'This makes absolutely no sense.' Fans livid at NCAA over Oklahoma State postseason ban

Oklahoman

Oklahoma State men's basketball's one-year postseason ban by the NCAA will be upheld after their appeal was denied.

The initial sentence was announced last year, with the NCAA declaring the Cowboys would incur a three-year probation and lose three scholarships over three seasons along with several other recruiting penalties and their one-year postseason ban. The team appealed the ruling, allowing the team to play in last season's NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma State was fined $10,000 and its men's basketball team was banned from the upcoming postseason Friday after the NCAA found that former assistant coach Lamont Evans accepted up to $22,000 in bribes intended to help steer athletes to certain financial advisers. Evans was sentenced to three months in prison for accepting bribes in a federal criminal case.

The NCAA sanctions stem from an investigation into ruled Lamont Evans, a former OSU coach. The investigation found that Evans accepted bribes to send players at the Stillwater school and the University of South Carolina, where he was previously employed, to certain financial advisors once they turned pro.

He was fired from his job in 2017 and sentenced to three months in prison in 2019.

Mike Boynton reacts at press conference with tears, OSU fans express fury on Twitter

Head coach Mike Boynton expressed frustration by the NCAA's decision during a morning press conference.

"They feel good about the work they did while i explain to 17 kids that their dreams of playing in the NCAA tournament this year couldn't be realized," Boynton said. "That's shameful."

Fans of the Cowboys were quick to react to the news, too, with several supporters noting the current roster of players contained no students who joined the program under Evans' watch.