Oklahoma State didn’t hold back emotion or anger with the NCAA regarding their postseason ban appeal which was upheld by the NCAA on November 2nd.

The Cowboys made numerous comments about the process saying the names of the committee who heard their appeal, how “broken” the NCAA system is, as well as the process in which South Carolina didn’t face the same penalty that OSU did.

In an unprecedented move, the NCAA sent a statement responding to all the comments made by the Cowboys. And they didn’t hold back either. The statement from the NCAA reads as follows:

Comments by Oklahoma State personnel regarding its infractions case resulted in NCAA volunteer committee members and staff receiving threatening and offensive messages after being identified by name. This is unacceptable. 

Oklahoma State personnel encouraged individuals to circumvent the NCAA member-created process that every school agrees to participate in as part of their responsibility to each other. Further, there is a troubling trend of misstating facts about the infractions process by schools that disagree with the infractions outcomes. Each member has the ability to seek change to the Division I infractions process, and there is a review group underway looking at how to improve the process.  

This is also a clear example of the work that needs to be done to address issues and behaviors like this moving forward with the new NCAA Constitution and Division I Transformation process. We know that an adverse decision can be emotional, but personal attacks against individuals simply carrying out their responsibilities are inappropriate, unethical and potentially dangerous.

• John J. DeGioia, NCAA Board of Governors chair and president at Georgetown
• Jere Morehead, NCAA Division I Board of Directors chair and president at Georgia
• Mark Emmert, NCAA President

Oklahoma State has yet to respond to the NCAA’s statement.