Another NCAA infraction ruling is facing fresh criticism after a series of penalties against a Division I athletic program. Alabama State is unhappy with how the governing body penalized them for infractions. The NCAA has asked the FCS program to pay a minimum $30,000 fine, along with multiple other penalties, in the case involving their former player, Jacory Croskey-Merritt.

The school also has to serve a 3-year probation period. While the games are not getting canceled, they will still be under the strict eye of the NCAA. However, according to Alabama State President Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr., what stings them the most is the massive disparity between how they were treated and how the University of Arizona, which was also involved in the controversy because of the same person, was treated.

“This outcome reflects a significant disparity,” Alabama State President Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr. said. “The certifying institution received a minor infraction, while Alabama State was assigned one of the NCAA’s most serious classifications. We believe the standards should be applied consistently across all institutions, and this case underscores the importance of fairness and accountability throughout the NCAA governance process.”

The NCAA allows a player to participate in up to four games in a season and still retain their redshirt status. According to Alabama State, Croskey-Merritt appeared in four games during the 2019 season. That qualified him for a redshirt year. However, subsequent investigation revealed that another running back wore Croskey-Merritt’s jersey number during that same year. That messed up the participation data.

The running back then transferred to New Mexico, where he had a breakout year in 2023. After that, he moved to Arizona and even played in the 2024 season opener against New Mexico. Immediately after that game, red flags emerged over his 2019 season and whether he could even play anymore. Arizona held him out for the remainder of the 2024 campaign, while the NCAA investigated.

Now, the Alabama State has been penalized, but similar penalties have not been imposed on Arizona, where the player was featured in a game during the year he was ineligible. They were penalized with only $500. For Alabama State officials, this difference became the main concern.

What was the controversy revolving around Alabama State?

This controversy dates back to the 2019 season. Alabama State University and the NCAA entered a clash because of the stats-tampering scandal from 2019 that heavily impacted the eligibility of star running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt.

NCAA reports revealed that in the 2019 season, one of ASU’s sports information directors intentionally altered a player’s stats on the university’s website. The SID allegedly manipulated the data to hide the true number of games that running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt played, which is debated to be between 4 and 8. This was allegedly done to preserve his redshirt season and grant him an extra year of eligibility.

The employee revealed that he allegedly acted under the instruction of the former head coach, Donald Hill-Eley. However, no concrete evidence was found to point to the involvement of the interim head coach.

After their investigation, the NCAA Division I Committee served ASU with a Level I-Mitigated ruling. It carries a severe penalty structure despite involving only a single former employee. While the NCAA downplayed the case from “aggravated” to “mitigated,” the university was hit with a heavy penalty instead of the person involved. They imposed a mandatory $30,000 fine plus an additional fine equal to 1% of the total football program budget.