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Jonathan Smith Says He Didn’t Know of NCAA Probe, Disputes Vacated Wins at Michigan State

A negotiated NCAA resolution vacated 14 victories and imposed three years of probation, fines and recruiting limits for violations tied to Mel Tucker’s tenure.

Overview

  • Michigan State must vacate 14 wins from 2022–24 after the NCAA found three former players competed while ineligible.
  • Five victories from Smith’s 2024 debut season were erased after a player was ruled retroactively ineligible in January, reducing his official record.
  • Smith said he was unaware of the investigation when he was hired and added that players had been cleared by compliance at the time they competed.
  • Show-cause orders were issued to Saeed Khalif (six years), Brandon Jordan (five years) and Mel Tucker (three years), and none of the violations were linked to Smith’s staff.
  • The Spartans dropped to 3-7 overall and 0-7 in Big Ten play with a 28-10 loss to Penn State as the sanctions and record changes were formalized this week.