NCAA Imposes Infractions on Florida State Football for NIL Violations

In a week that started with a new National Champion in Michigan, followed by Alabama's legendary coach Nick Saban retiring, now ends with the NCAA imposing the most severe NIL infractions to-date on Florida State's football program.

On Thursday, the NCAA announced that a Seminole assistant football coach - later revealed to be offensive coordinator Alex Atkins - violated NCAA rules when he "facilitated an impermissible recruiting contact between a transfer prospect and a booster," according to an agreement released by the Division I Committee on Infractions.

The most newsworthy of penalties include Atkins being suspended for the first three games of next season, two years probation for the program and a forced disassociation with their NIL collective for one season.

Yahoo! Sports' Ross Dellenger was first to report the news in addition to Atkins' and the Rising Spear collective's involvement.

This is the first time in the NIL era that the NCAA has discontinued a relationship between a university and collective.

The full list of infractions imposed by the NCAA include:

• Two years of probation.
• A two-year show cause order for the assistant coach, including a suspension from the next three regular-season games, a two-week restriction on recruiting communication, and required attendance at a NCAA Regional Rules Seminar attendance.
• A restriction from off-campus recruiting during fall 2023 for the assistant coach.
• A three-year disassociation from the booster.
• A one-year disassociation from the collective.
• A $5,000 fine plus 1% of the football budget.
• A 5% reduction in football scholarships over the two-year probationary period, amounting to a total reduction of five scholarships.
• A reduction in official (paid) visits in the football program in the 2023-24 academic year by seven. The school also will not roll over six unused official visits from the 2022-23 academic year.
• A reduction in football recruiting communications for a total of six weeks during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years.
• A reduction in the number of in-person recruiting days during the 2023-24 academic year by six evaluation days during fall 2023 and 18 during spring 2024.

"We are pleased to reach closure to this situation and view this as another step in strengthening our culture of compliance at Florida State University," Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said in a statement. "We take all compliance matters very seriously, and our full cooperation with the NCAA on this case is a clear example of that commitment. We remain committed to compliance with all NCAA rules including disassociation of the booster and the collective."

A challenging end to the season continues for the Seminoles who lost 63-3 to Georgia in the Orange Bowl, after missing out of the College Football Playoff with a then-undefeated record.