NCAA’s decision to withdraw from Louisville The 2012-13 National Men’s Basketball Championship was an unprecedented call for the sport.

But this is not the only case in which a recognized national champion in an NCAA sanctioned sport has had his title stricken from the record. In fact, 20 former National Champions of Divisions I, II, and III had their titles withdrawn retroactively after the NCAA ruled that improper benefits or other violations occurred that warranted removing banners and taking back trophies. .

Louisville is destined to be infamous – the best-known school to lose a national title – but this is only the latest in a series of cancellations by the NCAA and its Offenses Committee.

All schools were provided by the NCAA at the request of CBS Sports. Years in parentheses are when programs won their titles, not when those titles were retired. This listing does not include USC losing his 2004 BCS title because that championship was taken over by the Bowl Championship Series, and not by the NCAA, which has no control over the Division I bowl system of college football.

First division

Howard men’s football (1971). The first NCAA title grabbing in the modern era. In 1997, Grant Wahl chronicled Illustrated sports the reasons behind the title vacation of the first Division I championship by any HBCU in history. The problem boiled down to the allegedly ineligible players.

San Francisco men’s football (1978). According to UPI wire service report in 1980, “USF President Father John LoSchiavo said this action was taken because a former student-athlete who played on the team submitted an amended transcript at the time of his request for ‘registration.”

UTEP cross-country men (1983). Runner’s World has an interesting history on what led the NCAA to take action.

Tulsa women’s golf (1988). Get a load of this, from Oklahoman, in 1992:

University of Tulsa officials and athletes on Tuesday expressed shock and dismay at an unprecedented NCAA decision to place the entire Hurricane track program on three-year probation for team violations. school athletics.

“I’m so mad at the NCAA,” said Lisa Del Prete, a senior on TU’s nationally ranked women’s golf team. “I just want to take them by the neck and shake them up and down.” The official NCAA statement said the violations occurred in the track and field program for three years, starting in the 1987 school year. -88. Among its findings, the NCAA said it discovered several major violations, including the lack of institutional oversight. The report says track coaches encouraged athletes to compete under assumed names, allowed ineligible athletes to compete and falsified entry lists.

Announcing its decision after a two-year investigation, the NCAA said Tulsa should relinquish her 1988 NCAA women’s golf title and that none of the Hurricane teams would be allowed to compete in postseason competitions for a season.

Syracuse male lacrosse (1990). Think about UCLA best championships under wood, or Indiana undefeated under Bob Knight in 1975-76, or that dominant 1995-96 Kentucky team. This is the equivalent of the lax men’s 1990 Cuse team, which lost its title because the head coach’s wife co-signed a car loan for the Syracuse player. A one hour documentary was made on the team.

Arkansas male outdoor athletics (1994 and 95). The 2007 PA Report quotes former IOC President Joséphine Potuto, describing the case as follows: “The violations involved unethical conduct by the former assistant coach, as well as a recognized failure to supervise the university. Underlying violations were not flagrant in themselves, but in combination they formed a major case.

UCLA Women’s Softball (1995). A 1997 UCLA Newsletter begins: “The NCAA on Tuesday announced a decision by its commission on offenses to penalize UCLA for giving too much financial aid to softball.”

Hawaii men’s volleyball (2002). “The report showed that one of the team’s foreign-born players, four-time All-American first team Costas Theocharidis, played for a professional team before competing for the Warriors. On September 5, the NCAA stripped the Warriors of their title, ” according to a yarn story from 2003.

Lewis University Men’s Volleyball (2003). The rare self-imposed title vacation here, as Lewis University beat the NCAA in the decision after discovering that there were several players in several years ineligible for the competition.

Florida State outdoor male athletics (2007). North Carolina did not lose a national championship due to academic irregularities, but the Florida state track and field program has not been so lucky.

LSU female outdoor athletics (2012). Directly from the university: “LSU Women’s Track and Field Team to Cancel 2012 NCAA Outdoor Team Championship Due to Student-Athlete Use of NCAA Banned Stimulus Found commonly found in over-the-counter nutritional supplements. “

Louisville Men’s Basketball (2013). For nearly four years, former Louisville basketball operations manager Andre McGee quietly and sporadically threw parties for Louisville players and rookies. The parties involved women paid to undress and demanded to have sex with U of L players and rookies. Players involved in the investigation are retroactively ruled ineligible, with Louisville forced to cancel all of its records and 123 victories from 2011 to 2015.

Section II

Cal Poly baseball (1989). According to the NCAA, several years of playoff appearances were removed from the file, including Cal Poly’s D-II College World Series title.

Mississippi College Football (1989). Punished after the NCAA ruled that the program has greatly exceeded its purse limit.

Lynn University Softball (2005). “Former coach Thomas Macera gave two players a total of $ 3,188.61 to pay for tuition and books in 2005.” an AP story citing the NCAA ruling said.

Saint Augustine Men’s Indoor Athletics (2007). Transfer and eligibility rules were broken in many sports and Saint Augustine was forced to give up his title.

Armstrong State Women’s Tennis (2015 & 2016). The program doesn’t even exist anymore, as Armstrong State merged with Georgia Southern.

Section III

College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State) Women’s Lacrosse (1992). Details are scarce online, but even the school noted in 2005 that it has de facto its vacant title.

Plattsburgh State Men’s Ice Hockey (1987). Because New York Times 1990 story: “The committee found that between 1985 and 1988, several student-athletes resided in the houses of representatives of sporting interests of the institution and received additional ineligible benefits from their host families. These benefits included free accommodation in some cases, automobile use, occasional meals and small cash loans.

Thomas More Women’s Basketball (2015). Randy Moss’s daughter was at the center of an affair involving an ineligible benefit: the fact that she was accommodated free of charge by a coach while she was recovering from an injury.