The NCAA placed sanctions on FSU, assistant coach Alex Atkins and an unnamed booster for impermissible recruiting activity and facilitating impermissible contact with a NIL-related booster. In spring 2022, "Atkins is alleged to have driven a prospect and his parents to a meeting with a leading member of the school’s NIL collective, Rising Spear," according to
Yahoo Sports reporter Ross Dellinger. Reports said the effort was to
recruit a Georgia transfer for
$15,000 per month.
Chief among Florida State's punishments is a two-year probation period, as well as a reduction in scholarships and a three-game suspension for Atkins. Here is a list of punishments against FSU:
- two years of probation;
- scholarship reductions of five over the next two academic years;
- a reduction by seven in official visits for 2023-24;
- a prohibition on recruiting communication for six weeks over the next two academic years;
- a prohibition on communication with athletes in the transfer portal from April 15-21;
- a reduction by 18 evaluation days this spring;
- and a financial penalty of 1% of the athletic department’s budget.