Fordham University received the appropriate sanctions on Wednesday for the NCAA case against it. These harsh measures illustrate the governing body’s position on the violations committed by the Rams’ administration.
The Rules Violations and The Sanctions
The violations committed by the Fordham men’s basketball program involved publicity-before-signing rules in the case of 24 prospects and impermissible benefits during official visits in the case of eight prospects.
All of these events occurred between June 2021 and April 2023, when the basketball program was under the supervision of Trevonn Morton, the director of men’s basketball operations, and Keith Urgo, the head men’s basketball coach at the time. Both Morton and Urgo were found responsible for various ethical violations.
The NCAA imposed numerous penalties on Fordham University, including:
- Three years of probation
- $35,000 fine plus 2% of the men’s basketball program budget
- One-week ban on off-campus recruiting activities during the July 2025 recruiting period
- Two-year show-cause order for Urgo, including a suspension from 12% of the men’s basketball regular-season contests (or four games)
- Three-year show-cause order for Morton, including a two-week suspension from all athletically related activities
- Vacation of team wins and records over the course of the two seasons in which the ineligible players competed
According to its own official website, Fordham University cooperated with the investigations and added several self-imposed sanctions to the list issued by the NCAA.
However, not everything has been rosy. After learning of the NCAA’s decision, Coach Urgo said he felt he had been treated ‘like a criminal’:
“They were treating me like I was some criminal, literally like I had broken some laws,” Urgo told The New York Post. “They were just trying to do whatever they could to pin a Level 1 violation on us and none of it made any sense. We were just all confused, including all the lawyers in the situation, confused as to why they were just being so aggressive and trying to do whatever they could to bury us.”
But Urgo also said he was relieved that it was all over:
“It’s a sigh of relief for my family and I. It’s been something that’s been hovering over us for almost three years now,” Urgo said. “It’s been a dark cloud over my family, our program, and just finally closing it and just being able to move on, I think seemed incredibly important for me and my career. Just excited to kind of put it past us.”
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The basketball program was not the only one involved in the investigation, as the Rams’ football program was also investigated for other rules violations.
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