NCAA placed Southeast basketball on probation in 1998

Southeast Missouri State University has produced some highlights in men's basketball over the years, but one of the Indians' least glamorous moments came on April 9, 1998, as the program was hit with NCAA probation.

The NCAA cited a host of violations -- some of them deemed to be major in nature -- that it said happened over a three-year period, from the 1994-95 through 1996-97 school years. Southeast was given three years of probation and the loss of one scholarship.

However, Southeast officials were actually pleased that the punishment was not worse. The probation did not ban the Indians from any type of postseason play and did not include any other recruiting restrictions besides the scholarship reduction. The probation basically meant that the program had to keep its nose clean in the three-year span, which it did.

David Swank, chairman of the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, said during a telephone news conference announcing the committee's findings that Southeast would probably have received a ban on postseason play had it not been for the school's detailed self-reporting and its cooperation and participation throughout the investigation. Swank lauded Southeast officials for reporting the alleged incidents and fully cooperating with investigations by the Ohio Valley Conference and NCAA.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions said it found violations in the areas of extra benefits, recruiting, financial aid, institutional responsibility and ethical conduct. The violations cited included cash payments, loans, excessive compensation, compensation for work not performed and transportation provided by the coaching staff to players and recruits.

The committee also cited the head coach and two assistant coaches for unethical conduct, saying they knowingly violated NCAA legislation and provided false and misleading information to the enforcement staff and university when questioned about possible NCAA violations.

The NCAA report did not name players or coaches involved, but the incidents all happened while Ron Shumate was the head coach. Shumate, the winningest men's basketball coach in school history, was fired on May 14, 1997. The contracts of assistant coaches Randy Curl, Kirt Cochran and Scott McCowan were not renewed.