Everything you ever wanted to know about the NCAA's enforcement process

How do cases get resolved?

After the NCAA enforcement committee concludes its investigation, a notice of allegations is sent to schools. Standard cases are then settled one of three ways:

1. Negotiated resolution (37% of cases in 2019-20): The school, NCAA enforcement staff and committee on infractions agree on the facts of the case, violations committed, level of violation and penalties. Appeals are not permitted.

2. Summary disposition (32%): All parties agree on the facts and level of the case, then draft a report that is given to an infractions committee panel which then issues a decision and penalties. Appeals are permitted.

3. Hearing (32%): The school challenges the NCAA’s allegations, and all parties review the allegations with an infractions committee panel. The infractions committee then decides the penalties in an expedited hearing, with appeals allowed afterward.

What’s the IARP?

Alternatively, the school, enforcement staff and infraction committee all can request the case be sent instead to the Independent Accountability Resolution Process.

If accepted by a review panel, the case is then re-reviewed by a “Complex Case Unit,” and a panel of independent investigators and other decision-makers issues a decision. Appeals are not permitted.

No cases were decided by the IARP in 2019-20, but three cases have since been moved to it this year: Those involving N.C. State, Kansas and LSU’s basketball programs. It’s unknown how long the IARP process takes since no cases have been decided yet.

How long does each step take?

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‌Enforcement staff investigations average 12-20 months, according to the NCAA. The UA acknowledged in May 2019 that the NCAA’s investigation into its basketball program was underway. The delivery of the NOA signals the end of the investigation.

‌The hearing track takes up to five months. A school has 90 days to respond to an NOA, and the NCAA has 60 days to reply to the school’s response before the infractions committee is involved.

‌The infractions committee’s evaluation and decision process takes between seven days to four months, according to the NCAA.

‌Appeals, if used, take an average of four months, the NCAA says.

Who are these people?

• The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions consists of up to 24 members serving staggered three-year terms. Members include current or former university presidents, current or former ADs, former coaches, campus compliance officials and members of the public with legal training. The 2020-21 chair is David Roberts, USC’s special assistant to the athletic director.

• The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee is made up of seven volunteer members, two of whom are not affiliated with a college, a conference or professional sports organization. The 2020-21 chair is Ellen Ferris, associate commissioner of the American Athletic Conference.

• The IARP Infractions Referral Committee consists of five members, including one Independent Resolution Panel member, one infractions committee member, one infractions appeals committee member, the Division I Council chair and the Division I Council vice chair.

• The IARP Complex Case Unit is made up of six external investigators and attorneys who are not affiliated with a school or conference, plus one member of the NCAA enforcement staff.

• The IARP Independent Resolution Panel consists of 15 members with legal, higher education and/or sports backgrounds who are not affiliated with NCAA schools or conferences. Five-member panels handle each case.