DALLAS – The NCAA banned the SMU men’s basketball team from postseason play Tuesday and suspended veteran coach Larry Brown for nine games after concluding that he lied to investigators, ignored academic fraud and failed to lead his staff when it came to compliance.

The NCAA also banned the golf team from postseason play after they said three former employees violated ethical conduct rules.

Warsaw graduate Nic Moore is currently a guard for the basketball program.

Both teams were placed on probation until Sept. 28, 2018, after a Division I Committee on Infractions panel, made up of NCAA members and the public, said “the former head men’s golf coach, the former compliance director and a former men’s basketball administrative assistant violated NCAA’s unethical conduct rules” and that current basketball coach, Larry Brown, “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance when he did not report violations and was not initially truthful during an interview with NCAA enforcement staff.”

SMU officials, who have 15 days to appeal the committee’s findings, said Tuesday they are reviewing the full report and are “concerned about sanctions that are punitive against student-athletes who were not involved in any infractions.”  The school said to punish student-athletes in basketball and golf who were not involved in the infractions by prohibiting the once-in-a-lifetime chance to complete in the postseason is “simply wrong.”

“I am saddened for our men’s basketball and men’s golf student-athletes – especially our seniors – who work hard to earn the right to compete in the postseason. It is unfair to penalize these students,”  said SMU Director of Athletics, Rick Hart.

The NCAA said Brown had acknowledged “his failed judgment” during a hearing on the case and that it found him “reflective and remorseful.”

“But I realize, you know, in hindsight that was a terrible mistake on my part,” Brown said, according to the NCAA report. “I wish I could have changed all that. But we had that interview with the NCAA, I don’t know why I lied. You know, dealing with people that I really care about, and I used terrible judgment, and I tried to acknowledge that as quickly as I could, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I realize that.”

Brown’s Mustangs were the American Athletic Confrence Champions last season and went to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1993.  This is Brown’s third coaching job at the college level and each program has faced NCAA sanctions.

“The case started in 2013 when the former compliance director admitted to falsifying sign-in sheets for two rules education sessions required by the terms of a 2011 infractions decision. The education sessions actually happened, but the former compliance director did not document them. Because he knowingly submitted the falsified sign-in sheets, the former compliance director violated NCAA ethical conduct rules. He also chose not to participate in the infractions process,” the NCAA said.

While no names were revealed in its report, the NCAA said a former assistant men’s basketball coach encouraged an athlete to enroll in an online course to meet NCAA initial eligibility standards and be admitted to the university. The NCAA also said a former men’s basketball administrative assistant hired by Brown then completed the coursework; she then provided false information to NCAA investigators and also attempted to influence the player to also provide false information.

According to the report, Brown learned of the misconduct in 2014 and didn’t report it to anyone for more than a month.

When asked by the NCAA enforcement staff about the potential violations, he initially denied having any information about conversations with the former administrative assistant and player. He later explained why.

“Now, this might sound so silly, when all these allegations are read, and when (enforcement staff) was basically taking the position I didn’t do the right thing, I can’t argue with that,” Brown said, according to the NCAA. “There is no excuse for not going to (the athletic director) when (the student-athlete) told me he didn’t do this online the course. That’s all he said to me. There is no excuse for that, there is no excuse to go before the committee and not tell the truth when a question is directed at you. I have no excuse for that. I did not do that promptly.”