NCAA issues punishment for Michigan State recruiting violations under Mel Tucker

The NCAA’s Division I Committee on Infractions has found Michigan State football in violation of providing more than $10,000 in impermissible recruiting inducements between October 2021-March 2023 under former head coach Mel Tucker, the NCAA announced on Wednesday. Tucker, who was fired early in the 2023 season following a sexual harassment accusation, was cited with failing his head coach responsibility but was not involved in the recruiting violations, per the case report.

The NCAA COI determined former Spartans general manager/player personnel director Saeed Khalif and former assistant coach Brandon Jordan knowingly provided impermissible benefits to six Michigan State recruits that included payments for airfare and lodging for both the prospects and those that traveled with them on unofficial visits. NCAA rules prohibit schools from covering travel expenses for either prospects or their traveling companions during unofficial visits.

Khalif also reportedly offered to pay for a recruit’s family vacation to keep the prospect from visiting other schools and paid another recruit’s trainer $700 to attend a visit to Michigan State, according to the NCAA case report. Khalif was also cited for arranging and/or providing approximately $3,075 in one-way plane fare for three prospects to enroll at Michigan State and round-trip air fare for their family members. Those three prospects were deemed to have competed in 26 games while ineligible after joining the Spartans.

The NCAA levied six- and five-year show-cause penalties against Khalif and Jordan, respectively, and a three-year show-cause against Tucker. Michigan State must also vacate all 14 wins between 2022-24 — including the five 2024 wins under first-year head coach Jonathan Smith — in which three ineligible players participated. The Spartans also agreed to three years of postseason probation, a $30,000 fine plus 1.5-percent of the football program’s budget, a loss of official visits during two home games during the 2025 football season and one apiece during the 2026 and 2027 seasons, a reduction of 30 total recruiting days and a total six-week ban on recruiting communication through the 2027-28 academic year.

Tucker contested his personal responsibility for the recruiting violations, which occurred while he operated a NFL model for his program, running all off-field activities through Khalif, Michigan State’s GM. Other Spartans staff members on Tucker’s staff also told NCAA compliance officials that he did not emphasize compliance and they did not feel comfortable expressing concerns about potential violations.

Tucker finished with a 20-14 overall record and 12-13 in Big Ten play across four seasons in East Lansing.