Georgia Tech announced on Thursday that it has self-reported rules violations committed by men’s basketball student-athletes to the NCAA. As a result, senior Tadric Jackson and sophomore Josh Okogie will be withheld from regular-season competition, pending a resolution from the NCAA.
Georgia Tech’s internal investigation determined that violations of NCAA rules occurred. Specifically, Jackson received apparel, meals and transportation totaling less than $525 from an individual who is neither employed by Georgia Tech athletics nor a booster, while Okogie received apparel, meals and transportation totaling less than $750 from the same individual.
The student-athletes received the benefits during a period beginning in November 2016 and ending in May 2017. Head coach Josh Pastnerbecame aware of possible violations on Oct. 2, 2017 and immediately reported them to Georgia Tech’s compliance office. On Oct. 6, 2017, the compliance office determined that violations had occurred and declared the student-athletes ineligible. Georgia Tech is still awaiting a final resolution to the situation from the NCAA.
The internal investigation showed that the violations were isolated and occurred without the knowledge of the coaching staff.
“While we never want to learn that NCAA rules violations have occurred, I applaud Coach Pastner and our compliance staff for taking immediate action as soon as these violations came to light,” Georgia Tech director of athletics Todd Stansbury said. “I continue to be proud of the culture of compliance within our men’s basketball program and across the board here at Georgia Tech. As a department, we will use this as an opportunity to review our protocols and our educational efforts and will continue to prioritize compliance with NCAA rules.”
“Nothing is more important to me than having an atmosphere of compliance,” Pastner said. “This isolated situation can and will be a learning opportunity for our entire program. We’re moving ahead and looking forward to having Tadric and Josh back in game action early this season.”
Jackson will participate in Thursday night’s exhibition game versus Faulkner (Okogie will miss the game due to a finger injury sustained in last Saturday’s exhibition game versus Georgia State). The student-athletes will not travel with the Yellow Jackets for next Friday’s season opener versus UCLA in Shanghai, China.
Read More: Georgia Tech basketball targeting wing players on recruiting trail