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NIC ATHLETICS: Sanctions stick for men's basketball until 2022

| August 21, 2021 1:25 AM

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

COEUR d’ALENE — The sanctions are sticking for the North Idaho College men’s basketball, but the waiting will soon be over to compete for conference championships once again.

NIC appealed to the Northwest Athletic Conference executive board in June, with some of the sanctions being lifted earlier this week.

Full scholarships for the men’s basketball team, which had been cut to four the past two seasons, has been increased to six. NWAC teams normally have eight full scholarships in basketball. All measures apply to the program until June 30, 2022. NIC is still ineligible for the conference tournament in 2022 — the third season for which the Cardinals will be ineligible.

Penalties for the men's basketball program, which were handed out in August of 2019, included vacating league championships from the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, the loss of four scholarships for each of the next three years, a 10-game suspension of head coach Corey Symons, a three-year ban from postseason play, three years' probation for the athletic department and a $30,000 fine.

“We can only control what we can control,” said NIC athletic director Bobby Lee who replaced previous AD Al Williams in December 2019. “And we’ve done a good job of doing just that throughout this process.”

While on probation, the athletic director had to have the approval from the vice president of student services on decisions regarding eligibility, athletic grants and booster club payments. Lee has since been given authority to make athletic department decisions through the appeal.

The violations, found by the investigation committee of three commissioners from neutral regions, include: using booster club funds to pay for housing during the summers of 2017 and 2018; using booster club funds without NIC Business Office oversight; and operating basketball camps in violation of NWAC rules.

“Ever since the beginning, it’s been in the rear view mirror for us,” Symons said. “It’s been great with Bobby and the transition and moving forward.”

Due to COVID-19, the conference championships in men’s and women’s basketball were canceled in 2020. The conference opted not to hold conference championships this past spring due to the pandemic.

“We feel good about things moving forward,” Lee said. “Collectively as a staff, we’re moving forward and excited about that.”

All of NIC’s other NWAC programs, which includes men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, volleyball and women’s basketball, were also on probation, but were still allowed to play in conference championship events.

“This group has been awesome to work with,” Lee said. “They’ve been really good about this stuff moving forward.”

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Lee

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Symons