NCAA upholds ruling against Edgar

Scott Edgar has denied committing rules violations since the NCAA began its investigation of the former Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach and his program in October 2008.

The NCAA ruled Friday that it did not believe him as an appeals committee upheld the original sanctions levied against Edgar.

The NCAA cited Southeast last August for major and secondary violations that included impermissible benefits to players, coaches attending summer strength and conditioning activities and coaches observing offseason pickup games. The team was ordered to vacate 11 wins from the 2007-08 season.

Edgar, who was fired in 2008, also was cited by the NCAA for unethical conduct and was given a three-year show-cause order that makes it difficult for any NCAA institution to hire him. He denied involvement or knowledge of the violations and filed an appeal.

"The findings are not clearly contrary to the evidence presented, there was no procedural error which resulted in the findings, and the facts found by the Committee on Infractions do constitute a violation of NCAA rules," the NCAA said in a statement Friday.

Penalties against Southeast, which did not appeal the NCAA's decision, included three years of probation and the vacation of wins. Southeast also self-imposed a reduction in scholarships and recruiting visits.

Edgar coached at Southeast during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. He was placed on administrative leave in October 2008, shortly before starting his third season, after potential NCAA rules violations surfaced. He was fired in December 2008, just 2 1/2 years into a five-year contract, with the university buying out the remainder of his contract that had about $325,000 left on it.

Edgar, hired in May as the basketball coach at Eastern Oklahoma State College, a junior college in Wilburton, Okla., could not be reached for comment.