Marty Gordon
The NCAA Committee on Infractions released Friday its findings and penalties associated with rules violations by the High Point University women’s volleyball program.
High Point is a member of the Big South Conference with Radford University.
In a statement, the university said it discovered violations within the women’s volleyball program when the head coach Ryan Meek engaged in impermissible countable athletically related activities, tryouts with prospects and enrolled student-athletes and provided impermissible benefits and recruiting inducements during the summers of 2021 and 2022. Upon discovery of the violations, High Point self-reported them to the NCAA and worked to rectify the process immediately with the NCAA Enforcement Staff to bring the matter to a conclusion.
The NCAA committee’s report recognized multiple mitigating factors, including the university’s prompt acknowledgment of the violations, acceptance of responsibility and affirmative steps to expedite final resolution of the violations.
The penalties associated include a two-year probation period from Feb. 21, 2025 to Feb. 20, 2027 and a one-time penalty of $5,000; reduction of 20 volleyball evaluation days during 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years; suspension of seven total contests for Meek across the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons; reduction of 24 volleyball CARA hours during the 2022 fall women’s volleyball season and a reduction of 35 volleyball CARA hours during the 2023 fall women’s volleyball season; vacation of team wins and records over the course of the two seasons in which the ineligible players competed including those associated with Radford University.
Of note, High Point requested an expedited hearing on penalties where it contested the vacation of team and individual wins and records. The panel declined to vacate the individual records of the student-athletes.
According to the NCAA, the violations at the center of this case occurred during the summers of 2021 and 2022. Specifically, High Point and the NCAA enforcement staff agreed that during the summer of 2021, Meek and his staff observed women’s volleyball student-athletes and prospects participating in athletically related activity during a time when volleyball coaches are not permitted to have access to student-athletes. Around the same time, Meek also arranged for three incoming prospects to receive free lodging at a rental home in High Point’s locale.
Lastly, due to his personal involvement in the underlying violations, High Point and the enforcement staff agreed that Meek violated the principles of head coach responsibility. This violation is also Level II for High Point.
Meek remains the current head coach at the school. The volleyball team won the Big South championships this past season before falling to Oregon in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.