BSU Sanctions Stand

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The NCAA is standing by a decision that Boise State must lower the number of football scholarships it can award this season and next. The decision announced Wednesday comes after Boise State officials appealed the scholarship penalty included in a series of sanctions handed down last year by the NCAA. As part of the penalty package, the NCAA ordered the school to cut football scholarships from 85 to 82 this season and in 2013. The school self-imposed the scholarship cut last year as well. On appeal, school officials argued the penalty levied against Boise State was inconsistent when compared to past cases. The NCAA cited major violations by the football program and other sports and in response placed the school on probation for three years and imposed other sanctions.