In an unprecedented ruling in the Ivy League, Brown's championship football team was declared ineligible from defending its title because of National Collegiate Athletic Association recruitment rules violations.
This reprimand marks the first instance in which any sport on any team in the Ivy League has ever been banned from winning a title.
The Council of Ivy Group Presidents, a group based in Princeton, meted out the punishment at its summer meeting following a review of the involvement of Brown staff and its dolling out financial aid from non-university sources to recruited athletes.
The Ivy League is unique among athletic conferences in its policy of not offering athletic scholarships to recruited athletes.
Allegations concern the Brown Sports Foundation, an outside financial source, exclusively awarding money to athletes -- in particular, to two student-athletes and eight prospective students -- a measure considered to be akin to giving them scholarships, according to The Brown Daily Herald.
"The League's prohibition against any special financial aid for athletes is perhaps the most fundamental of all League rules, which is why the league is determined to make clear that the remedies for a violation of this rule will be severe," Columbia University President George Rupp, the chair of the Council, said in an August 1 statement.
Brown President Sheila Blumstein said in a statement that the University "regrets the loss of the opportunity to be eligible for the Ivy Championship in football and the impact this decision will have on our student-athletes."
The Council's punishments for violating both Ivy League and NCAA rules are much harsher than those first suggested by the University earlier this year. While the reprimand is limited in scope to Brown, the extent of the punishments will most likely resonate with athletic programs around the Ivy League.
"The Council views compliance with Ivy and NCAA rules as a basic obligation of League membership and intends to assure that remedies in serious compliance cases fully emphasize this obligation for all Ivy League schools," Rupp said.
While the Council's principle action was that the Brown football team will not be eligible for the championship in the 2000 season, it also mandated that the number of first-year recruited football players be reduced by five for the class of 2005 and by an additional five for the following year.
The Council's two-year recruitment restrictions are one more year than Brown had previously committed itself. The University cannot appeal the decision.
Furthermore, as stipulated by the Council, Director of the Brown Sports Foundation David Zucconi is prohibited indefinitely from direct or indirect contact with University prospective student-athletes or from providing services to current student-athletes.
In addition to the football team, several other squads will face recruitment punishments, though less severe in nature. The men's soccer and basketball teams as well as the women's volleyball team must reduce the number of paid recruiting visits by one-quarter, based on a three-year average, according to The Brown Daily Herald.
The NCAA determined these to be secondary infractions and has verified the eligibility of all involved students.
"Brown has always championed the principles of the Ivy League, and we recognize our responsibility to affirm these principles as we move forward," Blumstein said.
