The NCAA punished the Oklahoma Sooners for their recruiting violations. Former OU star and current staffer DeMarco Murray received a specific punishment.
Murray received a one-game suspension over a violation he and the program committed. The ruling became public Tuesday morning before the Sooners’ season opener this weekend.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel noted that Murray had “impermissible contact with 17 prospects over 16 months,” which resulted in the one-game suspension.
NCAA rules a one-game suspension for Oklahoma football assistant DeMarco Murray. Impermissible contact with 17 prospects over 16 months. https://t.co/zxB7lExlKA
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 27, 2024
“The school, Murray, and the enforcement staff agreed that the violations in the football program occurred when Murray impermissibly contacted 17 prospects over 16 months, including 65 impermissible phone calls and 36 impermissible text messages,” the NCAA wrote. “Murray indicated that he was not aware that a COVID-19 waiver of recruiting contact rules had expired. During the investigation, the enforcement staff determined that the school had properly educated football coaches on the applicable recruiting rules and the timing of changes to them.”
Obviously, a one-game suspension is not a major punishment, but it’s a punishment nonetheless. Murray and the Sooners don’t appear to want to challenge the ruling, so this is a scenario where they will take the punches and roll with them. OU begins anew this Saturday against the Temple Owls.
