FAYETTEVILLE Ark.
The NCAA upheld sanctions against Arkansas’ track and field program, although the school still hopes to keep two national titles in question.
Arkansas said it will ask an NCAA committee handling track and field scoring to clarify how many points the Razorbacks must vacate from the 2004 and 2005 men’s outdoor national championships. The Razorbacks won the title both years.
Arkansas was penalized for violations involving sprint star Tyson Gay and a former assistant coach. The NCAA handed down its decision last October, taking away the two national titles and giving the school three years’ probation.
The school appealed, calling the penalties excessive. On Tuesday, the NCAA said it had denied Arkansas’ attempt to change the start date of its probationary period and that meet results from when Gay competed should still be vacated.
In its appeal, the school argued that deducting Gay’s individual points might not necessarily cost Arkansas its championships from 2004 and 2005. The Razorbacks won the outdoor title by 16.5 points in 2004 and 11 points in 2005. The school contended that Gay’s individual point totals for the meets could be as low as 16 points for ’04 and 8.5 for ’05, depending on how individual points are awarded among athletes on a relay team.
Arkansas said Tuesday it was told to consult another NCAA committee for clarification on that issue.
Arkansas has won 40 national championships in track and field and cross country, not including the two in question.
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