The Wisconsin Badgers were hit with recruiting violations today in what is a self-reported and self-imposed event. Luke Fickell and fellow staff members called recruits in 2023 before the window to contact recruits was opened. The rule was actively being changed at the time and would no longer be considered a violation, but this happened before the rule was officially changed, causing the violations.
According to the report by Colten Bartholomew of Badger Extra, these violations were first noticed in-house and reported to the NCAA. The NCAA then went through the proper procedure to determine at what level the violations were and what penalties should be enforced. The ruling was that Wisconsin had a Level II violation, which is "significant," and according to the violation structure, these violations "provide or are intended to provide more than a minimal but less than a substantial or extensive recruiting, competitive or other advantage.”
Bartholomew reports that Wisconsin completed 139 calls to 48 recruits in the window, which is now being penalized. A vast majority of these calls were made by staff members who are no longer with the team. Greg Scruggs and Max Steinecker combined for 90 of these calls. Scruggs left Wisconsin for Michigan, while Max Steinecker is now at the University of Southern California (USC).
Wisconsin will have to pay $25k as well as recruiting suspensions for Luke Fickell and Matt Mitchell
The penalties were negotiated with the NCAA and worked out to basically a $25k fine and head coach Luke Fickell and Matt Mitchell serving recruiting suspesions. Unable to contact recruits between Sunday and June 21. Which is not ideal in a big push on recruiting over the next few weeks.
Wisconsin issued a statement to Badger Extra after the penalties were announced. The statement reads: "Wisconsin athletics is deeply committed to maintaining the highest level of integrity and holding ourselves accountable. The issue at hand occurred two years ago under a rule that was actively being changed and no longer exists. We identified the mistake and were proactive in self-reporting, investigating, and resolving the issue."
These penalties are frustrating, considering that the rules have now changed and were in the process of changing before they happened. It's also frustrating, considering the majority of the infractions fall on staff members who are no longer at Wisconsin. However, it was wise of Wisconsin to self-report and move on.