All but one of the Kennesaw State Owls athletics programs escaped the hammer of the NCAA's 2011 APR scores report, with men's basketball joining the defending national champion Connecticut Huskies (branding!) in failing to top 925 for the year. Kennesaw State hoops will thus lose two scholarships and four hours per week of practice time for the upcoming season, giving new head coach Lewis Preston less than a full deck to compete with.
Interestingly, new Owls athletic director Vaughn Williams also hails from UConn, though the focus of his role there wasn't on academic compliance. Both Preston and Williams were highly aware of the impending punishment, commenting frequently during their introductory press conferences and elsewhere on the program's renewed commitment to academics. The school is also finally building a Division I-caliber compliance staff.
Kennesaw State basketball will need to improve in time for next year's report, or further penalties could be imposed.
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