Ohio State’s football team will not play in the postseason next year, and the program will lose nine scholarships over the next three years as a result of a scandal that cost Coach Jim Tressel his job in the spring.
The N.C.A.A. found Ohio State guilty of failure to monitor the program and of extra-benefit violations after it said eight players received more than $14,000 in cash or preferential treatment from the owner of a tattoo parlor in Columbus, Ohio.
The N.C.A.A.’s findings Tuesday startled administrators at Ohio State, who expected lesser penalties. Athletic Director Gene Smith said the university was “surprised and disappointed” by the N.C.A.A.’s decision but would not appeal the findings.
“We recognize that this is a challenging time in intercollegiate athletics,” he said. “Institutions of higher education must move to higher ground, and Ohio State embraces its leadership responsibilities and affirms its longstanding commitment to excellence in education and integrity in all it does.”
The stiffest penalties were reserved for Tressel, who received a five-year “show cause” penalty from the N.C.A.A. that essentially eliminates any chance he will coach in college sports during that time.
If a university hires him during that five-year window, the N.C.A.A. will not allow Tressel to coach in the first five games or even coach practice, including in the preseason, until that five-game suspension is complete. It also added a clause that makes him ineligible to coach in the postseason during that year.
The N.C.A.A. said that Tressel failed to bring forward information about his players on at least four occasions, which led to the stiff penalties. The Southeastern Conference associate commissioner, Greg Sankey, who is on the N.C.A.A. committee on infractions, said the committee found Tressel’s shortcomings significant.
“That’s considered very serious and frankly very disappointing,” Sankey said.
Ohio State will still play in the Gator Bowl against Florida on Jan. 2. The Buckeyes’ bowl ban will be put in place next season, when it will also not be eligible for the Big Ten title game.
The fact that Ohio State did not impose a bowl ban this season, in the wake of firing Tressel and dealing with a slew of suspensions that handicapped the team, showed the university’s confidence that the penalties would not be this significant. That decision could have a more significant long-term effect on the program.
Among the punishments that Ohio State imposed on itself since the N.C.A.A. investigation began were two years of probation, the loss of five scholarships and the vacating of all of its victories from the 2010 season.
But those did not prove to be enough for the N.C.A.A., although the N.C.A.A. stopped short of finding that Ohio State lacked institutional control. That finding came in part because Ohio State officials other than Tressel acted when information surfaced.
All those penalties are another hurdle for Urban Meyer, the new Ohio State coach, who spent significant time researching potential penalties before taking the job in late November.
“The N.C.A.A. penalties will serve as a reminder that the college experience does not include the behavior that led to these penalties,” Meyer said in a statement.
“I expect all of us to work hard to teach and develop young student-athletes to grow responsibly and to become productive citizens in their communities upon graduation.”
Ohio State’s seniors will have the option to transfer to another program and play their senior season without having to sit out a year.
But more important to the future of the program will be whether the bowl ban scares off recruits. So far, none of those committed to attending Ohio State have indicated that they will change their mind. That includes the most heralded of Meyer’s recruits, defensive end Noah Spence of Harrisburg, Pa., who said in a statement Tuesday night that he would remain committed to the Buckeyes.
With a flurry of high-impact cases likely to come before the N.C.A.A. in the next few months, including those involving Miami, North Carolina, Central Florida and Penn State, the N.C.A.A. was quick to dispel any notion that the penalties against Ohio State were indicative of a new era in punishing rules violators.
“I would not suggest that this is necessarily a new day,” Sankey said.
“But these penalties are significant, and that’s part of the committee’s role in both deliberating and finding violations and then assessing penalties.”