ongoing compliance education to staff, implemented multi-layered monitoring protocol with checks and balances, made technological advancements to monitor compliance issues more efficiently, reorganized the athletic program, and enhanced student-athlete engagement, tutoring services, and training.
“These measures among others have supported the integrity and vitality of the College’s athletic program,” Barracato said. “York College pledges its dedication to monitoring its programs and to the NCAA’s mission of safeguarding the well-being of student-athletes, equipping them with the skills to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life.”
