NCAA puts Georgia Tech women’s basketball team on 3 years’ probation

The NCAA has placed Georgia Tech’s women’s basketball team on three years’ probation, citing violations it said had been committed by former head coach MaChelle Joseph, The Associated Press reported.

The team will be allowed to participate in the NCAA Tournament through its probationary period but will have to pay a $5,000 fine and lose 1 percent of the program’s annual budget. 

The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team is set to begin its probationary period after the men’s program finishes its four-year sanction in 2023, according to the AP. 

The head of the NCAA’s infractions committee, Joel Maturi, told the newswire that the probation can help the women’s team improve its compliance program to “minimize any further infractions.”

“Probation can be a positive thing if you approach it the right way,” Maturi said. 

The report found that from 2016 to 2019, Joseph forced her players to practice longer than the rules allow and on scheduled off days, with assistant coaches or graduate managers overseeing the illegal practices, the AP reported. 

The report also noted that players feared backlash from Joseph if they spoke out about the mandatory practices. 

Joseph has filed a lawsuit against school officials and the athletic association, arguing that she was the victim of a hostile work environment and sex discrimination, the AP reported. 

Joseph’s attorney, Lisa Banks, noted in the lawsuit that the men’s basketball coach was able to keep his job after breaking NCAA rules. 

Joseph, who won 311 games and made seven NCAA tournament appearances during her 16 years as head coach, was placed on leave by the school in February 2019 and fired a month later, the AP noted.